Ken Davenport - Opinions from a Broadway Producer

Free Panel Discussion on Festival Producing

If Spring is in the air, then that means festival season is right around the corner.  What festivals, you ask?

Well, we've got NYMF, The Fringe, the Midtown Fringe, The AFO, and by the time I finish this blog, there will probably be about 8 more.

Why?  Because festivals are fun . . . and productive.

And also very tricky.

If you've ever considered producing at the festival level, you should head to the Snapple Theater Center this Sunday for a FREE panel discussion sponsored by the lovely folks at The Off Broadway Alliance.  

The day will begin with coffee, bagels (and networking, duh) at 11:30 and then at noon, three experts in festival writing and producing will take the Snapple stage . . . Hunter Bell (writer of SILENCE!, [title of show], Now. Here.  This.), Elena K. Holy (Head Honcho at The Fringe), Isaac Robert Hurwitz ('Da Man at NYMF) and Michael Wolk (The Big Guy at The All for One Festival).

For more details and to RSVP, click here.

I just wish they had this panel when I was prepping Altar Boyz for the NYMF.

 

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How to tell if you're going to sell out this weekend.

Ooooh, here's a fun tip that I started using months ago that has already started paying dividends.  

Broadway and Off-Broadway shows are fully engaged in the variable pricing war.  We used to employ the "set it and forget it" philosophy of our full price sales.  Then, of course, we decimate those prices in the discount market.

Now, we've gone all airline industry on our consumers, and have started adjusting our full price sales depending upon demand.

But when do you know if you've got that demand?

Here's the trick about variable pricing . . . the sooner you know that a show is going to be "hot", the better you're going to do, right?  Raising the prices one day before your show certainly would not be as beneficial to your bottom line as raising the prices one month before, as long as you were sure that show was going to sell out.  (BTW, this is also true about discounting - if you know a show is going to be soft a month out, you have more time to employ tactics to shore it up).

So how do you know if a show is going to sell out?  Especially in a market like NY's, where the week-of, day-of, hour-of, business is so dependent on street traffic and tourist traffic and the like.

There are a lot of factors you can use to help determine how you're going to do on a particular weekend.  The best thing you can do is use historical data (if your show or your theater has been operating for more than a year).  

But what if you don't have it?  

Here's my latest trick . . . and shhhh, let's just keep it between you, me, and the rest of blogoshphere.

What do I do?  I let other industries with a lot more money and a lot more data figure it out for me.

I'll call or go online to check hotel prices in the Times Square area over a month period.  On the days they are offering deals, I know we have trouble.  On the days where the rates get close to the rack or MORE, I know the hotel is expecting heavy demand . . . which most likely means heavy ticket demand.

Sometimes I'll cross reference this with other tourist cities.  A busy tourist time in NYC should also mean a busy tourist time in Las Vegas, DC, etc.   

Then I'll do the same with the airline industry.  See when they are offering deals, or when those deals are blacked out.  If you're paying $600 to fly from Chi-town to NYC, guess what . . . there are going to be some peeps in town that weekend.

You can't set your watch by these tips, of course, but they are just a little more information that will help you understand more about current consumer behavior.

And, as the NBC PSAs say . . . "the more you know."

 

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5 Questions from our Broadway Hotline

Remember the Broadway hotline we started up a few weeks ago?  No?  Well, click here to read all about it (and then make sure you subscribe to the blog by chucking your email address into the box in the upper left hand corner of this page so you don't miss out!).

Well, the phone has been ringing.  

And people have been asking questions, of all different kinds.

And they learn about whatever subject they are wondering about.

But what's even better, is that we learn just what the heck people want to learn about.

Follow me?

If you're a Producer, a Writer, or even a Manager, you can learn a tremendous amount from the questions that your audience, readers or employees ask.  In fact, I used to have a rule when I was Company Managing shows - if more than two members of the company asked me the same question, then I wasn't doing my job in getting them the information they needed.  It didn't matter how crazy I thought the questions were . . . if more than two people wanted answers, then I needed to provide more information.  

This same theory can be applied to writing, producing or anything you do.

And that's one of the reasons we started the hotline in the first place, to see just what the heck people wanted to know about Broadway.

And I thought you'd like to know too . . .

So, I thought I'd share some of the questions we've gotten on our hotline with you.  I've also added my own comment so you can get an idea of what I learned from each phone call.

Here are 5 Questions we've gotten on the Broadway Hotline:

1.  What shows are playing tonight that are like Memphis?  

I learned two things from this. The word "tonight" stuck out to me that we need to provide more "day of" information to consumers, and the "like Memphis" told me that the Amazon.com-like "if you liked XX show, you'd also like YY show" could be very effective.

2.  Is it normal for a show that is not open yet to hold center orchestras seats as premium seats before the box office opens?

This customer wanted great seats, but didn't want to pay premium price, and also didn't want to pay service fees (note the box office open language).  Availability of great seats is an issue.

3.  What's the best way to get tickets to Evita?

A little digging on this question discovered that by "best", this person meant "best locations for the best price".  They were smart enough to find our hotline, surely they were smart enough to google "Evita tickets".  What they weren't smart enough to do was to discern what was best with all the brokers and discount sites out there.  Googling a show for tickets can be a bit like walking through a Turkish Bazaar.

4.  Why isn't Wicked at TKTS?

This person thought TKTS was a destination to get tickets for all, and that every show used the booth to sell ticket discounts.  I answered this call myself, actually, and the woman on the other end couldn't quite comprehend that all shows didn't automatically use TKTS.   I wondered - if Wicked was available for full price at the booth, would this woman have bought tickets?  Probably. 

5.  I know I just called, but . . .

We had a couple of repeaters, but this was my favorite. A woman called in looking for tickets to How to Succeed, Book of Mormon and Phantom.  We sent her to Telecharge.  Then she called back and asked how she could get discounted tickets.  Whether we like it or not, a huge percentage of today's consumer wants, no, feels like they deserve a discount . . . and if they don't get it, they almost feel like they are being cheated.  We need to increase the "value" (not the price) of buying a full price ticket so that they feel like they are getting a deal, but paying the price we need to keep our shows going for as long as possible . . . because isn't that our mission?

I love our hotline.  My staff loves our hotline.  Call sometime.  We'll talk to you about whatever it is you're wondering.  

And hopefully we'll both learn something at the same time.

 

 

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How to market your show with no money.

One of the top three questions I get in my inbox (along with "How do I raise money for my show?" and "Do you know a good shrink because if I'm producing a show I must be crazy?") is . . .

"How can I market my show with no money?"

I began my career working on the management staffs of big Broadway musicals that had big Broadway ad budgets . . . so imagine my shock and awe when I started producing Off Broadway shows on my own, and had little or no ad budget to speak of.

Well, I tell you what, never did I learn more about marketing and advertising than when I had no money to spend.  This is true about anything, of course . . . limit your resources, and put your keister on the line, and your survival instincts will take over.  You'll get very, very creative . . . or die (aka your show will close).  (Need an example - think about Molly Ringwald's dress in Pretty in Pink.)  

I'm proud to say that the first show I learned a lot of my tactics on (which I now apply to Broadway shows) is still running today, over 7.5 years later.  

Since so many of you ask this question, I thought it was time I shared these tactics with you, along with all the new ones we've picked up along with the way with my other shows, including Altar Boyz, 13, and Godspell . . . in the hopes that you can get your show off the ground and break that 7.5 year record.

We've designed a seminar to take you through all of our secret tips and tricks on how to market your show with no money (or for very little).  If you've got a show coming up, whether it's a showcase, a festival production, or even a big Broadway show and you just wanna shake it up, or even if you are just looking for a way to understand how to get the word out, this is the seminar for you.  In fact, take it and we guarantee we'll either save you the cost of your seminar on your next show, or we'll make that money for you in sales with one of our tips or tricks.

Some topics we'll discuss include:

• Free online opportunities that you may not know exist.
• How to find no risk, commission only opportunities
• Where to find the best bargains on promotional materials
• If you want to spend money, where do you spend it?
• Empowering your audience to be your sales team
• And more

The seminar will take place on:

Tuesday, March 20th
6:30 - 8:30 PM
My office
250 West 49th St.  #301

Because this is the first time we're presenting this requested seminar, we're offering it for a special price, that, once again, is guaranteed.  Save it or earn it, or you get your money back.

There are a very limited number of seats available, so click here for more info and to get your seat today.

 

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Got a question about Broadway? Then call the Hotline: 1-855-SEE-BWAY

I talk to lots of theatergoers: in focus groups, at the TKTS booth, in the lobby at Godspell, on the subway, on vacation, and everywhere in between.

It's become somewhat of a hobby.

What amazes me every time I talk to them is how much they don't know.  They're not "dumb", by any means.  It's just that there are a lot of myths, urban legends and just plain bad info about Broadway out there.  And since our industry doesn't have megabucks to spend on public service announcements (or rather, the people with the megabucks won't spend it on public service announcements), a lot of this bad information gets spread instead of getting stomped out.

What also amazes me is how fascinated theatergoers are with talking to someone like me who does know what shows are running, who is starring in what show, how to get the best tickets, what time the TKTS booth actually opens, if Hugh Jackman is as good looking as he is on TV,  and so on.  

After disseminating whatever info I have, I also usually direct them to a website or two.

And here's where it really gets interesting (but not that surprising).

That's when they usually complain about the websites, and the lack of easy-to-find info, the navigation, the ads, etc., etc., and they usually say something like, "Sometimes I just want to talk to a person."

You know the feeling, right?  Ever have a problem with a computer?  An airline ticket?  Something outside of your everyday world . . . and all that you want to do is get a person on the phone who can give you the answer to your question, or steer you in the right direction?

Wouldn't that make your whole process more positive?  Maybe it would even make you want to do more of it?

Well, that's exactly what I thought . . . so then I wondered . . . why doesn't Broadway have a hotline?  Why doesn't it have a toll free number that people can just call to find out stuff?  Ivory Soap has one.  Coke has one.

And now Broadway has one too!

Introducing 1-855-SEE-BWAY, the first ever free Broadway hotline.  

Yep, we created 1-855-SEE-BWAY (733-2929) to help answer your questions about Broadway.

It's staffed by a bunch of the nicest Broadway theater lovers you could ever imagine (they also happen to be my staff, in a very Zappos-inspired "we all answer the phone including the boss" structure), and we guarantee we'll get you the answer to whatever question you have about Broadway theatergoing.  

Need to know what's playing?  Need to know at what times?  Price of tickets?  Suitability for kids?  Location?  Parking?  Restaurants nearby?  Sure, we got that.  And if we don't, we'll get it for you.  Promise on our autographed original cast recording of Company.  

Oh, and before you ask . . . no, we're not selling anything.  This isn't about us trying to make any money.  This is about a service that should exist.  And needs to exist if we're going to grow our audience (just like Zappos increased theirs).  

So starting today, the Broadway Hotline is open for biz.  Call it yourself, or give it to your friends, or write it on a bathroom wall for all I care.

Everyone on my team loves talking theater, so we're just taking turns trying to help theatergoers see more theater.

And when people see more theater, everyone wins.

1-855-SEE-BWAY.

 

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10 Takeaways from TEDxBroadway

What a day.

Damian, Jim and I had high expectations for the first ever TEDxBroadway, but we were blown away by the presentations given by our big-brained speakers.  It was an exciting and inspiring day and all of us were so thankful to each and every presenter, and especially to each and every audience member who gave up a day's worth of work and $100 to focus on what Broadway could be in twenty years.

The talks will be online in the near (or so) future, so if you're not a New Yorker, then you'll be able to catch them all in their entirety.  

But in the meantime, I thought I'd give you one quote from each of the 16 speakers' presentations that I found memorable/insightful/funny.  And let me tell you, distilling it down to just one was haaaaaaard.

Here goes.

1.  Jordan Roth - "No one sets out to create something unremarkable."

2.  Randy Weiner - "Different is my favorite word."

3.  Neil Patrick Harris - "I find that the more I drink the more I enjoy the show."

4.  Patricia Martin - "We are poised for another renaissance."

5.  Joe Iconis - "I've never actually seen a Powerpoint presentation."

6.  Matt Sax - "I hate to say this, but Broadway is looking a lot like Vegas."

7.  Frank Eliason - "Customer service is about a simple human connection. We've lost that connection in business." 

8.  Kara Larson - "Create the future and let other people adapt to you."

9.  Steve Gullans - "The opinion of 1000 people is better than the opinion of 1."

10.  Damian Bazadona - "Think of Broadway as an idea factory."

11.  Barry Kahn - "What if all Broadway theatres worked out of the same box office?"

12.  Vincent Gassetto - "Schools + Broadway = Infinite Possibilities"

13.  Juan Enriquez - "You would be doing a disservice to the theatre to ignore today's medical questions."

14.  Joseph Craig - "Do not ignore the male audience for Broadway."

15.  Greg Mosher - "You can't Google a broken heart. That's what we need Shakespeare for."

. . . and finally, in my "prologue", I ended by saying . . .

16.  Ken Davenport - "People create ideas, and ideas create the future."

And I am so thankful for all of the people and their ideas that are what made the first ever TEDxBroadway a success.  

I am going to make a prediction now about our future.  You ready?

There will be a TEDxBroadway next year.  

 

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My best advice for people who want to start producing.

I was recently asked to provide a quote for a new book about people interested in pursuing a career in the arts, and specifically producing.  The author wanted a pearl for wannabe producers on how to get started in this biz, where $10mm is now a small Broadway musical, and so many shows seem to be about which Hollywood stars you know and can get to hang out with you for 14 weeks.

I typed out a quick quote, and then realized that I've never addressed it on my blog, so I wanted to share it with you as well, since I know so many of you are upcoming and/or currently producing at all sorts of levels around the world.

So here's my attempt at a nugget:

My advice for people just starting out is to . . . start.  Producing sounds like a big, fat, scary word.  But producing really just means getting a group of people together and getting a show on.  Maybe that's Broadway, maybe that's Off-Broadway, or maybe that's in your living room.  It doesn't take millions of dollars to produce something.  Produce whatever you can produce.  But produce it today.

So now that I've given you my talking point of the day, take a moment, all you Producers-to-be, decide what it is you want to start producing today, and comment about it below.  Putting it down publicly, and on this blog, will help you commit to getting it done. 

And before you can even help it, you'll be a Producer.

(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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Favorite Quotes Vol. XXX: How risk in real estate is related to us.

I was chatting with a very unqiuely intelligent two graduate-degreed guy today.  The degrees?  An MBA and an MD.  Yep, a Doctor who could tell you how to live an extra ten years, and then tell you how much those ten years will cost you.

He told me a story about his first class in Biz School, which focused on investing in real estate, whether that meant your own home, or something you were looking to flip.  He said one of the very first things the Prof. said was . . .

If you're not sweating just a little bit each month to make your mortgage payment, you didn't risk enough when you made your purchase.

This quote hit 'home' for me, because when I bought my apartment 15 years ago, I could have had a much bigger place for just a bit more.  I could have made it work, but it would have been a little tougher to make the payments, and I didn't want to risk it.  Well, 15 years later, that other apartment increased in value a lot more than my current apartment.  But I wanted to play it safe, and live comfortably, rather than challenge myself just a bit.  

And I lost out because of it.

It's a great real estate lesson . . . but isn't this quote also true about in everything in life?

If you want to do big things, whether that's write a musical, produce a play, make money in the stock market, or heck, even have a wonderful marriage and family  . . . do you think you're going to get it without a little bit of sweat on your brow every once in a while?  You think you can achieve your dream without that little nauseous knot in your stomach every so often  . . . you know, the one that scares the crap out of you . . .  but also makes you work a little harder to make sure you do get what you want?

Everyone gets scared.  And everyone sweats.

What that Biz Professor was saying, and what I am repeating, is that if you're not sweating, that's when you should really be scared.  

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Advice from an Expert: Vol. XVII. My Mother The Theatergoer.

There's always a lot of talk about the Tonys in the weeks that follow the big show.  What numbers were successful?  Could we give the plays more attention and still hold the audience's attention?  And who fit Katie Holmes into her dress?

But the most important question for the Producers out there is . . . after watching the Tonys, what shows does the public want to see?

All of us in the industry debate this question like crazy.  But what do we know?  Most of us don't have a clue what it's like to be a family of four from the suburbs interested in seeing a show on their next long weekend.  In fact, I would wager that the people making the product in our industry and the people seeing the product are more different than in most industries out there.

But that doesn't stop us from guessing.  

I was in the middle of a heated discussion about my own guesses on what the public wanted to see last week, when I realized it was time to go to the source.  I decided to go to what most advertising agencies would describe as the model of a "traditional" theatergoer:  a suburban female in her 50s-60s who sees 3-5 shows per year, mostly musicals, and pays full price.

And that theatergoer is my momma.  And she's literally been in my backyard this whole time!

I called Mom, who, of course, had tuned in to the Tonys, and asked her if she would write a mini-blog for me about her perspective on this year's show.  Most specifically, I asked . . . "Mom, after watching the Tonys, what shows do you want to see the next time you are in town?"  

Here's what Mom had to say . . . [my comments are in brackets]
 

"I watched the Tony Awards a few nights ago.  I love the excitement, costumes, music - even the speeches.  I often get ideas about what I'd like to see on our next NYC trip.  Before I tell you what shows captured my attention from the way they were presented at The Tonys, I thought you might find it interesting to get a few additional details about my perspective (and some of these Kenneth doesn't even know).  [Yes, she, and about three other people on the planet, call me Kenneth.]

• My first theater experience was 50 years ago when I saw Annie Get Your Gun.  When the stage curtain opened, revealing a real live horse . . . I was hooked!  [When people see things on stage that they don't expect to see: kids, animals, helicopters, it elevates the experience.]
• As a teenager, I was addicted to buying show albums, and also listening to show songs popularized by famous artists.  I loved those album covers and the summaries of the shows on the back (King and I, Mame, etc.)  [Oh, if only popular artists were covering our tunes today.]
• I was a teen in the '60s, which put me in the proper emotional state to grasp the power of music.  It brought people together, challenged their thinking and even caused them to take action (Hair, West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar).  

And now, here are the shows that I wanted to see and the ones that didn't interest me (there were many other shows that I had no opinion on - I'd have to learn more before putting them in the "to see" or "don't see" category).  It's important to remember that this is based solely on what I saw on the Tonys.  I might not see any of these shows, or I might see them all.  A lot of things may change my mind before I get to New York next, including what Kenneth thinks I might like to see or not.  [Good ol' fashioned Word of Mouth trumps all, and I can't believe she called me Kenneth twice in this blog.]  

SHOWS I REALLY WANT TO SEE!

Memphis:  The music and the dancing were so exciting, this is at the top of my list.  (I have to admit that 'Listen to the Beat' sounded like Hairspray's 'You Can't Stop The Beat.' but I loved the music and the dancing in that show, too!)  [Music, dancing . . . the keys to an audience-pleaser of a musical.]

Fela!:  I love the costumes, the music and the dancing.  The story (about using music to communicate) also seemed very interesting to me.  [See her comment about growing up in the '60s.  What our audience lived through helped make them who they are today and influences what they want to see.]

Million Dollar Quartet:  Loved the music and the story idea and Levi Kreis's performance.  

Red:  I really liked the premise about the importance of art and what I saw of both Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne.  [Mom was disappointed to hear she wouldn't get a chance to see this show because of its limited run.  I told her if she was disappointed, imagine how the Producers must feel.]

NAH, I'LL PASS

American Idiot:  To me, it seemed like a concert, and not a show.  I've heard about Green Day because my other son is in the music business, but I've never listened to any of their music before.  The music was interesting to me, but I'm not going to play it in my car anytime soon. 

A Little Night Music:  I don't know this show very well, so I can only base my thoughts on what I saw, but I wasn't inspired.  I love 'Send In The Clowns,' but I didn't learn anything else about the show through the performance."
 

So there are Mom's Tony Award Takeaways.

Now please remember, this is only one Mom's opinion. And the opinions expressed here by my Mom are solely my Mom's and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Moms everywhere or even me.

But she's a Mom with a Mastercard, and she uses it to buy tickets.  So maybe we should listen to all of the Moms out there more than we listen to those of us on the inside of the business.

So . . . what did your Mom think?

[Update:  My mom came into the city this weekend unexpectedly.  Although she wanted to see Memphis, she ended up getting Chicago tickets instead (and special thanks to Michael at the Ambassador BO for helping her out).  Why?  "I thought your step-father would enjoy it more."]

Advice from an Expert: Vol. XVI. My Mom.

I spoke to a recent college grad the other day who was debating the question that we're all faced with as we start our professional lives:  "What do I want to do with my life?"

I remember asking myself the same question when I was a few years out of school, because I was bouncing around from job to job and just didn't feel like I found my niche.  I acted, I stage managed, I worked for an agent . . . nothing seemed to fit.

So, I did what recent college grads do.  I called Mommy.

I told Momma Davenport that I was thinking of quitting my job because it didn't feel right.  Then I started feeling guilty for having tried so many things, and asked her when she thought I'd figure out what I wanted to do?

Mom said, "Hey, think of it this way.  With every job you have, you may not be figuring out what you want to do, but at least you're figuring out what you don't want to do."

She was right.  And to use an analogy that my instructor for my Princeton Review SAT course would be proud of . . .

Life is like the SATs.  If you don't the answer right away, eliminate the wrong ones, and the choice will be easier.

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The 2nd Annual Producers Perspective Social is TONIGHT, and it's SOLD OUT!

Free drink!  Door prizes include show tickets, merch, a 6-month subscription to PerformerTrack Webware, and a Kindle!

Click here for details.(please note, due to overwhelming demand the Social will now at be Hurley's Saloon)