THE PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVEPROA BROADWAY PRODUCER’S OPINION ON EVERYTHING BROADWAY AND BEYOND

VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 9DECEMBER 2017

WRITING FOR PROS

UPCOMING EVENTS

RAISING MONEY FOR PROSMARKETING FOR PROS

Two Arcs are Better Than One

What You Can Always Count On When You’re Raising Money

Never Be Negative (Oops...I Mean Always Be Positive)

If you’re going to break for intermission, be sure you have two mini-arcs to bring your

audience back for the second half.

Here’s something I guarantee will happen when you’re raising money. Doesn’t matter if

it’s your first or your 100th time.

Negative words in marketing never work. Keep your attitude and your message

positive for better results.Read more on page 2. Read more on page 4.Read more on page 3.

Happy December, PROs!

First, let me say again how great it was to see so many of you who came to our first ever Super Conference in

November. We’ve already come up with some great ideas (based on your awesome feedback) on how to make it bigger and better for next year. So save the date...November 10 and 11 in 2018!

And here we are in December...the “partiest” time of the year. We’re talking holiday shindigs up the wazoo! Am I right?

Here’s my big tip for this month:

While it’s easy to want to stay home after you’ve attended your 4th or 5th party, I want you going to that 6th, 7th or 8th! Holiday parties are a wonderful chance to network—without the premise of networking. So go to as many as you can and schmooze it up.

Oh, and try this tip if you’re raising money. Do you need to follow up with people you’ve asked for cash...but are nervous about asking them again? Throw your own party! A party is a great way to get your prospects under your roof and gives you another chance to make an impression—without having to ask for cash.

You’ll find that people come up to YOU at your event saying, “I know I need to get back to you about that opportunity...”

You’ll earn some points by having them on your ‘who would I invite to a party’ list, and if they say no, psychology says they’ll be more likely to say yes to whatever you ask next.

Whatever holiday you are celebrating this month, try celebrating it with a party of your own!

Have a joyous holiday season...and go get ‘em!

Ken

Wednesday, December, 27th, 2017 | 7 pm ETOnline Workshop: “Raising Money 101”Thursday, January 25 , 2018 | 5 pm ETPRO Monthly Mixer - “The Band’s Visit” As a member of PRO, you’re automatically registered for the Monthly Webinar! To sign up for other seminars or events, visit www.theproducersperspective.com.

NOVEMBER 10 & 11, 2018

Save the Date!!!

One of the major differences between screenplays and plays is that unless you’re doing a “90 minute no intermission” production, you’re going to have an act break that includes a stretch-your-legs/get-a-sippy-cup intermission.

Movies don’t do that.

Just imagine if in the middle of an Oscar Winner like 12 Years A Slave they brought the lights up and gave you a 15 minute break to pee.

It would feel different, right?

And vice-versa. Imagine Phantom of the Opera

NOT taking a break at the chandelier drop! Bringing the house lights up at that moment and letting the audience talk about what they

just saw actually adds to the drama and the audience’s enjoyment of the piece!When constructing your play or musical, if you’re intending on having an act break, you have to create a show that has two mini arcs underneath your “grand” arc that encompasses the entire show.You’ll need a climax that leaves you with a cliffhanger at the end of your first act that guarantees your audience will want to come back for Act Two!Embrace your intermission. Use it. It can be as important a “scene” as your opening number.

Name: Elizabeth Searle

Where You’re From: I live near the booming theater town of Boston.

PROfession: Writer.

What projects are you currently working on?

ES: Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera is heading for a concert event February 13 at 54 Below with Broadway stars Lauren Worsham and Ashley Spencer. Ken has been my mentor into musicals. Tonya & Nancy is based on the Olympic figure skating scandal with book and lyrics by me and music by Michael Teoli. We had a sold-out run at NYMF in 2015, and last year, after Ken helped me rewrite the script, we had a six week run in Chicago fully produced by Underscore Theater. I come from the world of fiction and have written five books. One of them, A Four-Sided Bed, is a menage a trois love story and is in development as a

feature film and possible play. We had a staged reading at Zephyr Theater in Hollywood. I also have another rock opera project and further theatrical ideas brewing.

Why did you join PRO?

ES: Ken. A friend connected me to Ken years ago. Our Tonya & Nancy producer Paul Boghosian and I have both made valuable connections at Ken’s holiday parties and networking events. Since I joined PRO, I’ve gotten guidance from Ken in both the creative and business sides of theater. I just attended the PRO Super Conference where I met many kindred spirits and was particularly inspired by Randy Weiner’s outside-the-box presentation. As an outsider to NYC, PRO is my ‘way in.’

What do you look for in a collaborator, and how do you seek out creative partners?

ES: Passion, intensity. Also, a strong work ethic and an equally strong sense of play.

That’s a lot to ask but I’ve been lucky to meet such collaborators like talented composer Michael Teoli via fellow friends and artists. Because Tonya & Nancy has drawn a lot of media, I’ve been lucky to have artists who hear about T&N reach out to me. Plus, I attend local theatrical and musical events and take part in those communities.

What have you found to be the most valuable part of being a PRO member?

ES: Talking to Ken. His creative/business expertise is invaluable. He flew to Chicago to see our rock opera in previews and offered advice that helped reshape the show. He’s also a sort of theatrical therapist, both upbeat and grounded. He is a mentor—and a mensch. Through PRO events, I’ve been able to meet other professionals who share Ken’s sense of community and the PRO mission of theater folks helping each other.

WRITING FOR PROS

FEATURED PRO MEMBER

Two Arcs Are Better Than One

Here are the rumors people are whispering about these days...We hear that The Band’s Visit sold $1mm worth of tickets the day after their opening,

proving once again that the appetite for unique entertainment grows on Broadway.

We hear multiple Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys (who produced Broadway’s Stick Fly in 2011) is working on a Broadway project of her own.

Word is that Harry Potter won’t tour.

Got a rumor? Send ‘em to me at ken@theproducersperspective.com.

OVERHEARD IN SHUBERT ALLEY

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At my “Shark Tank” pitch at the conference I shared a story about a current Broadway show repped by one of the best ad agencies in town that was making one of the simplest marketing mistakes around.

They were being negative.

What did they do? On the doors of a closed box office they had a sign that says “Tickets Are Not On Sale At The Box Office” and then in smaller text they said to visit telecharge.com to purchase online.

Do you see the problem?

People often don’t read full messages—they just pick out words and phrases. In this case, many consumers might just pick up on the “NOT ON SALE” message instead of the “go online to purchase.” And besides, the message was just a downer.

A simple rewrite if I were designing the sign would be:

See how that works? You lead with a positive statement and call to action that you want your consumer to DO, as opposed to telling them what is NOT an option.

“No” or negative words in marketing never work. Dr. Robert Cialidini proved this in his book, Influence (which I strongly recommend), when he discovered fewer people complied to his messaging when he said things like, “Don’t throw trash on the streets,” versus “Please throw your trash in

receptacles.”

So keep your attitude and marketing positive, and you’ll

achieve greater results.

(And hey...this column should also show you that even big marketing agencies make mistakes! Spend this week seeing if you can spot any others!)

LAST MONTH AT THE BROADWAY BOX OFFICE

The Tourists Gobbled Up Tons of Tickets!

You know what I love about November? Where most of our months have one holiday weekend, November has two! We get Veteran’s Day, and then that big ol’ Turkey Day as well.And thanks to that Macy’s parade, thousands and thousands of theatergoers march into Manhattan and into our theaters delivering one of the biggest weeks of the year.And this Thanksgiving was the biggest in history!Shows like Hamilton, Springsteen on Broadway and Dear Evan Hansen (which got a bump from Ben Platt’s final week) all gave the box office a turbo-powered boost. But it was definitely one of those months where the rich got richer, evident by the massive increase in gross (over 10%) but a DROP in attendance. In an ideal world, both of those measurements would go up in equal proportions. They didn’t though, and that conflicts me so! I love it when grosses go up and hate it when attendance goes down.I know what I’m going to ask for for Christmas. See you in a month to see if I get it.

NOVEMBER 2016 BROADWAY GROSS

$145,346,851.84 • • •

NOVEMBER 2017 BROADWAY GROSS

$159,952,552.27Increase/Decrease: +10.04%

• • •NOVEMBER 2016

BROADWAY ATTENDANCE

1,315,792• • •

NOVEMBER 2017 BROADWAY ATTENDANCE

1,230,590Increase/Decrease: -6.47%

• • •Get the weekly grosses

by subscribing to my blog.

MARKETING FOR PROS

PRO QUOTE OF THE MONTH

Never be negative. (Oops: I mean, always be positive.)

Are you following Ken on Instagram? He posts a new inspirational quote on his whiteboard every morning!

Follow him @kendavenportbway

“You have to act first before inspiration will hit.”

~Robert Rodriguez

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The Art of Dramatic Writingby Lajos Egri

Among the many “how-to” playwriting books that have appeared over the years, there have been few that attempt to analyze the mysteries of play construction.

Examining a play from the inside out, Egri starts with the heart of any drama: its characters. All good dramatic writing hinges on people and their relationships,

which serve to move the story forward and give it life.

WHAT KEN’S READING THIS MONTH

TICKETS NOW ON SALE

AT TELECHARGE.COM.

GET YOURS TODAY!”

Box Office will open on XXXXX.

Here’s something I guarantee will happen when you’re raising money. Doesn’t matter if it’s your first or your 100th time. Doesn’t matter if you have Hugh Jackman starring in the title role or The Beatles catalog as your score.

There is no doubt that as you get close to

the end of your raise—just as you’re about to pop that bottle of champagne and celebrate that you accomplished your goal—someone is going to pull out.

It always happens. Like clockwork. No matter how much they were going to invest in your show, loved you and your idea,

promised you there was even more money if you needed...they’ll forget it all and go ghost on you.

And it can be disheartening. But there is something you can do about it. And it’s simple.

When you are starting your raise—any raise—take your total (say it’s $1,000,000) and add 10% to it. THAT’s your total.

You’re not raising $1,000,000. You’re raising $1,100,000. ONLY think about getting to the $1.1mm. And if someone pulls out it won’t matter, because you’ll have overraised in prep for it.

It’s kind of like the whole “Shoot for the moon, and if you miss you’ll land among the stars” thing, but about money. :-)

Raising money often gets down to the wire. Prepare for it by raising more than you need, and you’ll always end up with just enough.

(Want an inspirational book on going after more than you need? Read super salesman Grant Cardone’s book, 10x. And prepare to be hyped!)

RAISING MONEY FOR PROS

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ON THE PODCASTThe Producer’s Perspective Podcast has become a veritable who’s who of Broadway insiders. As a member of PRO, you’re the first to know who’s coming up:• 1/8 Pam MacKinnon

ON THE BLOGA couple of top read articles on the blog last month:• How to Market Your Show By Marketing Who Is In It• How Amazon Could Muscle Into The Broadway Space• 25 Years of Things I’m Thankful For On Broadway This ThanksgivingMake sure you don’t miss a single blog. Subscribe today.

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Copyright ©2017 Davenport Theatrical Enterprises.

Elizabeth Searle’s production of

TONYA & NANCY: the Rock Opera is at 54 Below on February 13

starring Ashley Spencer & Lauren Worsham. The concert will be recorded

as a CD by Broadway Records.

•Kevin Davis’

play “One in A Million Musical” is getting great reviews in NYC!

Got a project update? Email me at ken@theproducersperspective.com

UPDATES FROM PROS

CONNECT WITH KENwww.facebook.com/kendavenportwww.twitter.com/kendavenport

www.instagram.com/kendavenportbwayken@theproducersperspective.com

www.linkedin.com/in/kendavenport

What You Can Always Count On When You’re Raising Money.