The Producer's Perspective: We’ve all known that we’ve been losing writers to Hollywood for years. And actors, well duh. Every Broadway actor I know fights tooth and toe-nail for a TV/Film out in their Broadway contracts. Yep, land the big gig and then look for a way to leave. Can’t blame them, but it sucks for us nonetheless. But what about Producers? As the costs and risks increase, and as it becomes more and more challenging to make shows happen, will we have enough Producers tomorrow to make sure that Broadway remains as “healthy” as it is today?
7 comments:
I think this is an interesting idea and something to look into. I'd really like to find out how the age of a Producer has changed in the past few decades. I'm glad though that it was stated that this information wasn't found (While I lack the data of how many Under 40s there were a decade ago, I have a hunch we’re losing ground.)
It'll be interesting to see how the role of the individual Producer will change and evolve in the next few years. It seems as if it's becoming more and more the large corporations (Nederlander, Broadway Across America, ect.) that are taking over in a large way. But at the same time you have Godspell which allowed almost anyone to become a Producer.
This should be an interesting field to keep an eye on in the years to come.
This article seems really subjective and while I do not have a problem with supposition I feel as though without facts and figures to backup this claim that we are losing producers why write the article. If it is truly a problem with a lack of producers going into theatre maybe there is an underlying cause for that drop in interest. I would have also liked to see realistic solutions and methods to change this rather than saying we need to take steps to train new producers without enumerating them. I do not know enough about the draw of producing and I am not interested in producing but I am sure a little leg work and some interviews would give this article some depth.
Although it is a little startling that there is a shortage of younger producers, I think that the argument made in this article is a little under-researched. I think or perhaps hope that the 8% is a minor flaw in counting or that it is in fact inaccurate. To find a younger producer is incredibly difficult, especially with the risks that a producer takes monetarily. Money is a touchy subject at the present, between the economy and paranoia; it is going to hard to find younger people ready to take a risk. It will be hard to get young adults to get regular jobs or even internships. I think that if there was a change in the financial structure, we will start to get our producers back, maybe more of them this time. Broadway is thriving and has been for a while; I don’t think it will go belly up. However, it is up to the future generations to keep it that way. We can’t always hope to have a producer; we have to depend on the hard work from all the contributors of a production to create a compelling piece of work that an audience would pay to see.
I can say that I have never considered a career as a producer. Kids grow up dreaming about being famous actors and directors, maybe even designers. I have never heard of a child yearning to be a producer when he grows up. I feel that producers are one of the most overlooked aspects of creating a show. It is scary to think that the next generation of producers is practically non-existent. And yet, somehow, theatre will prevail, producers will appear when needed, and all will be right in the world. Namaste.
I've always thought that being a producer would be a great job. But, how would one even begin to enter that position? It's interesting that there really isn't any formal college training in the the theatre world to become a producer. Most likely due to the fact that producing really is just a game of connections and money. How would someone straight out of college or even in their later 20's find the money to produce a show of a scale greater than community theatre? I see his point in wanting younger people to carry on the tradition of producing, but this is a world of tuition, debt, mortgages, and car payments. It's not really financially possible to be a producer on off-broadway (much less broadway), until you've hit your 30s.
Davenport points out an important and alarming issue, but without offering hard facts to backup his claim or solutions to change and improve the situation. The low number doesn't seem that surprising to me though; it is daring for a young person to start producing, and this is due to many reasons. To be a producer you need money and connections, both of which are not necessarily available to young hopefuls. Another issue is the fact that as Kelly pointed out, there is hardly any schooling available on how to become a theater producer; implementing such programs could be the start of a solution. This article might feel incomplete, but it starts an interesting discussion on a topic that should concern us all.
I think we are beginning to see a change in what the Producer does for theater, and this article is pointing to but one manifestation of it. The job of producer as we know it is becoming a bit rarer as other ways of financing increase in prevalence. The producer is becoming more of the organizer rather than the source of the money, and therefore the art of producing is loosing the possibility of "making lots of money", something that would typically attract young producers. They are now the organizers and the artistic vision rather than the financing, and the older crowd is more likely to want to get involved in that and be qualified for it.
I don't think it's an issue that producers are older- it's just a sign that the job is changing. Soon, producer's may become more of an "owner" or executive producer type role, as has happened in film.
Post a Comment