The Road – From Booking to Final Bravo!

Greetings after a bit of a hiatus, and welcome to the 2014-2015 touring season!

Actually, the season pretty much started back in September, so we’re in the thick of it now!

But how did we get to this point? Hundreds of touring engagements will make their way across North America this season, as they do every season. What are the basic mechanics of the business that make that happen year after year? What’s the timeline?

Well, aren’t you glad you found The Road 101, because it is here where you’ll find out how that wholllle process works! A process that is a long, complex, ongoing cycle. There are many places I could begin, but for this post, I am going to begin discussing this cycle with the Tony Awards Nominations as a starting point, which typically take place at the end of April.

There are many types of shows that are out on The Road in a season and it is often a foregone conclusion that many of these will be back out there — the blockbuster, the second and third year tour, the non-Equity tour, the special attraction, and the smaller Off Broadway type show that has built its brand over many years, are just some examples.

Then, there are the new shows coming from Broadway in the current season. So, in this case, we’re talking the 2014-2015 Broadway season. These shows are the touring question marks. Which ones will make it out on The Road in 2016-2017? That’s right. Wrap your head around that for a second so you can follow along. The shows running on Broadway in 2014-2015 are being considered for touring in 2016-2017.

The Broadway 2014-2015 season is still evolving as I write this post, and booking agents (some already representing some of these shows) and presenters are watching closely which Broadway shows will make it through the season and rise to the top. When the Tony nominations come out in April 2015, that is a moment when certain shows could get a key boost, especially those shows nominated for Best Musical. Though agents and presenters are seeing shows throughout the entire season, it is typically during Tony Awards season when many in the industry check out Broadway to see which are most likely to end up being viable touring properties. A lot of this theatre-going happens during the annual Spring Road Conference, which typically takes place between the Tony nominations and the Tony Awards. Now, winning a Tony Award this season does not necessarily guarantee that a show will go out on tour for the 2016-2017 season. There are many factors that a producer and a general manager need to take into consideration before deciding if their show is viable enough for a tour:

1. Did the show make it through Tony season in good shape both from an awards standpoint and a box office standpoint?
2. Did the show make a good impression on enough presenters?
3. Can the show offer a deal that presenters can work with?

Okay, so, the 2015 Tony Awards have happened and we are now in summer 2015. The blockbusters, second year tours and non-Equity tours are largely routed and slotted in for the 2016-2017 touring season. The booking agents are also more clear at this point regarding which of the new 2014-2015 Broadway shows they represent will likely make it out on The Road in 2016-2017, and which will fall by the wayside. The final part of the 2016-2017 touring season programming process is now in full swing as booking agents and presenters work through final deals and tour routing. Again, these interactions happen throughout the year, but it is during the summer and into the early fall where all programming MUST be finalized.

Why must programming be finalized by fall 2015? Because it is at this point that presenters need to then begin figuring out how they want these shows to be priced. It is important to be thoughtful about all the details that go into pricing and to consider all data and history available to maximize profit. If an engagement is not priced and discounted correctly at the outset, there is the chance that the engagement could lose money, or, conversely, it may make money, but if it was underpriced and over-discounted at the outset there is a chance of “leaving money on the table,” meaning even more money could have been made. The opportunity to maximize profit is then further exploited via dynamic pricing.

So, once the presenter decides on the pricing for a show, which includes prices for singles, subscribers and groups, the presenter then sends this pricing to the show’s booking agent for consideration, which oftentimes ends up turning into a back and forth negotiation. Again, multiply this step by many, many engagements that need to go through this detailed process. For a large company like Broadway Across America with numerous markets, the ticket pricing process takes several months to complete. During the pricing process, things move fast and timing is everything, as prices need to be agreed to by the show and the presenter and locked in quickly so the marketing teams can then get to work on creating the brochures, which will include these prices and discounts, and which need to go into the mail to subscribers by certain established deadlines.

The time is now winter of 2015-2016. The 2016-2017 pricing process is beginning to wind down as we move into March. The booking agents and presenters are making any final little programming and deal tweaks to the 2016-2017 season while at the same time are also in the process of booking the 2017-2018 touring season. Meanwhile, as all this is happening, don’t forget, the 2015-2016 engagements are currently out on the road on tour requiring constant management through the end of their tours in May or June, each engagement culminating in its own final bravo – settlement.

And now, it’s Tony Awards season again. Which brings us back to where we started.

Pfew. Did you follow all that? Yeah, I’m still learning to wrap my head around it, too, and I WORK in the business!

In the end, this is just a broad overview of how the booking and pricing cycle works as I have come to understand it. It is likely that others in the industry would have other details to add, but this should give you a pretty good sense of the general timing of it all.

If you have questions, feel free to email me anytime at robin@theroad101.com. If I don’t get back to you immediately, please forgive me. I’m probably swamped in pricing for 2015-2016.

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The Broadway League Spring Road Conference 2014

Well, another fabulous Spring Road Conference is in the books! If you are not familiar with this annual industry conference, check out my posts from previous conferences, such as this one, which will give you a basic overview.

It was a hectic week, filled with a variety of panels, creative conversations, lunches, cocktail parties, networking and shows. What was clear was how far the conference and the commercial theatre industry as whole has come as far as going more digital. The entire program for the conference was available through the Guidebook app and could also be viewed on a pdf. Conference binders were still being distributed, but I have a feeling that by the 2016 conference, the binder option will be gone completely. Also, a number of sessions were dedicated to digital and there was a “Digital War Room” where conference attendees had the opportunity to take advantage of one-on-one sessions with digital pros from various media outlets and social channels, as well as expert media buyers and strategists in the Broadway industry.

There were a multitude of panels on a whole variety of topics. Below is just a sampling of a few sessions…

“’IT’S A GREAT TITLE FOR THE ROAD,’ AND OTHER MYTHS”

This was a jam-packed session that had a lot of vibrant back and forth. Are certain titles right for the Road, but not New York City? Does a tour need a celebrity and what qualifies as a celebrity really as far as someone having enough of a “name” to sell more tickets? Is the summer really not a viable time for tours, or is that one of the many “myths?” There were no hard and fast answers, but it was definitely an airing out of viewpoints and I would say that chances are good that some of discussions will remain in the back of people’s minds when it’s time to think about a possible summer booking, deciding on whether a certain name should be involved, and if a title really will be strong enough to tour.

“WHAT IS THE GP?”

This was another packed and lively session. With the implementation of dynamic pricing, the GP (“Gross Potential”) is no longer the hard and fast largest possible gross for an engagement. People generally felt that the GP was still necessary when making pricing and budgeting decisions, but in this session it became clear that producers and presenters were beginning to become more thoughtful about what this number really represented and considering it a little differently than in the past. No universal approach surfaced during this discussion, but I suspect that in a few years time there will be a more cohesive industry-wide approach on what the GP really means. Perhaps there will be a new definition, as the GP these days seems more like a threshold number that the producer and presenter agree they would like to meet, and exceed.

“THE MILLENNIAL MARKETING MYSTERY”

In this session, guest speak Cathleen Johnson, President of Cathleen Johnson Tourism Consultants, LLC presented data on the “millennial” generation, a generation she insisted we all needed to really pay attention to and understand for the theatre industry to continue to thrive down the road. Johnson pushed the importance of tailoring marketing to attract this newer generation, considered to be an “alpha influencer” in the decision-making process among their peers as well as their parents’ generation. In additional to Johnson, three millennials were also on the panel and they commented on her data. Much of what Johnson said made sense to me, as well as to the millennials on the panel, though, I also felt some of her findings also applied to me and I am definitely NOT a millennial! That said, I think the overarching point was that it was important for marketers of theatre to be aware of the purchasing and social habits of the members of this group when implementing marketing and ticket pricing and discount message strategies.

“MEETING OF THE BROADWAY LEAGUE’S LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL”

This was an exciting and informative session where the panel and several presenters in the audience described recent accomplishments in the political realm, including opposing legislation intended to prevent venues from thwarting deceptive broker practices and advancing tax credits that encourage investment in theatre. These major strides notwithstanding, the big takeaway from this session was how important is is to begin having relationships and dialogue with local, state and federal electeds BEFORE a major issue presents itself, so you don’t have to start from scratch getting these politicians to pay attention to you when a challenge comes up related to your theater or theatre enterprise, and you need them most!

I only touched on a few aspects of the conference here. To really get a feel for this conference and its exciting vibe you must experience it first-hand! If you are a new producer, presenter, marketer, or booking agent looking to learn more about the Broadway and commercial touring industry and to meet the professionals who work in it, I highly recommend that you gain the credentials to join The Broadway League and attend this annual conference. League membership and the conference may seem pricey to some, but if you plan on being in this industry for the long haul, then it’s definitely a worthwhile investment!

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The Road to Key West 2014

Another Broadway Across America Theatrical Conference ended its short, but sweet run this past Thursday night in warm (thank goodness!) and wonderful Key West, FL. This year’s conference ran from February 10-13 on the theme of “catching waves and driving change,” the aquatically inspired metaphor being that not unlike that of a surfer, theatre industry professionals must continually “experience, create and innovate” by taking risks to keep up with changing times, while also maintaining a sense of balance and tradition.

For those of you not familiar, BAA’s biennial theatre conference is where all the top presenters, producers, general managers, booking agents, and ticketing and technology experts associated with the commercial theatre industry converge for several days for panels, creative presentations, business, networking and some fun. Well…er…a lot of fun.

To kick things off, popular humorist, Mo Rocca and acclaimed director, Jack O’Brien delivered charming and meaningful keynote addresses, with Rocca describing various theatre memories from his childhood, and O’Brien instructing those on the business side of the theatre to “play” more. He reminded attendees that gathering in Key West in this relaxed and fun way was important, because despite having become very much a business, theatre has been, and always will be, first and foremost about play.

With regard to the panels, the overarching takeaway for me was about how ticket sales are “riding the wave of technology” with trends showing that more and more people are purchasing tickets through their smart phones and tablets. In order to capture those sales more effectively, the industry is reaching out to experts in digital for support, and, in some cases, bringing digital experts on to their own staffs. A small sampling of the ticketing and digital leaders who spoke on this topic included David Andrews, SVP, Shubert Ticketing, Damian Bazadona, Founder, Situation Interactive, Stan Deak, VP New Business Development, Experience, which is based in an app that allows you to upgrade your seat, or add on an experience right from your mobile device, and Julia Vander Ploeg, GM & SVP, Ticketmaster Resale, who discussed the new TM+ website.

Cast members of GETTIN’ THE BAND BACK TOGETHER perform at the BAA Theatrical Conference in Key West.

But the conference went way beyond panels! There were also a number of special performances, as well as exciting creative presentations of both new and established works! These included Cyndi Lauper (KINKY BOOTS), Sheryl Crow (DINER), and the lovely Jessie Mueller performed songs from the hit Broadway show, BEAUTIFUL. I was particularly enamored by the presentation of AMELIE, and will be rooting for the show as it continues in its development and journey toward Broadway. Other shows represented at the conference were GETTIN’ THE BAND BACK TOGETHER, WE FOXES, THE HEART OF ROBIN HOOD, MOTOWN THE MUSICAL and DIRTY DANCING.

The energy at the conference was inspiring, and by the close it was clear that The Road has never been stronger. It’s heartening to know how alive and well theatre remains despite all the various entertainment choices out there. And I truly believe that The Road, by bringing theatre beyond New York, Chicago and other major cities, directly and indirectly helps theatre at every level thrive all across the country. By maintaining and building new audiences, fans and supporters on The Road, theatre remains highly visible, as well as culturally and economically relevant. And no matter how technologically advanced this world gets, at the end of the day there will never be anything that could ever duplicate the kind of magical experience that only live theatre can offer.

Closing night fireworks on the beach of the Casa Marina Hotel, Key West.

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The Broadway League 2013 Spring Road Conference – Part 1 of 2

Today was the first full day of the 2013 Spring Road Conference. I am a big fan of this annual conference, as it provides the chance to meet up face to face with Broadway Across America colleagues and BAA partners from all over North America who I usually only get to interface with on a virtual basis, as well as reconnect with others in the industry, and meet new people as well. This conference is also a time for all of us to check in regarding where the industry stands, how far things have come, and how far we still need to go.

Artist: Ken Fallin

Today’s first panel, for instance, covered the continued lack of diversity of theatre audiences. Panelists from different touring markets and different areas of the commercial theatre industry introduced some exciting programs they are currently instituting to try and address this issue.

Sue Frost, Producer at Junkyard Dog Productions and member of The Broadway League’s Education and Community Engagement Committee presented a moving video about The Broadway League’s exciting, new internship program for high school students that introduces the participants to the many different jobs in the theatre industry, and Megan Riegel, President and CEO of The Peace Center for the Performing Arts showed footage of a program called Peace Voices, an outreach initiative that encourages both youths and adults from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds to write poems on particular themes and perform them publicly for their family, friends, teachers, and peers. While not directly Broadway-related, Peace Voices is an empowering experience that encourages both youths and adults to believe in themselves, connect with who they are, and express themselves freely in a performance setting.

These presentations were moving and inspiring, and hopefully these and other initiatives will connect with people who are unfamiliar with theatre and Broadway to make them feel welcome and turn them into regular theater-goers, as well as expose them to a whole new world of career options.

Looking forward to bringing you another update in the next day or so!

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APAP 2013

If it’s January…it must be APAP!

APAP is probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest conference related to The Road, non-profit arts companies and individual artists. I discussed what the APAP conference is in some detail in a previous post. You can check that post out here.

This year, the conference begins tomorrow, and runs through January 15th.

If you’re a producer, presenter, artist, or manager and in the NYC area this weekend, you may want to register for part of the conference and check out some of the action at the Hilton, and one or more of the many varied showcases.

APAP NYC – 2013

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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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The Broadway League 2012 Spring Road Conference – Follow-up Report (Part 3 of 4)

The inimitable James Corden, star of the hilarious London import, ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS, currently running on Broadway and nominated for seven Tony Awards, talks frankly about why touring is so frustrating for him!

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The Road to Key West

Broadway Across America Theatrical Conference 2012 Key West, FL

I just arrived back from Broadway Across America’s biennial theatre industry conference. This conference has been around for many years and is where all the top industry professionals involved in producing and presenting from around North America and other continents converge in a warm and inviting setting in chilly January to see what hot projects Broadway Across America has cooking, as well as other producers.

The BAA conference is always jam-packed with lively and informative panels with top people in the field. A major theme this year related to technology and how emerging programs and platforms are beginning to support the theatre industry’s foray into dynamic pricing, and also how mobile and tablet devices will most definitely be key in driving more sales and excitement around shows.

Also at the conference were entertaining glimpses of several productions that are currently in development or on the boards, and which you will likely see on Broadway, and potentially on the Road sometime in the next several years. These creative presentations included highlights from GHOST, HANDS ON A HARDBODY, FLASHDANCE, LEAP OF FAITH and ONCE, among others.

Despite the still shaky economy, the mood at the conference was bright and the outlook for the industry extremely positive. There was a great deal of excitement about the creative presentations and a warm sense of community amongst the attendees throughout the magical 3-day gathering. I was reminded once again of how fortunate I am to be in such a special field that is unlike any other.

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Negotiating The Road – A Conversation With Amy Polan Clarke

Amy Polan Clarke

There’s a lot going on behind the scenes before, during, and after an engagement takes place in each and every market. And in this case, when I say “behind the scenes” I don’t mean the backstage area before, during and after a performance. The behind the scenes action I’m referring to is related to all the complex operational details that need to be hammered out and continuously managed — deal points, contracts, technical riders, estimated engagement expenses, gross advertising budgets, ticket pricing, ticket discount strategies, and settlements, just to name a few —  and it is the theatrical booking agency that is right in the center, literally. Theatrical booking agencies solely represent the producer of a tour, but they are also the main liaison between the producer and the presenters licensing the show. So, booking agency engagement managers need to find just the right strategic balance of negotiation and diplomacy skills, and also be able to stay on top of a lot of information related to all the different shows they are booking from their roster, and all the vastly different presenters, markets and venues they are dealing with on a daily basis.

I’m lucky to know one of THE best theatrical engagement managers and Director of Operations in the business — Amy Polan Clarke. I got the chance to catch up with Amy recently over email and ask her some questions about the work she has done in the touring industry, her perspective with regard to the current state of The Road, and how producers and artists out there might connect with a booking agency and potentially get agents interested in their projects.

THE ROAD 101: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions, Amy. Can you describe in broad strokes what a theatrical booking agency does, and what your function has been as a Director of Operations?

AMY POLAN CLARKE: A theatrical booking agency is hired by a Producer and/or General Manager to sell, within a specified territory, performances of the Producer’s production of a theatrical show. After the agent would negotiate the dates and financial terms with Presenters in various markets, it was my job to create an analysis of the offers and submit them to the Producer, looking at the financial terms, ticket prices, history in the market, estimated expenses, Producer’s income potential and the buyer’s break even. We would go back and forth between the producer and the buyer negotiating the deal points and once they were acceptable to all, I would negotiate and create contracts outlining and formalizing the deal. I also kept a running tally of the Producer’s total estimated income for the tour to ensure that they would meet their weekly nut and updated agents as to the status. Once the tour actually began, I acted as the liaison among the agents, Producers, marketing reps, and tour personnel to keep it running smoothly. I also verified settlements and maintained summaries of grosses, expenses, income, and commissions for all performances.  We did not have a database system, so I created spreadsheet after spreadsheet for all the data.  In fact, some producers insisted that other agencies use my formats (this happened to me in the concert industry also – to this day, people are using settlement forms I created years ago). I also did operational tasks for the company such as dealing with new hires, vacation days, maintaining the website and creating the company’s annual roster brochure.

TR101: I see you’ve also been an Associate General Manager. How does that role differ from an operations role?

APC: As an Associate GM, I did similar tasks with negotiations, contracts and settlements, however also auditioned and hired talent; hired road crew, coordinated marketing and publicity campaigns and materials, secured visas and insurance for cast and crew, and handled all financial aspects of the production – budgets, cash flows, royalty statements, and P & L reports to investors. I also approved all tour expenditures and oversaw the sales and inventory of merchandise on the tour. It was much more hands-on to the actual production than being at an agency.

TR101: Wow, you certainly know your stuff!  How did you first get into the theatrical booking industry?

APC: I was the Senior VP of Touring for a concert promotion/producer/management firm where I worked for 30 years (started at age 20). I booked tours and went on the road with shows as a Tour Manager/Tour Accountant (similar to Company Manager). But in 2002 the company was bought and closed down.  I then worked as the Associate GM for an off-Broadway producer (until the show went bust), and I discovered I liked the theatrical business better than the music business so I pursued it.  Simma Levine of On the Road Booking and I had some business friends in common and she needed help.

TR101: A lot of artists and producers consider attending booking conferences in order to meet booking agents, and network. Do you have any opinions about the various booking conferences out there, i.e., WAA, Midwest Arts Conference, PAE, APAP, etc. as far as their usefulness to bookers, and to producers, or artists, looking for bookers?

APC: I think it’s important for agents to get out and meet the people you talk to on the phone all the time. That being said, I’m not sure that all that many new bookings actually come out of it. But for artists, they present a great opportunity to show your stuff to agents and/or producers who might potentially represent you. Getting them to actually come to your showcase is a whole other thing. It’s all very hectic.

TR101: From your perspective, what are some of the biggest challenges facing a tour’s ability to turn a profit these days?

APC: Same thing as everyone else’s challenges in making a profit these days – you want to put out a quality project, but expenses are too high, sales are too low, and you have to keep the ticket prices low outside of the larger cities. And touring also has to deal with transportation costs, over which they have very little control. Sponsorships have also fallen by the wayside due to the economy. One thing I think the theatrical industry does better than the concert industry is offering so many varying ticket prices – subscriptions, groups, students, promotions, dynamic pricing, etc. The concert industry does very little of this. On the other hand, it makes it really difficult for the producer to know what his income might be. Theatre also doesn’t seem to have the scalping issues that concerts have, which is one of the reasons some concert ticket prices are so high (the theory being that the scalpers will get this price, so the band might as well get it).

TR101: Do you have any suggestions as to how a theatre producer, or theatre artist, might get their project noticed by a booking agency?

APC: Find a way to get them excited about the show. Of course everyone wants/needs to make money, but if someone is passionate about what they’ve seen, they just might invest their time in you and try to build you into a money maker.  You’ve got to have something that moves them, though.

 

*  *  *

Amy Polan Clarke is a veteran of the live entertainment industry, having worked all sides of the spectrum in both the theatrical and concert worlds – for venues, promoters, producers, performers, and agencies. She has toured as Business/Tour Manager for musical performers from the Grateful Dead to Sarah Brightman and has worked on theatrical touring shows such as Hairspray, Movin’ Out, The Producers, and Spring Awakening.

Email Amy: amyclarke@comcast.net

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