So the deal is done! Check out the article in Playbill. Question still is, was it worth it? For both sides? The silence is still deadly as to what the particulars are but let's hope it all makes sense for the industry as a whole!
Get those speed throughs done today and BREAK A LEG!
dreampeddler
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Back from Thanksgiving; Writers and Local One Still Striking
Hope all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I was able to spend some time with my girlfriend and her Mom and was truly thankful for that.
Day 19 of the Local One strike and everyone seems optimistic about a resolution today. The Writers strike also seems to be winding its way to a finish. Here's hoping they get it done as soon as possible and certainly before the Christmas break.
Am working on another interview with a director trying to get a new multimedia show up in New York. Should have it up in the next day or two.
Stay tuned...
dreampeddler
Day 19 of the Local One strike and everyone seems optimistic about a resolution today. The Writers strike also seems to be winding its way to a finish. Here's hoping they get it done as soon as possible and certainly before the Christmas break.
Am working on another interview with a director trying to get a new multimedia show up in New York. Should have it up in the next day or two.
Stay tuned...
dreampeddler
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Local One IATSE Strike vs. the Writers Guild Strike
Is it just me that has noticed a huge difference in the current entertainment industry strikes? The Writers Guild membership has clearly laid out their demands for all the public to see. No matter what the PR spin is, the writers are clearly stating they want more residuals on DVD sales and to negotiate a decent royalty rate on new media (see my earlier post to watch their video on youtube). They have put their proposal out in the open to be seen by the public. From what I can tell, the writers have presented a pretty good case and the public is supporting them because of their outreach. It is pretty hard to think that asking for an additional 4 cents per DVD sale is unheard of or selfish, or that the writers should share in new media use of their work.
However, with Local One IATSE, I just don't know what they are fighting for. They have remained quiet in getting their cause out there so the public cannot get behind them. All they will say is that management is trying to reduce their jobs and wages by 38%. See their site for their quote. If indeed this is the case, why are they not getting that message out there? How is management trying to reduce their wages and jobs? Without the specifics, all I can think of is how IATSE once had a rule that management had to hire one stage hand to raise and lower the curtain. That person could not do any other job. Without specifics, I can only think that management is trying to curtail other types of required quotas to fill positions that perhaps are not necessary or can indeed be combined with other positions. Hey, if you are going to make accusations that your membership is trying to save their house not the second or third house that the producers have, then you better back that up. I have been a producer, and I don't own even one house. Come on, IATSE, let us know what you are fighting for, and then we can decide for ourselves if we should rightfully come to your aid!
dreampeddler
However, with Local One IATSE, I just don't know what they are fighting for. They have remained quiet in getting their cause out there so the public cannot get behind them. All they will say is that management is trying to reduce their jobs and wages by 38%. See their site for their quote. If indeed this is the case, why are they not getting that message out there? How is management trying to reduce their wages and jobs? Without the specifics, all I can think of is how IATSE once had a rule that management had to hire one stage hand to raise and lower the curtain. That person could not do any other job. Without specifics, I can only think that management is trying to curtail other types of required quotas to fill positions that perhaps are not necessary or can indeed be combined with other positions. Hey, if you are going to make accusations that your membership is trying to save their house not the second or third house that the producers have, then you better back that up. I have been a producer, and I don't own even one house. Come on, IATSE, let us know what you are fighting for, and then we can decide for ourselves if we should rightfully come to your aid!
dreampeddler
Friday, November 16, 2007
Interview with Ed Dixon, Old Max in How the Grinch Stole Christmas on Broadway
Part of any writer/producer's job is to continually develop relationships with other writers, actors and producers. In that vein, I just did a quick interview with one of my dearest and most talented actor/writer friends, Ed Dixon. We talked about his playing a dog in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the IATSE strike, Stephen Sondheim, Les Miz and The Iceman Cometh.
Dreampeddler: How do you like playing a dog?
ED DIXON: I liked the role of Max the moment I read it. Even before I was hired, when I started working on it, I felt like I knew who he was. Then as the process went on and it got more and more layers, it became even more enjoyable. I started with him as a man. There is some allusion in the script to the fact that he resembles Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) then as I rehearsed, I allowed him to slowly take on small doggie characteristics, so that it wasn't just a parody. They asked me to bark early on in the process, and I declined since I just wasn't there. Later on it seemed right to bark a couple of times. By the time I got into the costume and makeup, I found that he was very much more a dog than Dr. Seuss. This surprised me. It wasn't my original inclination. He's also an old dog. So that greatly impacts his walk and speech and mannerisms. This also came on slowly in the process. By opening night he really was a dog.
Dreampeddler: Did you enjoy the rehearsal process? I believe you mentioned that the creators of the show are still tweaking and fixing the show even though it has had multiple runs.
ED DIXON: I found the rehearsal process very difficult. I like to work very fast and do a lot of homework. But the fact that the show is double cast with children meant that everything had to be done at least twice, first with one group of children and then with the other. My process takes a long time, but I like to do the individual parts of it very quickly. That was not the case here. This version of the show is radically different from last year's. I had actually memorized last year's script before we started rehearsals. They had assured me it wasn't going to change that much. Wrong! It was very difficult to relearn the script, but I had to admit from the beginning that it was a big improvement. And I got to introduce a new song, "this time of year" which I like very much. And I reprise it at the end which is very moving. There's also a big production number for the entire company in the middle of the show which is terrific. I'm very, very pleased with the new version and so are the creatives. And apparently the critics are happy with it as well.
Dreampeddler: How has the strike affected the show?
ED DIXON: Well, the most obvious way is that we're not doing it. What a crazy thing to open a show with all that adrenaline and excitement and then find out before the curtain call that we wouldn't be performing the next day. On the positive side, we'd just finished two weeks of twelve hour days with no day off and the pressure of the critics and we were scheduled to do four performances the next day and three the day after that. So stopping for a minute wasn't the worst thing that could happen to a person. But after those two days of rest I was really ready to get back on the horse. Now after all these days, it's just painful. I don't think any of us believed it would last this long... Since no strike in Broadway history had ever gone beyond four days.
Dreampeddler: Although you haven't had a full week of slated shows yet, how do you think you'll handle the stamina for so many shows in a week? Can you compare that to the other marathon shows you have been in like Les Miz and the Iceman Cometh?
ED DIXON: Well, we actually had done eleven or twelve shows before we opened due to the heavy weekend schedule. So I’d already done one of those "four on Saturday, three on Sunday" weekends. Let me tell you, the third one on Saturday was really hard. It gets difficult to remember if you've already done a scene or if you're about to do it. I don't think I’ve ever even rehearsed a show four times in one day. And after three on Saturday, the prospect of doing another one and then three the next day seemed impossible. But then after getting over that hump, it got surprisingly easy. I got a second wind and the easiest of all was the last one on Sunday. That surprised the hell out of me. Grinch is short, so doing it twice is actually less time than doing one les miz... And Lord knows I did hundreds of two show days at Les Miz. And as for Iceman Cometh, at five or five and a half hours... And yes, we did do two show days of that... Four Grinches is a walk in the park.
Dreampeddler: Are you working on anything else while doing the show?
ED DIXON: A company in New Jersey is making plans to film my screenplay of the Ravenwood Horror. It's an adaptation of my play Murder at the Apthorp. Have just written some background music for it. A haunting and dissonant piano score. Eric Schaeffer has been talking to me about mounting my two person play, Scenery, at his Signature Theater in DC. I'm working on a new play about a Werner Oland type character in old Hollywood who's become famous for doing a Charlie Chan type character... And of course, he's not Asian. It's called Chu Chu Chow and is about the cockamamie relationship between the racially insensitive protagonist and his Asian houseboy. Am also busy preparing my new musical based on Faye Weldon’s book, She-Devil. Have just completed a demo with some really great New York talent and we're looking for a workshop opportunity. I'm working on it with Warren Carlyle the fantastic choreographer/director who secured the rights to the book and asked me to write it.
Dreampeddler: What’s next up for you?
ED DIXON: After Grinch I’m going immediately into Sunday in the park with George with the Roundabout Theater Company. Actually the two jobs overlap by a couple of weeks. When the opportunity first presented itself to me I thought, "How on earth will I do fourteen or fifteen shows a week of Grinch while rehearsing Sunday?" but now I’ve had this little rest period provided by IATSE Local One and I’m not so apprehensive. I've always wanted to do a show in New York with Mr. Sondheim and I’m very happy to have the opportunity. When I arrived in New York forty years ago my dream was to work with Leonard Bernstein, and sure enough, I got to open the Kennedy Center with him in his Mass and make the recording (which he conducted) for Columbia Records. Nice to have dreams come true.
Thanks, Ed! You're the best. Look for more musicals and plays from this incredibly talented and driven writer.
dreampeddler
Dreampeddler: How do you like playing a dog?
ED DIXON: I liked the role of Max the moment I read it. Even before I was hired, when I started working on it, I felt like I knew who he was. Then as the process went on and it got more and more layers, it became even more enjoyable. I started with him as a man. There is some allusion in the script to the fact that he resembles Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) then as I rehearsed, I allowed him to slowly take on small doggie characteristics, so that it wasn't just a parody. They asked me to bark early on in the process, and I declined since I just wasn't there. Later on it seemed right to bark a couple of times. By the time I got into the costume and makeup, I found that he was very much more a dog than Dr. Seuss. This surprised me. It wasn't my original inclination. He's also an old dog. So that greatly impacts his walk and speech and mannerisms. This also came on slowly in the process. By opening night he really was a dog.
Dreampeddler: Did you enjoy the rehearsal process? I believe you mentioned that the creators of the show are still tweaking and fixing the show even though it has had multiple runs.
ED DIXON: I found the rehearsal process very difficult. I like to work very fast and do a lot of homework. But the fact that the show is double cast with children meant that everything had to be done at least twice, first with one group of children and then with the other. My process takes a long time, but I like to do the individual parts of it very quickly. That was not the case here. This version of the show is radically different from last year's. I had actually memorized last year's script before we started rehearsals. They had assured me it wasn't going to change that much. Wrong! It was very difficult to relearn the script, but I had to admit from the beginning that it was a big improvement. And I got to introduce a new song, "this time of year" which I like very much. And I reprise it at the end which is very moving. There's also a big production number for the entire company in the middle of the show which is terrific. I'm very, very pleased with the new version and so are the creatives. And apparently the critics are happy with it as well.
Dreampeddler: How has the strike affected the show?
ED DIXON: Well, the most obvious way is that we're not doing it. What a crazy thing to open a show with all that adrenaline and excitement and then find out before the curtain call that we wouldn't be performing the next day. On the positive side, we'd just finished two weeks of twelve hour days with no day off and the pressure of the critics and we were scheduled to do four performances the next day and three the day after that. So stopping for a minute wasn't the worst thing that could happen to a person. But after those two days of rest I was really ready to get back on the horse. Now after all these days, it's just painful. I don't think any of us believed it would last this long... Since no strike in Broadway history had ever gone beyond four days.
Dreampeddler: Although you haven't had a full week of slated shows yet, how do you think you'll handle the stamina for so many shows in a week? Can you compare that to the other marathon shows you have been in like Les Miz and the Iceman Cometh?
ED DIXON: Well, we actually had done eleven or twelve shows before we opened due to the heavy weekend schedule. So I’d already done one of those "four on Saturday, three on Sunday" weekends. Let me tell you, the third one on Saturday was really hard. It gets difficult to remember if you've already done a scene or if you're about to do it. I don't think I’ve ever even rehearsed a show four times in one day. And after three on Saturday, the prospect of doing another one and then three the next day seemed impossible. But then after getting over that hump, it got surprisingly easy. I got a second wind and the easiest of all was the last one on Sunday. That surprised the hell out of me. Grinch is short, so doing it twice is actually less time than doing one les miz... And Lord knows I did hundreds of two show days at Les Miz. And as for Iceman Cometh, at five or five and a half hours... And yes, we did do two show days of that... Four Grinches is a walk in the park.
Dreampeddler: Are you working on anything else while doing the show?
ED DIXON: A company in New Jersey is making plans to film my screenplay of the Ravenwood Horror. It's an adaptation of my play Murder at the Apthorp. Have just written some background music for it. A haunting and dissonant piano score. Eric Schaeffer has been talking to me about mounting my two person play, Scenery, at his Signature Theater in DC. I'm working on a new play about a Werner Oland type character in old Hollywood who's become famous for doing a Charlie Chan type character... And of course, he's not Asian. It's called Chu Chu Chow and is about the cockamamie relationship between the racially insensitive protagonist and his Asian houseboy. Am also busy preparing my new musical based on Faye Weldon’s book, She-Devil. Have just completed a demo with some really great New York talent and we're looking for a workshop opportunity. I'm working on it with Warren Carlyle the fantastic choreographer/director who secured the rights to the book and asked me to write it.
Dreampeddler: What’s next up for you?
ED DIXON: After Grinch I’m going immediately into Sunday in the park with George with the Roundabout Theater Company. Actually the two jobs overlap by a couple of weeks. When the opportunity first presented itself to me I thought, "How on earth will I do fourteen or fifteen shows a week of Grinch while rehearsing Sunday?" but now I’ve had this little rest period provided by IATSE Local One and I’m not so apprehensive. I've always wanted to do a show in New York with Mr. Sondheim and I’m very happy to have the opportunity. When I arrived in New York forty years ago my dream was to work with Leonard Bernstein, and sure enough, I got to open the Kennedy Center with him in his Mass and make the recording (which he conducted) for Columbia Records. Nice to have dreams come true.
Thanks, Ed! You're the best. Look for more musicals and plays from this incredibly talented and driven writer.
dreampeddler
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Los Angeles Ovation Awards Winners, Groovelily, Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda
A huge congratulations go out to my friends in Groovelily, Valerie Vigoda and Brendan Milburn. Their latest show, Sleeping Beauty Wakes, won the Ovation Award for World Premiere Musical and Brendan received the Ovation Award for Musical Direction.
These guys are truly the top maestros with piano and violin that I know - and they're smart. Their lyrics bear repeated listening and the hooks in their songs are infectious but sophisticated - not like your typical pop song that bounces around in your head for a week or two but then sickens you after too much exposure!
Their first musical that got them noticed at the NAMT festival was Striking Twelve, which had its off-Broadway premier last year. It is another smart, funny and touching show dynamically played out and performed by Valerie, Brendan and Gene Lewin (the third member of Groovelily). They are touring Striking Twelve for the holidays so check out their site to see if they will be near you. I'll watch them count down to midnight on New Year's Eve myself with Stephanie Fredricks and her mom, Judith. They'll be at the Zipper in NYC for that show.
dreampeddler
These guys are truly the top maestros with piano and violin that I know - and they're smart. Their lyrics bear repeated listening and the hooks in their songs are infectious but sophisticated - not like your typical pop song that bounces around in your head for a week or two but then sickens you after too much exposure!
Their first musical that got them noticed at the NAMT festival was Striking Twelve, which had its off-Broadway premier last year. It is another smart, funny and touching show dynamically played out and performed by Valerie, Brendan and Gene Lewin (the third member of Groovelily). They are touring Striking Twelve for the holidays so check out their site to see if they will be near you. I'll watch them count down to midnight on New Year's Eve myself with Stephanie Fredricks and her mom, Judith. They'll be at the Zipper in NYC for that show.
dreampeddler
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Writers Boot Camp - The battle to write and/or find screenplays
So last night was my first night of Boot Camp. No, I am not in a weird time warp taking me back to my days in the 82nd Airborne Division, but Writer's Boot Camp.
One of the things that can be most difficult for a producer is to find material. There are plenty of wannabe writers out there as screenplays have become to generations X and Y what the great American novel was to the generations before us. And most of the screenplays out there are not exceptional. I know, cause I've written a few of 'em. However, if you've really got a great germ of an idea, where can you go to develop it yourself? Well a friend of mine recommended the Boot Camp.
I was intrigued. Basically, they offer a 6 week course on screenwriting that meets once a week. During those 6 weeks, you are to work at least 10 hours a week with the exercises they give you on your screenplay. These exercises are applicable to any screenplay and are intended to help brainstorm and provide a structure for your screenplay. Once the course ends, you have about 2 weeks to finish writing your draft of a screenplay and then turn it in to your instructor.
Well after my first class last night, I am even more intrigued. What I found most exciting is the exercises themselves. When a writer faces the blank page, it can be very intimidating. After you have sharpened your pencils, made a pot of coffee, cleaned the kitchen, basically everything you can do to procrastinate and avoid writing - but once you finally do show up to the page, what are you supposed to do? These exercises provide that what, and I'm going to dive right in. And best of all, these exercises will hopefully help me to make some of those less than exceptional screenplays in my desk drawer, a bit more shinny and new!
I'll keep you all posted.
dreampeddler
One of the things that can be most difficult for a producer is to find material. There are plenty of wannabe writers out there as screenplays have become to generations X and Y what the great American novel was to the generations before us. And most of the screenplays out there are not exceptional. I know, cause I've written a few of 'em. However, if you've really got a great germ of an idea, where can you go to develop it yourself? Well a friend of mine recommended the Boot Camp.
I was intrigued. Basically, they offer a 6 week course on screenwriting that meets once a week. During those 6 weeks, you are to work at least 10 hours a week with the exercises they give you on your screenplay. These exercises are applicable to any screenplay and are intended to help brainstorm and provide a structure for your screenplay. Once the course ends, you have about 2 weeks to finish writing your draft of a screenplay and then turn it in to your instructor.
Well after my first class last night, I am even more intrigued. What I found most exciting is the exercises themselves. When a writer faces the blank page, it can be very intimidating. After you have sharpened your pencils, made a pot of coffee, cleaned the kitchen, basically everything you can do to procrastinate and avoid writing - but once you finally do show up to the page, what are you supposed to do? These exercises provide that what, and I'm going to dive right in. And best of all, these exercises will hopefully help me to make some of those less than exceptional screenplays in my desk drawer, a bit more shinny and new!
I'll keep you all posted.
dreampeddler
Monday, November 12, 2007
Strike 2.0, Now the Theatrical Stage Employees Union Local One and the League of American Theatres Battle it Out
So now we go into labor strikes with Local One and the League. Check out the link to Broadwayworld.com to get the summary but here is my take as an independent producer.
It seems one show a year gets to move from off-Broadway to Broadway. It seemed to be the model over the past five years to raise a smaller amount of money to get your show/musical up off-Broadway and then see if you get the kind of reviews that would merit investors/producers to move your show the Big Time, i.e. Rent, Urinetown, Spelling Bee, and most recently, Grey Gardens. I certainly tried to use that model with Fanny Hill, but although we got very good reviews, we were unable to get enough buzz going to move.
That being said, I believe the model of mounting your show off-Broadway is falling out of favor. Reason being: even that is too expensive! You simply cannot make a business case for spending up to 1 million bucks to mount a decent production off-Broadway just to roll the dice... unless you have some very rich friends or an Angel investor.
So what can you do? Well if you've got a musical, you need to submit it to the New York Music Theater Festival. This festival is basically the "Sundance Festival" for new musical works. If you are selected to participate in this festival, they will work with you in mounting a full-scale production over 6 to 8 performances over three weeks that will run in rep with over 30 shows. There is no other festival out there that has had the type of success they have had for a fraction of the cost of mounting a reading/performance yourself.
What makes them work is simply this, collaboration and sharing resources. Instead of 30 shows all trying to pay for 30 different theaters, advertising, lighting, etc., they have put in place a system in which everyone shares these costs. Basically they "shine a spotlight" and give great exposure to all the shows in the festival that each one would have great difficultly doing by themselves.
I produced Richard Cory there in 2005 and got great exposure for the show. Cory won an award for best musical and best actress. I'll post about that at another time.
Click here to submit.
By dreampeddler
It seems one show a year gets to move from off-Broadway to Broadway. It seemed to be the model over the past five years to raise a smaller amount of money to get your show/musical up off-Broadway and then see if you get the kind of reviews that would merit investors/producers to move your show the Big Time, i.e. Rent, Urinetown, Spelling Bee, and most recently, Grey Gardens. I certainly tried to use that model with Fanny Hill, but although we got very good reviews, we were unable to get enough buzz going to move.
That being said, I believe the model of mounting your show off-Broadway is falling out of favor. Reason being: even that is too expensive! You simply cannot make a business case for spending up to 1 million bucks to mount a decent production off-Broadway just to roll the dice... unless you have some very rich friends or an Angel investor.
So what can you do? Well if you've got a musical, you need to submit it to the New York Music Theater Festival. This festival is basically the "Sundance Festival" for new musical works. If you are selected to participate in this festival, they will work with you in mounting a full-scale production over 6 to 8 performances over three weeks that will run in rep with over 30 shows. There is no other festival out there that has had the type of success they have had for a fraction of the cost of mounting a reading/performance yourself.
What makes them work is simply this, collaboration and sharing resources. Instead of 30 shows all trying to pay for 30 different theaters, advertising, lighting, etc., they have put in place a system in which everyone shares these costs. Basically they "shine a spotlight" and give great exposure to all the shows in the festival that each one would have great difficultly doing by themselves.
I produced Richard Cory there in 2005 and got great exposure for the show. Cory won an award for best musical and best actress. I'll post about that at another time.
Click here to submit.
By dreampeddler
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Writers Guild Strike, WGA's Demands
Here is an interesting clip on youtube explaining the writers' demands for the negotiations with the producers. As a writer and producer myself, it is a bit odd to think I would have to negotiate with myself. Many showrunners are caught in the same position. However, coming from a perfomer background, I certainly have a bais to the writers and think they present a very valid and reasonable argument for what they are negotiating for. Check it out.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Fanny Hill the Musical by Ed Dixon, Produced by Nick Cavarra
Check out the Fanny Hill website to see information on the show I produced at the York Theatre in New York. We opened on Valentine's Day 2005 and enjoyed a 6 week run. We received 2 Drama Desk Nominations and a Drama League Award. You can also check out Ed Dixon's webpage. He is the author and creator of the show and is currently appearing as Old Max in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
As a result of that run, a London producer who saw the show at the York, has decided to pursue a run of Fanny Hill over there. We also gained representation from Miracle or 2 Productions for stock and amature rights.
The first regional production will happen next year at Kalliope Stage in Cleveland. Hopefully, we will have a guest bogger do a daily journal of mounting the production.
by Dreampeddler
As a result of that run, a London producer who saw the show at the York, has decided to pursue a run of Fanny Hill over there. We also gained representation from Miracle or 2 Productions for stock and amature rights.
The first regional production will happen next year at Kalliope Stage in Cleveland. Hopefully, we will have a guest bogger do a daily journal of mounting the production.
by Dreampeddler
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