This past week was our most successful 8Squared: A Night of New Writing event yet. The attendance was incredible with the first night being completely sold out and the second night coming close. We also had a very strong line up of scripts. The audience seemed to really enjoy the show. Next, the production team will have a post-production meeting and review what worked, what didn't and how we can improve and evolve for the Autumn term's event.
The last day of term was Friday and many of my classmates have already dispersed around the globe. It is at this crossroads where the MAs and the MFAs will split the path. Our course offers a one year MA in Creative Producing or a two year MFA in Creative Producing. Up until now we have been together. At this point we scatter to our independent thesis projects. The MAs will have a smaller document and project and will need to finish their theses up in the next few months, while those of us on the MFA will produce something larger over the next year. In the coming weeks I will map out my plans for the project. It is important that we pace ourselves over the calendar in order to complete the work to a high standard and on time.
This coming week I have one more assignment due and some meetings with fellow Central students who are looking for a producer to advise them on shows they are creating. I am looking forward to a respite and may even take in some shows. I'll let you know how things are going when I check in next Sunday. In the meantime, summer theatre and festivals are in full swing. Check out what's playing in your area!
Take care!
-m
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Sunday, June 19, 2016
All Things Legal and Workplace Realtions
The term is rolling to a close. But, we still had a couple of topics to cover this past week.
On Thursday morning entertainment lawyers, Neil Adleman and Matt Parritt came to speak to our class. They talked to us about what an entertainment lawyer does and how they can help the producer. Many of the legal tasks a producer might do are pretty straight forward. There are templates for standard contracts and basic practices and procedures for the business. However, some things might call for a lawyer's involvement. Intellectual property and copyright are often complicated areas to navigate. This might include adaptations from various source materials to a new stage work, designs from the production team and the credits for crafting the script. If a producer is originating a new work for the stage, these factors may play a major part and each instance will be have its own intricacies. Transferring a show between countries is also an area where a producer will want to work with a lawyer. The lawyers will make sure everything is within legal regulations, can help to make sure the best deals are reached for their client and add a sense of formality and legitimacy to the arrangements. This can be particularly comforting for the financial investors of a show. If producing a big budget production like a West End or Broadway show, having a lawyer is in the best interest of the production company. Smaller organizations may want to consult a lawyer from time to time but, for daily tasks a lawyer will usually not be required.
We returned to Southbank Centre on Thursday afternoon for a session with our lecturer, Sunita Pandya. She brought in producer/director, Katie Henry to discuss the relationship between producers and directors. The relationship between a producer and a director is crucial for the success of a show. It can also make a huge impact on the atmosphere in which the show is created. The dynamic can be a fine line to walk. The director must have space to implement their vision and their position of authority needs to be supported. However, they must also understand the parameters of the project set forth by the producer and work with the producer to provide a quality product that is the unified vision of both parties. It was an intense discussion and as with many areas of producing, there is not one established method. Each project and each relationship will require its own bespoke process and style.
We begin now the final week of the term and with it, 8Squared will have its third term presentation.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Take care!
-m
On Thursday morning entertainment lawyers, Neil Adleman and Matt Parritt came to speak to our class. They talked to us about what an entertainment lawyer does and how they can help the producer. Many of the legal tasks a producer might do are pretty straight forward. There are templates for standard contracts and basic practices and procedures for the business. However, some things might call for a lawyer's involvement. Intellectual property and copyright are often complicated areas to navigate. This might include adaptations from various source materials to a new stage work, designs from the production team and the credits for crafting the script. If a producer is originating a new work for the stage, these factors may play a major part and each instance will be have its own intricacies. Transferring a show between countries is also an area where a producer will want to work with a lawyer. The lawyers will make sure everything is within legal regulations, can help to make sure the best deals are reached for their client and add a sense of formality and legitimacy to the arrangements. This can be particularly comforting for the financial investors of a show. If producing a big budget production like a West End or Broadway show, having a lawyer is in the best interest of the production company. Smaller organizations may want to consult a lawyer from time to time but, for daily tasks a lawyer will usually not be required.
We returned to Southbank Centre on Thursday afternoon for a session with our lecturer, Sunita Pandya. She brought in producer/director, Katie Henry to discuss the relationship between producers and directors. The relationship between a producer and a director is crucial for the success of a show. It can also make a huge impact on the atmosphere in which the show is created. The dynamic can be a fine line to walk. The director must have space to implement their vision and their position of authority needs to be supported. However, they must also understand the parameters of the project set forth by the producer and work with the producer to provide a quality product that is the unified vision of both parties. It was an intense discussion and as with many areas of producing, there is not one established method. Each project and each relationship will require its own bespoke process and style.
We begin now the final week of the term and with it, 8Squared will have its third term presentation.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Take care!
-m
Sunday, June 12, 2016
We Are Now
This week I continued to work on assignments and projects. 8Squared is rolling on. We meet for production meetings regularly. The thesis, called a S.I.P (Sustained Independent Project), is in the works. But the highlight this week was the We Are Now Festival.
This weekend we came full circle on the project with the Roundhouse that dates back to our first term pitches. As you may recall, our class was divided into groups and each group was set with the task of coming up with a pitch for a festival that would be presented this month at the Roundhouse. The winning pitch was a festival called We Are Now and a couple of the students involved with the original concept successfully presented the festival this past weekend. The rest of us were called upon to help as front of house ambassadors to help direct patrons around the different events.
The concept behind the We Are Now is a festival with a theme of sound and technology at its core. Friday kicked off the festival with panel discussions, performances, interactive installations and activities. Saturday the experiences continued and Sunday concluded the event. The festival was well attended and the artists praised. Central's president gave a lovely speech at the opening reception on the importance of collaboration.
Collaboration and co-producing are certainly crucial parts of our work as producers. With the rising costs of just about everything and purse stings from funders ever tightening, co-producing with other companies is quickly becoming the standard. We Are Now partnered Central with the Roundhouse to usher this project through to completion. Under the umbrella of Central and the Roundhouse were several guest artists and companies that provided the assorted components of the festival. The hope is, the festival will continue in the years to come, vary in theme and become a permanent fixture as part of the Roundhouse's programing. Fingers crossed the festival will have its future ensured soon.
This week we move on to our final class. Thursday will be the last time the whole cohort will assemble for a lecture. It is hard to believe we have already arrived at this point. The remaining days of the term will be dedicated to essay writing and other assignments. And of course for some of us, the execution of 8Squared. So, there is still much to do before we can take a break.
I'll let you know how it all goes. In the meantime, have a look around your region and see what arts festivals are happening.
Take care!
-m
This weekend we came full circle on the project with the Roundhouse that dates back to our first term pitches. As you may recall, our class was divided into groups and each group was set with the task of coming up with a pitch for a festival that would be presented this month at the Roundhouse. The winning pitch was a festival called We Are Now and a couple of the students involved with the original concept successfully presented the festival this past weekend. The rest of us were called upon to help as front of house ambassadors to help direct patrons around the different events.
The concept behind the We Are Now is a festival with a theme of sound and technology at its core. Friday kicked off the festival with panel discussions, performances, interactive installations and activities. Saturday the experiences continued and Sunday concluded the event. The festival was well attended and the artists praised. Central's president gave a lovely speech at the opening reception on the importance of collaboration.
Collaboration and co-producing are certainly crucial parts of our work as producers. With the rising costs of just about everything and purse stings from funders ever tightening, co-producing with other companies is quickly becoming the standard. We Are Now partnered Central with the Roundhouse to usher this project through to completion. Under the umbrella of Central and the Roundhouse were several guest artists and companies that provided the assorted components of the festival. The hope is, the festival will continue in the years to come, vary in theme and become a permanent fixture as part of the Roundhouse's programing. Fingers crossed the festival will have its future ensured soon.
This week we move on to our final class. Thursday will be the last time the whole cohort will assemble for a lecture. It is hard to believe we have already arrived at this point. The remaining days of the term will be dedicated to essay writing and other assignments. And of course for some of us, the execution of 8Squared. So, there is still much to do before we can take a break.
I'll let you know how it all goes. In the meantime, have a look around your region and see what arts festivals are happening.
Take care!
-m
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Production Presentation, Birthday Bash and a Day of Dance
There was a lot of buzzing around this past week. The big events came at the end of the week. Thursday I taught my own class. There has been some talk on our course about doing some sharing sessions with our peers. We have had a few of those moments trickling through lately. As I am the oldest in the class and have been kicking around the planet for longer than the rest of my classmates, it stands to reason I have experienced a few things that might be of interest to the others. Some have asked me about certain areas producing. Upon discussing some of these conversations with my course leader, she suggested I take the class one day. Wow! I didn't see that coming. I was happy to take on the challenge. With experience over the last twenty years in acting, directing, writing, casting, play publishing and licensing, production management and the corporate sector, I have a well rounded understanding of how to put a show together and the basics of how to run a theatre company. I put together a two hour presentation called The Producer in Production and ran through the whole production process, soup to nuts. It was a lot of information and was really just a whistle stop tour. I can see the presentation has room to expand and could be broken down into bite size portions with more detail and could run a whole term or possibly year. Thursday seemed to go well. My course leader was pleased as were several students who thanked me. One thing that was really good for me, it was a wonderful reflective on the last twenty years of my professional life. I was able to take the time to really think through what I have experienced and learned and formulate it into a sort of best practices type production guide. Naturally, the production process will change from theatre to theatre and show to show, depending on the needs and resources but, it's a good outline to utilize when starting out on a show or with a theatre company that primarily focuses on second class productions. Now that's no insult, most regional, community and educational theatres do second class productions. That isn't a comment on the quality of the work. It is in reference to the show not being the first major run of a title. Broadway, West End and some A-list regional theatres would be the considered the first class production of a title. And that was all covered on Thursday.
Friday was my big 4-0! Exciting times. I have never been one to hide or worry about my age. I embrace it and am thrilled to meet this milestone! Some of my friends and classmates gathered at a pub near school for a quick social drink and then we headed to London Zoo for their Sunset Safari. What a night! At my birthday shenanigans, we had three from America, one from Australia, one from Austria, one from Singapore, one from Italy, two from Poland, one from Saudi Arabia and two from England. That's a pretty good mix of international representatives! The zoo was a hoot. Stating this past Friday the London Zoo will offer these evening hours every Friday for the summer months. It was a good time. We saw animals, watched the zoo keepers do presentations, rode the carousel, got our faces painted and generally had a blast.
Saturday there was no lying down on the job. It was off to the Royal Opera House for a full afternoon of new short ballets. Three rising star choreographers of the ballet world presented three new dance pieces. I had never been to the Royal Opera House so, it was a treat to see the venue. We were up in the top level of seats but center and actually for watching dance, the seats could not have been better. We could see the whole stage and the orchestra and at an elevated angle which gave us the perfect sightlines to see the stage pictures and formations that were being created. It was fabulous afternoon!
This coming week is filled with more meetings and projects. I'll let you know how it goes next Sunday. In the meantime, check out what are dance companies and choreographers creating in your area.
Take care!
-m
Friday was my big 4-0! Exciting times. I have never been one to hide or worry about my age. I embrace it and am thrilled to meet this milestone! Some of my friends and classmates gathered at a pub near school for a quick social drink and then we headed to London Zoo for their Sunset Safari. What a night! At my birthday shenanigans, we had three from America, one from Australia, one from Austria, one from Singapore, one from Italy, two from Poland, one from Saudi Arabia and two from England. That's a pretty good mix of international representatives! The zoo was a hoot. Stating this past Friday the London Zoo will offer these evening hours every Friday for the summer months. It was a good time. We saw animals, watched the zoo keepers do presentations, rode the carousel, got our faces painted and generally had a blast.
Saturday there was no lying down on the job. It was off to the Royal Opera House for a full afternoon of new short ballets. Three rising star choreographers of the ballet world presented three new dance pieces. I had never been to the Royal Opera House so, it was a treat to see the venue. We were up in the top level of seats but center and actually for watching dance, the seats could not have been better. We could see the whole stage and the orchestra and at an elevated angle which gave us the perfect sightlines to see the stage pictures and formations that were being created. It was fabulous afternoon!
This coming week is filled with more meetings and projects. I'll let you know how it goes next Sunday. In the meantime, check out what are dance companies and choreographers creating in your area.
Take care!
-m
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