MISSION
Our goal is to help get 5,000 shows produced by the year 2025.
#5000By2025
I started this site over 10 years ago to help demystify the producing process, and shine a spotlight on the business of Broadway . . . challenging some norms, accepting others, and attempting to amplify the conversation about the theater.
Because if more people talk about it, more people will want to see it. And the more people that want to see it, the more people that will want to make it.
And I believe that if there is more theater in the world, the world will be a better place.
That’s why we established a new mission statement for The Producers Perspective.
Our goal is to help get 5,000 shows produced by the year 2025.
That’s right. 5,000. And hopefully one of them is yours.
How are we going to do that?
We’re going to double down on our efforts to provide you with all the information, resources, as well as the specific steps you need to help get your shows onto the page and then onto a stage.
Here are just a few initiatives we’ve already started to help you do just that:
- The TheaterMakers Studio – The only community of its kind dedicated to helping theater makers get their shows off the ground faster than they could on their own.
- The Producer’s Perspective Super Conference – An annual weekend where Broadway’s heavy hitters and the industry’s rising stars unite for learning, doing, and meeting.
- Writer’s Groups – Connect with smart, diligent, theatre professionals who will help move your project forward, whether you attend in NYC or virtually.
- The Inner Circle – An intimate Mastermind program facilitated by Ken Davenport that meets quarterly in New York City with A-list Broadway insiders to discuss their projects and get expert advice on how to get their shows to the next level.
And more resources are being added every day.
I’m a lucky guy. I get to wake up every morning and do exactly what I’ve already dreamed about doing.
And I remember what it was like to want to do what I do, but not know where to start.
Well, now, you can start here.
It’s not easy. It can take a while. But if you keep asking your questions it’s amazing what can happen. You can get to your yes.
But we’re here to help.
#5000By2025
Do you have a success story you’d like to share with us? We’d love to hear how The Producer’s Perspective or The TheaterMakers Studio has helped you and your project! We may even add you to our success story list below!
Success Stories
A huge congrats to one of our own . . . Jeff Wise and the Wheelhouse Theater Company!
Jeff has been a consult client of mine for many years and I remember when he first came to me. He wanted to get his theater company off the ground but didn’t know how. He’d been an actor for many years and wanted to create a vehicle for his work, and others, that actually paid (yes, actors get paid!) for their talents.
Since our initial conversations back in 2016, Jeff and his company have produced several shows, the latest of which, Happy Birthday Wanda June, was recently named a New York Times Critic’s Pick and has extended it’s run!
And, it’s not by accident.
One of the first things I spoke with Jeff about was how to market his shows, which is absolutely a learnable skill. You just need the right tools.
“Ken’s advice along the way was invaluable in trying to put a good face on a new company. I see first hand the dividends that sound marketing and advertising strategies pay.” – Jeff Wise
Cultivating an audience is important and dynamic work that can lead to huge rewards and ultimately make or break your show. Just imagine if The New York Times came to review Jeff’s show and it was an empty house . . . empty seats impact reviewers whether consciously or not.
Jeff’s success is just one example of how proper training, hard work, dedication and a dream can help you achieve your goals. We want to help get 5,000 shows produced by the year 2025 and we’re one show closer to that goal!
#5000By2025
I remember when Charles and Nancy came to me with just this idea of a musical “about how rock and roll brought down the Berlin wall,” and I’m thrilled to see it reach this exciting stage. (And just look at the cool photos of their presentation! Now that’s how you do it!)
Huge congrats to TMS member Kit Yan on his 29 hour reading of INTERSTATE and a sold-out run at NYMF where he won 5 awards including Outstanding Lyrics! Now he’s been accepted into the Dramatist Guild Fellowship for 2018/2019 and just signed with ICM! Now he’s at 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle working on his new musical MISS STEP. Way to go!
Congrats to long-time TMS member, Elizabeth Searle on many recent successes with her show Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera. I’ve been working with Elizabeth for years now and consulted with her creatively after her show performed at NYMF, and even flew to Chicago to see a production of it. Now Elizabeth has a CD out with Broadway Records, has a successful concert event at 54Below starring Ashley Spencer and Tony nominees Lauren Worsham and Nancy Opel, and is in talks with some big time producers about next steps . . . more success to come from Elizabeth for sure!
The TheaterMakers Studio inspired me to set goals for 2019 and commit to them. I already have a reading of one of my new plays, Tough 2 Love, at Theatre West, Los Angeles, on January 22nd. Also inspired me to lift my other play, The Grass Couch, to a whole new level with a fresh take on several scenes. – Anna Simone Scott
Ken’s program has helped me understand the do’s and don’ts of this world, and helped my team create a solid strategy for getting this show to its next steps. Ken was able to help me understand the basics of Theatre Law, because he taught it in such a way that even a beginner like me could understand. Ken’s personal touch is on everything he does, and I really admire that in the way he makes me feel supported in the work I’m doing. I was even able to go to the Super Conference and gain SO MUCH from the experience because of a generous scholarship opportunity offered to me. I never trained in this side of theatre, and never really knew how to gain this kind of information without spending thousands of dollars to go back to school, so this program has really set me on a path for success that I never knew I could accomplish. – Jonathan Hogue
I was just surfing the internet a few years back and ran into The Producers Perspective website. I immediately fell in love with the site and all the good things Ken Davenport was offering for free, and also the excellent info available at an affordable price, as well. This is a very unique and smart approach by Ken and very much appreciated by me and I am sure countless others around the world. – Larry Fecho
TMS and Ken have made me see that enhancements MUST be carefully planned and structured. Our creative team has board involvement with two small Non-profits, that have at least opened the door for beginning development, without actually entering into an enhancement deal as of yet. We are not certain that an enhancement deal is really necessary for our development, and we are proceeding cautiously. – Michael Murnin
Ken has inspired me to write a play featuring a character based on him. This is perhaps my best play yet, and has all the earmarks of a commercial success: Great plot and characters, small cast, single set and a title that will immediately draw audiences in. [Without him], I would not have written a play about a Broadway producer or be dipping my toes in the Big Apple. – Bruce Calhoun
For Christmas last year, my wonderful husband bought me the most thoughtful gift I have ever received, coaching with Eric through your company. I am not a playwright. I write articles once a week for a small-town newspaper, but that’s as far as my experience goes. Eric helped me to create characters, a plot, and dialogue that slowly came to life. With his encouragement, I have been able to meet with interested producers and writers. I know that my show is still in its very beginning stages, but it has come so far since working with Eric. [Through The TheaterMakers Studio, I have] met with three producers who showed interest and encouragement. I now have contacts for life! – Shelby Sullivan
The Super Conference this year was so eye opening and positive and has set my momentum going. I now am taking daily steps and actions towards my goal of writing and having produced a broadway musical. It’s small steps between my job as actor puppeteer singer in Boston but now I have a clearer vision… in my mind it’s success because I’m not floundering any more. I have a tangible and possible direction much bigger than a small market or small touring shows. A place where people actually appreciate my ideas and skills that have value. – Charlotte Dore, 2018
Ken often talks about having readings. I took this idea but broke it into sections. I’ve hired a director/dramaturg and six actors. Once every other week we meet in a small theatre downtown San Francisco to read the play. We’re working in chunks. The first time was the first fifteen pages. The sessions begin with actors sitting and reading. Then the director gets them up on their feet moving around. So much is discovered with the movement. I take notes and then I go home to rewrite. I’m so grateful to this hardworking group, especially the director. The rewrite is coming along! – Elizabeth Appell
[Without Ken], the music would not have been retrieved and revived and, now, possibly re-set. I never heard of a 29 hour reading before the Conference and I am beginning to have an inkling of how B’way works. I feel confident that we will get this show up and running in NYC next year. – Jill Wright, 2018
The TheaterMakers Studio definitely “lit my fire” to get serious about what I need to do to help the musical I co-wrote get started on its journey! Amazing advice, resources, videos and Ken is truly an inspiration as he’s a successful Broadway producer who is actually “taking it to the people.” No one can guarantee anyone success but this resource is as close as a producer/artist can get to getting great up to the minute advice from top professionals in the field as it can get! Nice job guys! – David Brandt
I joined TMS before my show went to NYMF this [past] summer. I used the tools, tips, and knowledge [on PRO] to write and produce the most successful show in the festival. We had a sold out run and the only extended show in the festival in addition to 5 awards and 7 nominations making it the most awarded show this year! – Kit Yan
[Because of Ken], on 6/27, we produced a table reading of my new play, Joe’s Paradise, as a developmental stage to producing a full workshop production Off-Off Broadway at the Gene Frankel Theatre. Following the reading we raised enough funds to put down a deposit on the Gene Franklin theater for a full week workshop production opening September 21, 2018.
The artistic director of the theater was there along with several potential investors, three stage directors, and several theater influencers. Everyone present including the actors absolutely loved the play and the performances. – Prasad Paul Duffy
“I had been contemplating my project for four years but hadn’t started actually writing it out of fear that I would be wasting my time; also, I haven’t written a play since 1982 so I am unfamiliar with the industry. Taking the 30-Day Script Challenge seemed to be the perfect way to jump into writing without allowing myself time to let my fears get in the way. I think I would not have made the time to write if it hadn’t been for the challenge. Now I am so interested in the project I am spending every possible minute writing/revising. Ken gave me the green light to dive in at the deep end (to mix a metaphor) and also to believe in my project enough to commit to it despite my ignorance of the industry and fear of the whole exercise being a giant waste of time and energy.” – Jennie Litt
