webinar | The Producer's Perspective

[Zoom Strategy Session] In case you did NOT get what you wanted from Santa.

I’m not surprised.

Whenever I talk to TheaterMakers about what they want . . . money never comes up. No one talks about royalties and selling the movie rights or their share of the merch.

All writers, producers, directors want for Christmas (and every other time of year) is to see their shows on a stage.

Sound like you?

You want to hear the actors delivering the lines. You want to hear singers singing your songs.

And you want to hear the applause, laughter, or tears that follow.

And I get it. Because that’s all I want too.

It’s all I ever wanted.

When I was starting out, I pursued a lot of the “traditional” ways to get produced. And . . . they didn’t work. (I’m sure you can relate.)

And boy was I frustrated.

Then Hal Prince took me to task.

Yep, I got a talking-to from the 21-time Tony Award . . . who also shared with me his secrets of seeing your shows on a stage.

And, well, when you get advice from a guy like that, it shouldn’t be a surprise to hear that the stuff worked.

In fact, every single thing I’ve done in my career so far (and every thing I WILL do) is because of what he taught me that day.

The moment his advice started to work, I vowed to share it. To help other TheaterMakers like me see their shows on stage.

That’s why I started blogging, podcasting, and it’s why I’m reviving a webinar I did earlier this year . . . with a twist.

This Wednesday, December 30th at 8 PM Eastern, join me for a free Zoom Strategy Session entitled, “Get Produced in 2021!” I’ll share the “key” that Hal gave me almost twenty years ago, and the formula that I use to see my shows on stage today.

You can register here.

And I hope you’ll join, whether you are a TheaterMaker just starting out and have a script (or two!) in a drawer. Or if you’re a veteran who knows your stuff is great, and you can’t understand why it hasn’t received the visibility it deserves. (I’ll explain the issue – which has nothing to do with you.)

Click here to sign up.

2021 is right around the corner. And there is no question there WILL be shows on stages this year.

The only question is . . . will yours be one of them?

So if you haven’t gotten what you REALLY wanted from Santa, join me for this session.

Get Produced in 2021

Free Zoom Strategy Session

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

8 PM ET

Click here to register.

– – – – –

P.S. Full disclosure . . . at the end of this free training session, I am going to share a very special offer for you to join The TheaterMakers Studio. Something The Studio doesn’t advertise but I asked them to come up with.

See, after almost ten years of running training for TheaterMakers, we now KNOW for a fact what works. We analyzed our success stories and cross referenced what they have in common. Then, we took those things and put them in this offer. Because we know TheaterMakers need more resources now that EVER. Oh, and if you’re already a member, you’ll get the same opportunity. Because this is about getting as many people produced in 2021 as possible. We’ve got some ground to make up!

If you don’t want the offer, no worries, the Strategy Session is free. But I didn’t want you to be surprised about the offer.

Click here to sign up.

December 29, 2020 Ken Davenport Advice from Experts, Business, Musicals, Writing, Plays, Producing, webinar, On The Blog, Off Broadway No comments yet

How our conference has changed . . . and tickets are (finally) on sale.

At the end of our conference last year, I told my team . . . “Next year, we’re going to do something totally different!”

Little did I know! 🙂

The theater is a constantly evolving art-form, so it only makes sense that our conference is evolving as well!

What has changed?

First, we’ve got a new name . . . The TheaterMakers Summit! Since our past attendees have included such a mix of Playwrights, Composers, Producers, Investors, Directors, Actors and everyone who makes theater, we wanted to honor them all.

Second, surprise, surprise . . . we’re going virtual!

Our virtual summit will be held on November 14th, 15th . . . and an extra intensive day on the 16th for a select few (More on that in a minute).

Now, look, I’ll admit it. I was a bit bummed when I realized we weren’t going to be able to have our conference in person this year. I even threw a tantrum my two-year-old would be proud of. Here’s how it went down:

We were in the middle of a Zoom last May when I said, “If we can’t have our conference in person, then forget it! I don’t want to do it!”

And I e-stomped off (which means I “booped” out of the meeting).

I e-stumbled back into the Zoom room a few minutes later (my staff was still there . . . they knew I’d be back) and said, “Ok, ok, if we’re going to do it virtually, then we’re really going to DO THIS virtually!”

Once I accepted the cards we were dealt, we spun the negative into a super-duper positive.

And now I am so excited that we’re going to be entirely online. Because we’re going to be able to unite more TheaterMakers from all over the world, with speakers from all over the world . . . without anyone having to travel. The conversations on how to make theater in the new world will be more robust than ever!

And we need those conversations. Because let’s face it. We’ve got some hurdles to overcome.

And the best way to figure out how to solve our problems is to get more and more ideas tossed out on the table by more people.

That’s why I’m going to have leaders from Broadway, Regional Theaters, Foreign Market theaters, Community Theater, High School Theaters and more. We’re going to have experts on all of the subjects facing TheaterMakers today from diversity to streaming to safety in the time of Covid . . . not to mention how to raise money in this craziness, how and where to pivot, what “The Road” is going to look like, and lots more.

And in addition to two days of great content, we’ve added an entire bonus day . . . which will feature more “group thinks” and interactive workshops, for those who want to dig into the issues even deeper.

With the attendance we’ve had in the past, and as accessible as can be since it’s virtual, it could be the biggest public conference of TheaterMakers ever.

Tickets have NOT been on sale . . . until today. (It has taken us some time to figure all this out!)

You can get them here (and you’ll also see the incredible line up of speakers we already have . . . and that’s just a few of them!)

And for those who get a ticket by this Monday at 11:59 PM Eastern, you’re going to get that interactive bonus day for free.

Oh, and expect some other surprises as well.

So yeah, the conference is gonna be different. But I think that’s perfect. Because different is exactly how we need to think right now if we’re going to succeed in getting the theater back to where it was before . . . and beyond.

Learn more and get your tickets for the annual TheaterMakers Summit here.

Looking forward to e-seeing you there.

Get your ticket here.

July 23, 2020 Ken Davenport Musicals, Broadway, Business, Buy Tickets, Future, Plays, Producing, Web/Tech, webinar No comments yet

Free Webinar Alert: The Ins-and-Outs of Co-Producing on Broadway.

There are two kinds of Producers on Broadway: Lead Producers and Co-Producers.

Do you know the difference? (This is a quiz.)

A simple analogy might be that the Lead Producer is like the Chairman/woman of the Board of a Non Profit . . . and a Co-Producer is like the Board Members.

But it ain’t so simple.

Co-Producing on Broadway has become an important niche in our industry. It’s where most Broadway Investors graduate to, and it’s where most Lead Producers come from.

The Lead Producing Path often looks something like this:

Broadway Investor -> Broadway Co-Producer -> Broadway Lead Producer

Since Broadway shows have become more expensive over the years, Lead Producers have “sub-contracted” out the financing to more “Board Members” than in previous decades. That’s why I get so many questions from readers and podcast listeners like, “How do Broadway Co-Producer deals work,” or “Who are the other names above a show’s title,” and “How do I become a Broadway Co-Producer?”

And, as I said on a recent “Office Hours” call for my PROs, if I get the same three questions on the same subject from three different people, then I know I haven’t done my job in getting people the info they want.

That’s why, next Wednesday, February 7th at 7 PM EST, I’m teaching a FREE webinar entitled . . . “Co-Producing on Broadway: So You Wanna Be a Broadway Bundler.”

During the webinar, I’ll break down . . .

Strategies for choosing the right show to Co-Pro.
How to negotiate the best deal (and what those deals are anyway).
How to be a Co-Pro without having to invest your own $.
The risks and the rewards (and we’re not talking just cash).
A Co-Producer’s role in the production before and after it opens.

And, of course, I’ll take all your questions at the end of the session.

To join me and learn more about Co-Producing on Broadway, just click here to sign up for this one hour webinar, next Wednesday night at 7 PM. It’s free.

See you there.

WEBINAR: Co-Producing on Broadway: So You Wanna Be a Broadway Bundler.
DATE: Wednesday, 2/7/18
TIME: 7 PM – 8 PM
COST: FREE

To register, click here.