Comedy Duo Hopes Social Media Power Will Secure Slot on Showtime

This is a great article for artists looking to capitalize on social media to get their shows picked up. It is always a challenge but sometimes you just have to stop waiting and start doing!

http://mashable.com/2009/12/30/ronna-and-beverly/

PARADE at the Mark Taper

A very well done production of PARADE at the Mark Taper. J.R. Knight is terrific as Leo Frank and the supporting cast delivers as well.

This production makes you think and is a "serious" musical. It reminded me of a production of RICHARD CORY that I produced at NYMF back in 2005 - and the struggle to get something "serious" to be produced on a large scale. Even though we won the NYMF Best Musical Award and sold out our limited engagement we have been unable to give it a life it deserves on Broadway. Launching "serious" musicals can be very difficult for many reasons: 1) Not many folks in this economic climate want to spend $80-$150 bucks to be depressed; 2) No commercial producer wants to risk millions of dollars on a "serious" show that will not appeal to the younger market (the ones who ask their parents to buy them tickets over and over again, i.e. Wicked) 3) No not-for-profit theater has any money at all to risk right now - they are just trying to make payroll if they haven't already closed their doors. Just those reasons alone make me depressed and in need of an entertaining "forget your troubles" musical!

But thoughtful pieces must continue to be done, and we have to continue to find a way to make it happen. If this economic climate is indeed about to change, and I hope it is, perhaps we will all want to start "thinking" again - and not just get through the day whistling happy tunes to distract us through our 60 hour work week!

dreampeddler

ANITA BRYANT DIED FOR YOUR SINS - West Coast Ensemble

Was at the opening night of Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins at the West Coast Ensemble Theater. It was my favorite play I've seen this year, and probably the best play I've seen since August, Osage County. I simply can't recommend this show enough. It is pure joy - funny, touching, smart and did I say funny?

Written by Brian Christopher Williams, he takes you through the coming of age of Horace Poore from 1969 - 1977 in lightening speed while sprinkling in the backdrop of the nation's political upheaval of the time. His writing is funny, economical and smart. But by the time you reach the end of the play you are fully invested in the characters he has carefully developed and you can't help but root for them all.

The center of the action and the heart of this play is the character of Horace. It requires an actor of extraordinary talents to drive this show and Wyatt Fenner is more than up to the task. A fellow graduate of the University of Southern California BFA program he draws you in with his charm and disarms you with his ability to deliver a sophisticated barb disguised in naivete.

The rest of the cast is equally sharp and delivers a true ensemble performance. There really is not a misstep in any performance. A nod also goes out the the director, Richard Israel. The show moves so quickly through time that it requires a very sure hand at the helm. Mr. Israel keeps the pace moving and never lets the action get stuck or linger in caricature.

The show is scheduled to go through Oct. 4th, but go see it as soon as you can. It certainly bears repeated watching.

Dreampeddler

Light in the Piazza - El Portal

Saw an absolutely wonderful production of Light in the Piazza last night. Run and go see it if you can as they only have 4 more shows this weekend before it closes. Stephanie Wall as Clara is just terrific as the slightly off daughter. Her demeanor is just perfect for the challenge of portraying an emotionally underdeveloped girl in a woman's body. Mary Donnelly Haskel who plays the mother is also a terrific actress. You can see her heartfelt struggle to stop protecting her fragile daughter and let her go into the world of the unknown. Blake McIver Ewing is also very charming as Fabrizio and the rest of the cast delivers as well.

As I sat there watching, I kept thinking, just look at what talented performers can do with rich material. After seeing so many shows where the talent is on stage but the material is just not very good - it was refreshing to see such a wonderfully crafted show embodied by a talented cast. You simply could not help but get drawn into the storytelling. That is what great theatre is all about.

Link to buy tickets to the show is here. Use the code FACEBOOK for discounts.

Dreampeddler

Email Marketing - Do It

I have been doing quite a lot of email marketing for various theaters out here in LA - and it works. It is cheap (check out Constant Contact as one source) and it is direct to the folks who are interested in your theater. Let's face it, it is getting harder and harder to find sources for funding and the first thing in the budget that gets cut is advertising. Big mistake. You have to get the word out, you just have to be more creative in doing so.

There are more options out there in the social marketing arena (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.) but at the very least, get out those emails to your list. And if you don't have a list, start creating one now. Ask people to sign up after one of your shows or load up your personal contacts to get started. If you use Constant Contact, you can add a feature to your current website just to sign up for your email list - and they provide templates to start with that are easily adaptable to include your logo, colors and integrate great production shots of your shows.

If you don't have the time, hire someone to help. That's what we're here for.

The Apple Tree - Stephanie Fredricks

Hey everybody,

So Steph is getting incredible reviews out here in The Apple Tree. She is doing it at the Crown City Theatre in the Valley. They broke up the 3 act piece so that each act has its own director and leads. Steph stars in act 3 as Ella/Passionella. If you are out here in LA, definitely go see the show. Truly a lot of fun.

Check out her reveiews at:

Backstage

TolucanTimes

NoHoArtsDistrict

StageSceneLA

DonGrigware

To tweet or not to tweet - that is the question.

Okay, so I'm jumping on the Twitter bandwagon for 2 reasons. 1 - it seems kinda cool and you've got to stay with the communication times and 2 - if Twitter dies out, something like it will replace it. Let's face it, communication has been changed forever with this Internet thing. Heck, right now I'm posting this to my blogsite right from my blackberry while riding into the office where I'll check in on the redesign of my new project www.2MinutesWith.com which we are putting up using wordpress, an open source blogging software available for anyone to use for FREE. It's crazy out there just trying to keep up with it all. So my new goal is this - use my east coast mentality of jumping on mass transit to utilize the west coast problem of hours stuck in traffic to spend more time on the little screen to investigate all things digital. This is nuts. Gotta go get the iPhone so at least I can rock out while I break my thumbs!

Dreampedlr

No Way to Treat a Lady

Things have been quiet on the producing front for many producers out there. The economic climate is still pretty tight. However, every producer I'm talking to these days is open to partnerships and figuring out way to get things done. It hasn't always been this way. It used to be very difficult to get partnerships formed because everyone was trying to make the best deal or preserve their negotiating position. The dialogue now is much more open with most everyone sharing budget information and a real effort to make deals that help everyone involved. It is encouraging to see.

Off to see No Way to Treat a Lady at the Colony Theater in Burbank. I'll let you know how it is...

dreampeddler

Theater Blogger Social

So Ken Davenport is sponsoring the first Theater Bloggers Social in New York. Don't fret if you are not in NYC (which I am not as of this writing) as they are looking into ways of hooking up the social via a web portal. Date and time are:

1ST THEATER BLOGGERS SOCIAL
Thursday, April 23rd.
6 PM - 8 PM
Planet Hollywood
Broadway at 45th St.

For information on how to attend click here.

Frost/Nixon at the Ahmanson

Has been a little while since I've posted to the blog as I think everyone has been leery as to the economy and how that relates to theater. Many readers out there are aware of my production company Dreampeddler Productions and our mission to not just fund theater projects but to be profitable in doing so. One of the intended shows in our initial portfolio was WEST SIDE STORY. Well, if you check out the grosses for the show, it has been in the top 5 shows since it opened. Looks like it will be quite a money maker.

Bottom line is, right now the trend is big title, less perceived risk by the ticket buyer. Heck, even GUYS AND DOLLS is selling tickets and they did not do well with the critics. But - Big Title = Ticket Sales.

Now for Frost/Nixon. The show was very enjoyable at the Ahmanson - but Stacy Keach was amazing as Nixon. What was most intriguing was he had to act for stage AND film. The play works its way to the final scenes which take place on a TV set with a live feed of the video playing on a large projection screen while the actors perform the scene below it. This is quite a challenge because acting for the screen is different than acting for the stage. But somehow, Keach was able to reach the back row with his performance while maintaining a very "still" performance for the camera. It was fascinating to watch, and he was dead on.

President Obama Surrounded by Security and ARTISTS

We all watched it and I can only believe we have all been moved. The last line from my favorite movie, The Shawshank Redemption, echos in my mind, "I hope."

What struck me most though in his inauguration ceremony was not the wall to wall crowds of hopeful and inspired citizens, not the wall to wall security phalanxes and guards, not the back to back to back entrances or arguably the most powerful politicians in the world.

What struck me most was that for this most important and historic event, President Obama was surrounded by ARTISTS. Aretha Franklin (legendary singer), Itzhak Perlman (Violin), Yo-Yo Ma (Cello), Gabriela Montero (Piano), and Anthony McGill (Clarinet). All artists at the height of their careers and at the height of their abilities to express their talents. And again, "I hope."

"I hope" that we will understand the need for the support and expansion of the arts for our children and for our whole society. As we have seen on Wall Street, capitalism without oversight is ripe with corruption and creates a society that only focuses on profits and short term gains. We cannot continue to go down that road. We need education and discipline. And the arts represent that in so many ways. Just try to be an accomplished musician without discipline. Just try to write a play or musical without a keen respect for education.

In our capitalistic market and society, "I hope" to continue to find brave and forward thinking investors that are willing to take a chance on art. It is so important to have it in our society, the President was compelled to surrounded himself with experts at creating it.

dreampeddler

West Side Story Review in Variety

Well you don't get much better reviews than the one they published in VARIETY. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this show that holds a special place in my heart. I did a tour of this show a while back and it was an incredible experience. It was directed by one of the original cast members, Alan Johnson, and it was the first time a director demonstrated to a cast that every word, every dance step, every high note was written by the authors with a specific acting intention. This is not a show to use your own musical riffs (no pun intended), show off your own dancing style (stop popping the hip, Cassie), or improv your acting. It is all on the page so just don't screw it up. Who'd have thought that journey would actually be freeing as an actor? No worries about if you're "feeling" it or not, just do it! And when it is done right there is no other show like it.

The show opens in NYC in February and we'll see if the NYC critics love it as much as VARIETY did! I hope so.

dreampeddler

Gloom and Doom on Broadway

Well it has been a while since I have posted and it is mainly because the news has been so heartbreaking about all the closings of shows. Many friends and associates are out of work and the prospect of new shows is certainly smaller in number. (Click here for the list of closings in January from BroadwayWorld.com)

But do not lose hope! There are new shows on the way (West Side Story and Minsky's should be good) and those shows that do stay open will have less competition for their ticket prices. And maybe, just maybe, ticket prices just might start coming down - or at least producers are certainly going to have to get creative in their marketing to pry out patron's money from tightened purse strings and wallets.

But theater will rebound. It always does and the reason is this: we need it. Theater, more than any other entertainment form, has been with us from the very first storytellers were spinning their tales over the open flames near the cave dwellings. As a whole, we humans need to have both artistic expression and the communal experience of sharing our collective conscious. This challenging time will provide for an explosion in the quality of upcoming productions as we hopefully rid ourselves of the selfish consumer spend, spend, spend, morally and spiritually bankrupt society we have become. Reflection and a return to necessity will be a good dose of medicine for us all to take, and what better place to swallow your dose than in the theater!

So get writing, or get acting, or get producing, or get to the theater! It will be a powerful couple of years ahead.

Dreampeddler