Ken Davenport - Opinions from a Broadway Producer

The most popular posts of the month: November.

Hey, readers, here is your monthly recap of what posts you were the most engaged with over the past 30 days.  

• The most read post of the month: Extra! Extra! Read all about it . . .
• The most commented on post of the month: It's a tie! If there is such a thing as a book club... then why not... and  It's much easier to market to people when they are in your house. 

And . . . 

• The comment of the month is from Brian Hajjar and was in response to  A Special Black Friday Broadway Blog 

Brian Hajjar said...

For christmas, I'm asking for theatre tickets because that's the best christmas gift I could ever want! Also, seeing "Legally Blonde" live was much better than seeing it on MTV a couple of years ago (only reference I could think of, haha). The magic of live theatre isn't within a TV screen.

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FUN STUFF 

- Come to the 4th Annual Producer's Perspective Social on 12/15!  RSVP today.

- Win 2 tickets to see Bonnie and Clyde on Broadway!  Click here!

- Seminar Alert:  How to Invest in a Broadway Show on 12/10!  Click here for info.

The most popular posts of the month: October.

Bye-bye October, 2011!  Take your freaky box office stifling snow storm with you.

Now let's see what kept you warm during this weirdly cool month:

• The most read post of the month:  Taxi!  Take me to Broadway!
  
  
• The most commented on post of the month:  What's the one thing you would change about Broadway?

And . . .

• The comment of the month is from "Caskey" and was in response to  My best advice for people who want to start producing.  Caskey said . . . "I am wrapping up producing my web series and I made tons of mistakes, but for every mistake, I learned about five more things. Now, preparing to do a second season will be so much easier. I wouldn't know what I know if I hadn't tried in the first place.

See you next month!

The most popular posts of the month: July.

I have to say, admitting that July is no longer with us gets me a little depressed.  So let's make August one heck of a last summer month!  Let's see what you got your interest this past month.

• The most read post of the month:  Have you heard about Broadway-Con?
  
  
• The most commented on post of the month:  Have you heard about Broadway-Con?

And . . .

• The comment of the month is an anonymous one from "Local 1 Stagehand" and was in response to Where did we think Broadway was headed:  A look back.
  
  "L1S" said, "Don’t alienate your current audience angling for a future one."

See you next month!

 

(Got a comment?  I love 'em, so comment below!  Email subscribers, click here, then scroll down, to say what's on your mind!) 

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FUN STUFF 

- 73 Days to Godspell!  Read the day-by-day account of producing Godspell on Broadway here.

- Enter to win 2 tickets to All New People by Zach Braff Off-Broadway!  Click here.

 

The most popular posts of the month: May.

Time for the end of the month wrap-up.  Here goes.

• The most read post of the month:  How to drive your non-profit into the ground.  (My Tony Pool/iPad Giveaway was actually the most read article, but that seemed like cheating.) 
• The most commented on post of the month:  Everyone likes to feel like they saw something special.

And . . . the comment of the month comes to us from . . . Mr. Dan Mason who had this to say in response to my blog entitled, Believe it or not, The Rapture worked. Here's why.:

The Rapture is getting pushed back more than the Spiderman opening. I think Julie Taymor is directing it.

Don't miss any of the post or great comments, subscribe to the blog today via email. It'll arrive in your inbox every night at 8 PM (curtain time!).

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FUN STUFF

- Come to our Tony Awards Party!  Click here for more info and to get your ticket now! 

- Enter my Tony Pool!  You can win an iPad!  Enter today!  Deadline is 6/9!

- Enter to win 2 tickets to see Lysistrata Jones Off Broadway!  Click here.

The most popular posts of the month: April. And new feature: the comment of the month!

It's end of the month, so here's the recap on what intrigued you the most, and what inspired the most comments over the last 30 days.  

Here they are:

• The most read post of the month:  You make the call: would you take the group and change your show?  
• The most commented on post of the month:  You make the call: would you take the group and change your show?  

This is the first month that we've seen an entry take both titles, and the comments are still coming in.  Why did this post resonate like it did?  In the commercial theater, one of the greatest challenges that Producers have is balancing the artistic vision with fiscal responsibility.  At the end of the day, there is no "right" answer . . . Producing a show isn't like taking the SAT.   You make a decision and you move on so you're ready to make the next one when it comes up.  Because it will.

And now, on to the newest end-of-the-month feature!  In addition to the most read and most commented blog each month, I'm now going to feature the Comment of the Month from one of you readers!  I love comments, and some of them are so great, I want to make sure that you get a chance to enjoy them like I do.

So . . . in response to my blog about taping Readings, here is April's Comment of the Month courtesy of reader, Kile Ozier:

"A photograph of the Grand Canyon is impressive. Actually traveling to the Grand Canyon and standing on the precipice, fully appreciating the magnitude and grandeur of the realtime, live experience simply does not compare.

Thanks, Kile.  And thanks to everyone else for your very insightful comments.  Keep 'em coming and I'll see you in a month!

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FUN STUFF

- Take the Broadway Investing 101 Seminar on May 3rd in NYC and May 15th in Minneapolis!  Click here! 

- Take the Get Your Show Off the Ground Seminar in Minneapolis on May 15th.  Click here!

- Come to the Social in Minneapolis.  Click here!

 

It wasn't the most commented on blog, but it did create some controversy.

As I did yesterday, at the end of every month I take a look at the previous month's blogs to see what the most read and the most commented on blogs were.  I do this for two reasons:  

• To recap for those of you who might have missed a blog or two.
• To see what you are enjoying so I can try and give you more of that. 

I was surprised to see that my blog asking, "Do We Have To Get Even More Dramatic?" was actually neither, because according to my internal e-radar, that blog seemed to bounce around cyberspace a lot last month.  

I had people agreeing with me, disagreeing with me, and I even had someone call it "BS" (constructive feedback, don't you think?) . . . and the funny thing is, I'm not sure if I even answered my own question. I just asked it.

But one of the best responses the blog received was a semi-contrarian view by Scott Brown of New York Magazine.  Scott's response was smart, researched, witty, and passionate.  A friend of mine emailed me and asked, "Have you read Scott's blog?  Are you ok?"

"Ok?" I answered, "I'm great."

Because Scott's and all the other response are exactly the point of what I do and frankly, that's also the point of what theater does.  It doesn't have all the answers . . .  it just starts the conversation.

Read Scott's terrific response here.  

And thanks to Scott, and all of you, for continuing to be a part of the conversation.

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- Enter The Sunday Giveaway!  Win 2 tickets to see Billy Elliot The Musical on Broadway!  Click here and enter today!

- The next Get Your Show Off The Ground seminar is Saturday, April 2nd.  Register today.

 

The most popular posts of the month: February

The ides of March are almost upon us, which means it's time to check in and see what the most read and most commented on posts of the previous month were . . . just in case you missed one.

Here they are:

• The most read post of the month:  How to get an Agent: 5 Tips for Actors.  
• The most commented on post of the month:  Should the critics have reviewed Spider-Man?

See you next month!  (Ok, I'll see you tomorrow, but you get the point.  Actually, I won't "see" you tomorrow at all, but you get the . . . ahh, I'm gonna stop now.)

The top 10 most popular posts of 2010.

Before I start off the new bloggin' year, I want to look back to see what posts were the most read of the last 365 days.  Why?  Because I'm a believer that if blog falls in the woods, and noone reads it, then it didn't make a sound.

If you write a blog, a poem, or a play . . . you have to be in tune with what people want to read or see.  See what gets excited or angry, and use that info to map out your next 365 days.

Here's what you were interested in over the last year.  And my New Year's resolution is to get you even more interested, excited and/or angry this year.

10.  What every high school musical should have.

9.  How to f-ing write!  A mother fing missive by David Mamet.

8.  5 Ways to get higher open rates on your email blasts.

7.  What does a Broadway Producer do?  Over 100 Broadway Producers respond.

6.  How does a Broadway Producer get paid?

5.  The young composer mafia organizes to sell its wares.

4.  Do tourists like matinees perfs?  Do city residents like Tuesday eves?  Results of study revealed.

3.  Look Ma!  We made an iPhone app called "At The Booth"!

2.  We get a lot of scripts, so we're going to do something with them.

1.  The 1st ever crowd-funded Broadway musical.  And it's got your name on it.

The most popular posts of the month: December

It's the end of the month already, which means it's time for our new feature: the most read and most commented on posts of the previous month.  

So, here you go:

• The most read post of the month:  Fun on a Friday: A cartoon actor that is oh so real.  (once again proving that what you, just like every audience, really want, is some fun.)
• The most commented on post of the month:  My Top 5 Broadway Special Effects (once again proving that having a spectacle doesn't hurt either.)

Since this is the end of last month of the year, stay tuned for Monday's post:  The 10 Most Popular Posts of the Year!