A Mind-boggling Loss

In honor of Father’s Day, I would like to dedicate this post to a wonderful man that the theatre industry recently lost, Seth Popper.

I had the good fortune to work with Seth while he was at Broadway Across America. Seth was a lawyer specializing in labor relations and I provided support to Seth in the tracking and management of the many collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) across North America that BAA negotiated directly, or had an association with via one of our presenting partnerships. Seth was terrific to work with. Reliable, responsive, patient and clear, it was easy to feel confident in him and know that the complicated task of dealing with all the various labor agreements was in excellent hands. I was sorry when Seth left BAA to return to The Broadway League, but knew that the change was one that would make him happy, so I was happy for him. I didn’t get to know Seth well, but I had an easy rapport with him and, even after he left BAA, whenever we crossed paths I was always happy to see him and greeted him with a hug, as I had done at the Spring Road Conference less than two weeks before his untimely death on May 26. I am still reeling from Seth’s passing and so cannot even begin to imagine what his wife and two young children must be going through.

Life is precious and unpredictable and if I can gain anything positive from Seth’s passing it would be to not let petty gripes and setbacks consume me, and to remember to appreciate every minute of what I have, and who is in my life.

So, thank you, Seth for passing through my life. I’m sorry we didn’t talk just a bit more in depth about our histories on those elevator rides to and from the BAA office. If we had, we may have discovered that we had gone to the same elementary school, P.S. 117 in Briarwood, Queens (though different years) and likely had some of the same teachers, and we also could have determined if my mom had been your kindergarten teacher there. Though I did not get the chance to know you back at P.S. 117, I am so thankful I got a second chance.

Rest in peace, Seth.

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From Broadway Flop to Touring Cash Crop?

Now that it’s lights out for the most expensive show in Broadway history, SPIDERMAN – TURN OFF THE DARK after a widely reported troubled run, does the show have a chance of spinning a new web somewhere else?

Maybe.

Check out this article in The New Yorker  that discusses ways of making lemonade out of a Broadway lemon. One of the ways is on The Road. I talked a bit about this in a recent post. The New Yorker article broad strokes things a bit about The Road, as making any show that goes out on tour a commercial success — Broadway flop or Broadway success — depends on a combination of smart producing, thoughtful season programming, attentive day to day management, and expert tour marketing. These missing details aside, however, there are plenty of useful takeaways here. Especially the reminder that “Theatre is a business, yes, but it’s a weird one.”

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The Road in New York State – Soon not too taxing?

Hey there, Road 101 fans! I’m back here in the blogosphere after a super busy several months during which I was completely immersed in a time-sensitive musical theatre commission, as well as deeply involved in our hectic, and, often-times dramatic New York City 2013 primary elections! For those of you who do not live in NYC, we’re in the midst of a significant change-over here, from the Mayor on down.

In addition to the work I do at BAA, I am also a member of a 501 (c)6 here in NYC called The League of Independent Theater and this election year has been crucial towards achieving our goal of helping to get candidates elected who are pro-performing arts, and who pledge to do everything in their power to help our economically and culturally vital, but ever-struggling independent theater scene throughout New York City’s five boroughs.

Being engaged in the local elections was an amazing and educational experience. Quite a few of the candidates who we endorsed won their primary races (which in the preponderance of NYC races is tantamount to being elected), and so we are excited about this being a real beginning towards sustainability, and making sure that the performing arts don’t get short shrift. I encourage everyone out there, wherever you live, to get involved during an election year. It could make all the difference to the future of the arts in your community!

LIT based its endorsements on a candidate’s willingness to commit to our 8-plank performing arts platform; if not the whole platform, then as many planks as possible. The most challenging of our planks, but one we feel is absolutely vital, asks our lawmakers to: “Implement a proposal that would reduce or eliminate property tax assessments for those non-profit organizations that have an artistic mission and/or rent performance space to similar non-profit performing arts groups with artistic missions of their own.”

Okay. Ho-hum, Whatever. What does any of this have to do with commercial theatre touring, you ask? Well, the independent theater sector in NYC is not the only sector looking for a little bit of a tax break. The Broadway League, and other stakeholders in the theatre presenting world, are currently in the midst of their own tax-credit initiative proposal that they are seeking from Albany that would incentivize touring productions and pre-Broadway productions to do their tech and initial productions in New York State. Tours have continually shown that they invigorate local economies, so it makes sense for New York State to find ways to get more productions to come and launch their tours here. Whether it was as a result of these efforts, or perhaps they saw the light on their own, Albany lawmakers via the New York State Senate’s Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation Committee, chaired by Sen. Betty Little, (a committee that thankfully also includes my fabulous, pro-arts State Senator, Brad Hoylman) will be considering a kind of tax credit for these sorts of productions during the 2014 legislative session. Here are two articles on the topic:

‘On with the show, with tax credits’

‘Proctors CEO: Boost local economies with tax credits for touring Broadway shows

As you already know because you are someone who is “in the know,” or because you read my previous posts on the topic, Louisiana and Illinois have already implemented a tax-credit for touring productions, and Massachusetts may potentially be next. Or, maybe, my home state will beat Massachusetts to the punch. 🙂

But the point I want to leave you with is that theatre touring, and performing arts in general, is ultimately a business, whether it be commercial or non-profit, that benefits the economy, and every once in a while, it’s important that those of us who participate in the performing arts, whether as a booker, a presenter, a producer, an actor, a stage manager, a director a designer, etc., get a bit more pro-active on the political front, so our elected representatives remember that they need us, and that we’re not just all song and dance.

Don’t forget to vote November 5th!!!

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Arts and Economy

I’ve talked before about how the arts benefit local economies. You can check samples of those posts here and here. But it is a topic that bears repeating, and you will see me repeat it again and again on this blog because it’s an argument that doesn’t always seem to connect with a lot of politicians.

Rather than a traditional touring venue, such as the Hippodrome, this article focuses on the non-profit, Center Stage, but I believe that all or most of the statements in this article can also apply to the touring shows that pass through the Hippodrome, as touring shows also have a positive economic impact on local economies.

“THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF THE ARTS”  – Baltimore Sun

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It’s About Time for Dynamic Pricing…Again.

I brought up Dynamic Pricing in other posts. If you need some basic background on the subject, you can check those posts out here and here and here.

Dynamic Pricing will probably be the subject of more of my posts going forward, as more and more producers, performing arts organizations and arts presenters look towards this strategy to try and take as much advantage of their ticket inventory as possible.

If you are a member of Americans for the Arts, there is a FREE webinar on the topic this Monday, Feb 4th at 3:00p EST. For non-members, the cost is $35.00, but if you are not at all familiar with Dynamic Pricing, this webinar could be worth the money — money that you could ideally earn back down the road through Dynamic Pricing!  🙂

Here is a link to info on the webinar:

A Look at the Future of Dynamic Pricing

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Now THAT’S The Road!

The Broadway League has launched a new and improved Touring Broadway site, which according to the latest League newsletter, “will provide consumers in-depth info on the shows, venues, and presenting organizations that bring Broadway to 240 North American cities each year.”

Check out the site here.

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Is Vegas Now a Sure Bet for The Road?

The Smith Center for the Performing Arts – Las Vegas, NV

Traditional musical theatre has had varying success in Las Vegas. For example, AVENUE Q angered presenters across the country when it initially chose Sin City over doing a National Tour, only for the puppet show to get its strings cut early there due to slow sales. On the other hand, JERSEY BOYS thrived on the Strip for several years at The Palazzo and then re-opened in March after a transfer to the Paris Las Vegas, and is currently considered by local press as the “Must see show of the year!”

The Smith Theater for the Performing Arts will now be offering its first full Broadway Series.  The Smith Center is a traditional theater, as opposed to a venue in a hotel on the Strip, and is apparently something the locals have desired a long time. Having a blockbuster like WICKED on season for six weeks should certainly help build a subscription base for the next year or so. Hopefully, the Smith Center will have more than just beginner’s luck!

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Theatre Keeps on Truckin’ Down The Road

This recent article talks specifically about WICKED as it rolls into the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City and the number of trucks needed for the size of the tour. It is also a reminder, though, that theatre on The Road clearly remains popular and generates enough revenue to the extent that the Capitol Theatre will be spending millions of dollars in renovations to upgrade the facility. Guess SLC really wants to give THE BOOK OF MORMON a warm welcome should the musical ring on its doorbell for the 2013-14 season.

Now, if we can only get State governments and the Federal government to spend more money upgrading American roads! Upgrading roads could potentially be helpful with making certain bad jumps from one market to another more realistic, and ultimately save both the presenter and the show on OT labor costs…

BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK – July 17, 2012

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The Broadway League 2012 Spring Road Conference – Follow-up Report (Part 4 of 4)

DYNAMIC PRICING:  REVENUE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

On Thursday 5/17, the final day of the conference, two sessions were devoted to Dynamic Pricing. (For my previous post about Dynamic Pricing, please click here.)

A lot of information was disseminated by the various panelists on how they have navigated within the Dynamic Pricing model. Below is a list of bullet points that give an overview of the information that was imparted at these sessions:

• Build different price levels horizontally rather than vertically to fill the orchestra and fronts of other sections to create an electric feeling. People behind these locations will see the energy in front of them, rather than seeing empty seats.

• Look at pricing by performance, not just overall sales.

• When you have distressed inventory, align with organizations that can sell these seats at full price to a “valued buyer.” There are companies with a target constituency that may have an easier time getting their consumers to buy the same tickets that you may have trouble moving.

• Hold back seats to create demand if you know you will sell quickly.

• Be conscious of the price/value equation. Create a sense of scarcity to spark interest and urgency.

• Continually monitor and manage rezoning, revenue management and forecasting.

• When implementing Dynamic Pricing, consider your messaging since prices will fluctuate, i.e. “Prices starting from…” or “Today’s price is…” or “Act now! Prices go up on Friday!” or “Prices are not guaranteed,” etc., so people know the price will change.

• QUESTION: How can an organization keep up with the messaging, though, if you have limited resources within your advertising spend, and you also don’t want to upset potential customers by over communicating?

1. ANSWER: Create a seat map that allows people to scroll over seats to see the different prices. “Pick your seats online.” (See Ahmanson Theatre)

• Price aisle seats higher. People will be willing to buy adjacent seats at the same price when they buy the aisle seat.

• Set a deadline for subscriber renewal. “Act by x date, otherwise the package goes up to y.”

• Consider using the word “Adjusting” rather than “Discounting” when messaging that prices are being lowered.

• Be careful lowering prices for people who already want to attend a performance. People who already don’t want to come probably still won’t want to…even at a lower price. “If people don’t want to come…you can’t stop them!”

• For one-week markets, do surveys in advance to get a sense of the heat signature.

• QUESTION: What are some successful strategies when middle-priced inventory isn’t moving?

1. ANSWER: Raise deeply discounted mid-section seats back to full price, then reduce them and give the inventory to a company like Goldstar. The Goldstar consumer will feel like they’re getting a deal. i.e., they will be getting the full price $75 ticket for $49.
2. ANSWER: Raise the PL3 price to the PL2 price to give the perception that it’s a hot ticket.
3. ANSWER: If you have three price levels, for example, $45/$35/$25 and your $35 tickets are not moving, consider raising your $35 ticket to $45 at both peak and non-peak performances with the messaging, “a new block of $45 tickets on sale!”

• Know your timeline so you are ready in advance to have higher pricing in place before your campaign hits.

Annnnd…this post concludes my coverage of some of the panels and a bit of the fun from the 2012 Spring Road Conference. I hope you found these posts useful, and that you continue to check back here at The Road 101 for more observations, updates, and articles related to the commercial theatre touring industry.

See you down The Road!

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Season Announcements 2012-2013

Little by little, 2012-2013 seasons are being announced across North America. Here is what you can expect to see in a market near you!

AUSTIN

BALTIMORE

CINCINNATI

COSTA MESA

DETROIT

EDMONTON

FT. LAUDERDALE

HARTFORD

JACKSONVILLE

KANSAS CITY

LOS ANGELES

NEW ORLEANS

ORLANDO

PITTSBURGH

PORTLAND

SEATTLE

TAMPA

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