One Producer in the City

Awesome Person Thursday: Michael Ian Cedar

This week's A.P.T. is Michael Ian Cedar of Ask Yourself in Entertainment. I first met Michael when I wrote this blog post back when I was first starting and he was the only one to answer. So of course I reached out and asked him to grab coffee. We then went on to do the CTI 14 week together, Helped Produce a NYMF show, host a seminar on Time Management with one of my mentors, and we have worked together ever since. 

Why should you take the time to get to know what Michael does?

Because he has taken the time to look at our business from a "Human to Human" (His phrase) perspective. 

He developed a program about client relationships called Culture Soup, works with Starquest International and writes an amazing blog that you should all also be following. 

So if you haven't taken the time to meet Michael, you can read his blog HERE.

You'll be glad you did. 

Excelsior! 

Retro Wednesday: It's my money...

This week's retro wednesday post comes from 5 years ago! I was a lot wordier back then. 

This is a post all about dealing with money as a producer. If you are about to venture into a project, here are some tips from my former self:

July 25, 2008

It's my money and I'll spend if I want to

So, I thought I'd take a little bit of time today to talk about the title "Producer" and some of the misconceptions there are about producers. First and foremost contrary to popular belief, producers do not always have boat loads of money. There are a fewexceptions to the rule, but for the most part, there are very few full time producers. If you are producing on the independent level, you most likely have another job. Also, a producer is not always the person putting up the money for the show. Most of the time in fact, that money is raised.

Many first time producers feel that they are responsible for the entire financial burden of a production, and often end up spending money they do not have.  If someone asks you to be a producer on their show, you really need to take the time to find out what they are asking for. Some people are really looking for someone to manage their show, while others are solely coming to you for finances. It's important to iron out this idea before you end up saying yes to being a producer and then being asked to pay for everything and have no say in the production. Technically, that makes you an investor.  In any case, remember one thing:

Your money is YOUR MONEY. If you are the one raising money for a show or putting up your own personal money, don't let any one tell you how to spend it. I have seen many producers end up in over their heads because they let someone else dictate how the money would be spent. I had this problem when I first started producing.  I spent in places I shouldn't have and the show ultimately did not look any different. So here are a few simple rules for managing money when producing a show:

1. What do you NEED- I once had a theatre professor who stressed that to do a show all you needed was actors and an audience. He also told me that if you say you need an item on stage like a door, someone has to install that door and make sure it opens and shuts properly, is level etc. One thing always leads to a bunch of other things. So, if that door is never actually used or if you can get away with an entrance happening from off stage and a door being mimed, you can save money. As a producer, be scrupulous about what you NEED. You'll have directors and designers telling you they NEED intelligent lighting instruments and a chandelier, but it's ultimately your call. You know what you have to spend and sometimes you have to be the person who says "NO"

2. Careful with comps- It'd be great if we could let every member of  your lead's 41 person family into the show for free, but the fact of the matter is, that means you'd sell less than ten actual seats in the show and end up having a full house and only having the money from 1/4 of a house. Comps are nice, but if you don't limit them, your show will not make money and you may have to turn away paying customers because those seats are already filled. You need to be strategic with comps. Offer them to industry people, bloggers, and people who will hype your show. Do you have to ask your best friend's Grandmother to pay? Even I'm not that cheap, but I also think if someone's girlfriend is at the show for the 16th time and is expecting a comp, you have to be realistic.  For a revolutionary new way of thinking about comps check out this posting by Ken Davenport. 

3. Know your limits- If you have a budget, then stick to it! It's very tempting to say that you'll make that extra $50 you spent on the batman mask back in ticket sales, in reality, you should NEVER bank on ticket sales.  If you don't have the money, again refer to number 1. Do you absolutely NEED that item? If the answer is no, put your credit card back in your wallet.

4. Nothing is FREE- Remember no matter what you're told, there are expenses attached to everything.  Someone may offer you free rehearsal space, but you're probably going to have to have that space covered under your insurance, which will cost money.  You may get costume items donated to you, but that doesn't mean the donor will also pay the dry cleaning bill.  You may even find a designer who will work for a really low fee, but that doesn't mean that they will foot the bill for all of the supplies they need to do the job.

My point? In everything you say "yes" to, there is money involved and you have to be aware of each and every purchase you make because there are almost always other purchases that will come from that first one. Imagine all of the expenditures for your show and add a "batteries not included" tag to it and you should be fine.

Remember, spend wisely and you'll live to spend another day.

Excelsior!

 

The importance of reflection

Whenever I meet with someone for a consultation or just a general catch up session and they are having trouble raising money, finding a job, selling, etc. I always find that there is one thing missing:

Reflection.

It's really easy to get bogged down in all of the work that we do and all of the things that are expected of us, that we can forget to take time at the end to take a very close look at what we actually did. Reflection is as important as the planning and executing, yet for some reason it often gets set aside. The reason for this is that it's often not easy. If we reflect, we have to accept that we might have done something wrong and often that's the last thing we want to face at the end of a process.

The main thing to understand is that this is one of the best tools we have and it is free. 

If you can find a place to sit and take out a pen, notepad, or your ipad, you can do a reflection on your work. 

I highly recommend it. 

Some questions to ask:

How long did I spend on this project? 

How much impact do I feel I made for others or for my business?

What went well and why do I think it went well?

What went badly and why do I think it went badly?

Are there any variables I am not considering? 

You can add any number of other questions to the mix, but the most important thing is that you take the time to ask at least one.

So what have you been working on?

How's it going?

Time to look back so you can move forward. 

Excelsior! 

For those going through challenges this Monday

So here we are at another Monday and many of us are heading into the office to slay our dragons and eat our frogs. 

If today looks like it may be especially challenging for you, remember that whatever hardship you are experiencing only has two options:

Change or End

That's it.

Everything in life we experience will either change or end. There is no other option. Nothing stays the same forever. So if you are currently going through a rough time looking for a job, raising money, starting a company, putting up a show or any other pursuit, trust in the fact that no matter what you are experiencing, only two things can happen. 

Many will argue that "stay the same" is also an option, but that is never true. If you are always trying new things, it's difficult for anything in your life to stay the same. 

So take some time today to look at the challneges you are experiencing and take comfort in the fact that they will change or end.

Happy dragon slaying and frog eating.

And Happy Monday. 

Excelsior! 

P.S.- I'm offering a pretty good deal on consulting now through the end of this month, you can take advantage of the deal HERE. 

 

Guest Blog #78:

 

This week's guest blog comes from Alex Mallory of Poetic Theater Productions. I have been a huge fan of their work and have really enjoyed getting to know Alex and her team. Here she tells the story of the formation of the company and tells you what they are up to now. Definitely take the time to check them out. You won't regret it. Take it away Alex! 

Excelsior! 

After a year of being in New York, I tried to start a theater company. I had a brilliant script, a producer who was always on top of things, a lovely cast and a talented design team including a designer trained by the Jim Henson Company who created a frog mask that bled from the eyes. And a paragraph in Theatermania that read "Director of the Month". What more could a 23 year old director want? 

Undecided about what the next steps would be, that company vanished with the show. I looked around and wondered who my friends were, beyond the few straggling college companions and countless colleagues, but few I could call up to ask how they were doing or go for a drink with. 

I spent some time with one of my cast members from that first show. We would meet for half hour coffees between meetings, or on cold November Saturday mornings in Bryant Park blinking the night from our eyes. She invited me a show about Iraqi refugees. I was inspired by a bio in the program - "Jeremy Karafin: Artistic Director of Poetic Theater Productions", whose other credits ranged from political campaigns to spoken word shows. I want to do that, I thought. My friend introduced us - just so happened Jeremy was her connection to the play. Just so happens Michael Roderick was their connection to each other. And here I am writing this guest blog. Go figure. 

We met for coffee. We talked about theater. About its potential. About politics. About poetry. We went to shows and discussed what we would have liked to see for them. We got excited by each other's artistic aesthetic and ideas - often varying ideas with the same goal, articulated differently. 

We produced a showcase. Then a night of readings interspersed with poetry. Then a play. Then more readings. We thought, wouldn't it be great if we could do a bunch of this work we are excited about all together, in all stages of development. The Wild Project had some space at the very beginning of the year. We thought, why not do a festival. 

The first Poetic License consisted of 15 shows in 5 days and involved 105 artists. From small readings to standing-room only houses, the work spanned first reads through remounted productions, plus everything in between. The artists came and saw each other's work, forming an incredible network and community on which to build Poetic Theater. 

One year, four fully produced shows and four big showcase events later, Poetic Theater Productions enters its fourth year of existence with the 2nd annual festival of new poetic theater. This year's Poetic License features 15 shows over 7 days featuring over 75 LGBT, youth, Black, white, Latina, Veteran, Native American and Asian American artists in stories about war, mental health, identity, love, politics and memory in Juarez, Ghana, Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and all over America. 

The range and wealth of experience of the festival artists this year is simply unlike anything I have ever heard of. The writers live in Brooklyn, Boulder, San Francisco and Iowa City. One playwright I met on Twitter, another submitted to a cold call and turned out to be the husband of a playwright whose work I fell in love with in 2008. To cast the shows we had to do significant outreach - whenever the parts we need to cast are more diverse than our pool of actors, we have an incredible opportunity to expand our community and invite other connections and possibilities for collaboration.

Last night, a reading of a Native American choreopoem ("Love in a Time of Blood Quantum") featuring five Native American actresses and a poet visiting from Colorado, who was briefly my roommate in college, was followed by a performance of a New York mother & poet's strife ("Black Girls Don't Smile Mosaic in Front of Strangers"). The poets, from entirely different walks of life, were barely a degree of separation apart, connected through an audience member. Whether for the artist or the audience, there was community being created at every moment. 

On Tuesday night we brought four absurdly talented youth groups together to perform on the same stage in concert with each other: urban poets, international youth and empowered young women took to the stage listening to one another and coming together to put an exclamation point on the need for arts education and opportunities for youth to be a part of the creative arts. 

On Sunday we will present a new work by Warrior Writers, a community of NYC veteran artists who are working intimately onstage for the first time, rather than one by one presenting their work. Immediately before that, the first reading of a new play of pieced-together poetry and prose by writers of Vietnamese descent and family members of Vietnam veterans addressing the grief, anger and trauma inherited from that war. 

The artists are as diverse as their subject matter, the audience as diverse as the artists. This is community. My artistic and personal communities are larger than ever. This is what makes theater meaningful, this is what I am in New York to do and I could not be more proud of the work onstage this week. 

We have three more nights of incredible programming (through Sunday 1/27).

Come check it out. Hope to see you this weekend! Schedule, tickets and more at www.poetictheater.com. 

Sincerely,

Alex Mallory

Co-Artistic Director

Poetic Theater Productions

Awesome Person Thursday: Ramit Sethi

This week's A.P.T. is dedicated to someone outside of the world of entertainment. I often have written about the fact that it's a good idea to read things outside of the business we're in to get different perspectives. Having read Ramit's blog and seen some of his training videos, I can say that he's got strategies that are worth checking out. He covers everything from automatic saving, to getting a dream job, to time management. He also will show word for word scripts of what works in negotiation scenarios. So if you've never read his stuff, I recommend checking it out. 

You can see some of his videos HERE

or

Sign up for his blog HERE

Hope it's helpful!

Excelsior!

P.S.- For those of you who have been interested in doing some consulting with me, I'm doing a new deal for a limited time HERE. Look forward to working with you! 

 

Retro Wednesday: How their biggest mistake can become yours

This week's retro post is all about when things go wrong. What experiences have you had like this? Feel free to comment below. 

Excelsior! 

July 05, 2011

How their biggest mistake can become yours

We've all been through this scenario. Someone hires us or we hire someone and the arrangement works out in a way that does not make us happy. Sometimes this has to do with the person not undertsanding direction or not listening, but whatever the reason, something gets screwed up. The fact that something was screwed up is the second most important thing. What's the first?

How you deal with it. 

It's very easy when someone makes a huge mistake to go for the throat. To unleash all of your rage on that individual who screwed things up for the rest of the team, but in the end it only hurts you and your reputation. It's much better to take some time to think about the situation before picking up the phone, sending that email, or going to that office. 

There is a reason you are told to go somewhere and cool down and more often than not, it's to protect YOUR job. 

When we're angry we do not see things clearly. We tend to lash out and say things we don't mean. That's the worst time to talk to someone about a job not being done correctly. The best time is once you've had some time to distance yourself and think objectively about the situation. Trust me, this is hard to do but it will save you a lot of headaches later.

So the next time someone does something that upsets you and you're ready to pounce, take a second, breathe, and think if NOW is really the best time to deal with it.

It may be the difference between you making your biggest mistake and having your biggest success. 

Excelsior! 

 

The interesting thing about business hierarchy....

Is that it has experienced a massive shift over the past few years. 

The concept used to be that you had a boss and that boss would have people working below them and doing what they asked. These people came to work, did a job, hit a quota, and went home. As the years progressed, some folks worked even harder and moved up a ladder in increments and a hierarchy was formed. If you work and do what the boss asks and even do extra work, then you someday may be where the boss is.

The net has completely changed this.

Now there are things that are outsourced, you can work from home, you have the choice to be your own boss. The hierarchy has shifted completely. So what do we do now?

Stop looking up.

The boss will no longer have all the answers, they're looking down at us to be innovators. We are heading into a time when you are either an innovator or you'll work for one, so the question you want to ask now is which will it be?

There have been times when I have met with people who are working on a project and I'll suggest they meet someone. The smart ones take the meeting, and the ones who have the most difficulty are the ones still living by the rules of the hierarchy. They believe that the only people you should talk to are people at the top, but you'd be amazed at how much sway someone at a mid-level or even at the (gasp) bottom may have. You never know which person who is at entry level right now may go on to found the next Google. 

We're heading towards a future where connection will be the currency and we'll need everyone on the team more than ever, so take the time to look at your business and ask if you are living under pre-conceived notions of hierarchy. Ask how you can break out of those boundaries. 

The world is waiting for you to innovate and connect

No matter what rung of the ladder you or anyone else is on. 

Excelsior! 

Some things to think about today

Today is a day that honors a man who did what all artists and entrepreneurs aspire to do:

He made a difference.

If you've never read or watched his famous speech, there is a lot to be learned from it, so take some time today if you have not done that.

Also a few things to think about today:

1. Is there somewhere you see injustice and if so, what are you doing about it?

2. Is there something that you have chosen to remain in ignorance about, and if so what will you do to change that?

3. What is your dream?

4. What do you plan to do to make a difference for others?

5. All speeches give us take away actions, what is your specific take away for today?

Take the time to reflect and make a difference. 

Excelsior! 

"Did you get my message?"

Probably not. 

Let's take a few seconds to review the ways we contact one another:

1. In person

2. Via email

3. Facebook Message

4. LinkedIn Message

5. Twitter

6. ____________ social media platform of choice

7. Letter

8. Blog Comment

9. Phone call

10. Text Message

The list goes on and on. Now I'm one of those people who does my absolute best to keep up on all the messages, but recently even I have been falling short due to the number of places people reach out. Many folks are out there trying to find jobs, make connections, build relationships, and sell products. If you are part of that group, I would like to make a few recommendations:

1. If you have direct access to someone, ask them the best way to get in touch with them. - I have discussed this before, but personally I'm a pain to get on the phone unless we schedule it in advance. I also do not keep on top of my Facebook messages as much as my email or my LinkedIn. Anyone who asks me knows this and they can usually get in touch with me and get a timely response. For those who don't, now you do :)

2. If you hear nothing, then follow up.- You may have landed in spam, chosen the wrong platform to communicate, or you may have emailed at the exact same time someone is working on getting to inbox zero. If you follow up respectfully and in a reasonable amount of time (3-5 days is the norm) then most of the time you'll get a response. If you don't hear from me within 3 days, follow up. I won't be mad. 

3. Blessed are the brief- If you've never met the person you're reaching out to or if you have met them once or twice, that is not the time to send an email the length of a novel. If you want someone to read your email and respond in a timely fashion, the best method is to keep it short and to the point. If you ramble, it usually goes into the "read later" pile. If you ask me something quick, I can usually get back to you as quickly. 

And keeping with the brevity rules, I will stop there. We all are busy and now Zuck's making a buck off of it and we will see pay for access services continuing to grow, so take advantage now of the free platforms that are left and respect those you want to connect with. 

Ok, time to respond to some emails...

Excelsior!