Class Handouts
Class Notes April 20, 1998
Broadway University™
PRODUCING COMMERCIAL THEATER
Class Notes Volume No. 1 April 20, 1998 Class No. 9
Notes by Amy Baldwin
Just a side note before starting, our class project, Shakespeare's Birthday Party at the theater was a success. 7 or 8 Shakespeare's came, ages 9 to 80's. We had cake, champagne, photos with the cake, the cast, etc. NY 1 came and filmed, Fox came and shot a bit for the 10:00 news, and the Times interviewed William Shakespeare for Wednesday's newspaper. Rick Lyman decided to run a piece on Daniel Schor with a picture.
For May 4th, Evan Shapiro will do an intermediate class for us in marketing on the phone.
What is the future of independent theater?
I see a division in ways to go about producing. We can train ourselves to either fit into the corporate structure and work for companies such as Disney, LiveEnt, etc., or be independent theater entrepreneurs. Ideally we will learn how both sides of that work.
An important element of future theater is the development of young audiences. The children's shows we see now are corporate entities based on the cartoons and films. There are differing opinions about whether or not this is a positive thing or assumes limited ability of children to absorb more sophisticated material.
What is the status of some of your projects at this point?
Bonnie: Her show, "Moses is my Brother" is opening next week at the Martin Kaufman Theater on West 42nd Street.
Maryann: Had a meeting about potential front money for the project based on the unreleased film and the French novella. She now has the name of the person at film studio to ask about acquiring the film rights.
Amy: She has in development a 5 character play about the riots in LA in :92. It is about 2 yuppie couples and what they do. Ready to do a public reading in mid-May when the author will be in town. One week of rehearsals before the reading. This is the author's first play. They have had note sessions with the director, author and producer (Amy) about rewrites. This started as a short story which the author decided to attempt to turn into a play. Contemporary dialogue, good read, you get involved with the characters. You need a relationship with the author where they will be willing to collaborate and rewrite when needed.
Raising Money: Fear of rejection, fear of failure. This is a common problem. The more attractive you are as a producer, the less promotion you have to do--they'll want in because you are in. Bruce: I really try to communicate with my investors-let them know what is going on and they feel like they are part of the process. They invest in you, as much as in the show. This is a big part of developing a group of investors. Each project has it's own demographic/political appeal that helps determine who you might approach for an investment.
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