Money | theguardian.com: It was when he was stuck on a Welsh cliff top with a cast of mutinous, unpaid actors that Alastair Whatley might have buckled under the challenges of theatre producing; instead, he found a Chinese restaurant and begged a free meal for 20. The actors, finally fuelled, agreed to perform, and a year later Whatley returned to the restaurant and paid off his debt.
5 comments:
Although this article highlights the steps to become a theatre producer, I find the underlaying messages to have more weight and importance. Alastair Whatley lasts words of "You sense all the people who have walked out in front of those footlights ahead of you over the years and realise that you are a little part of theatre history, pushing it forward." This is the reason on why most of use do theatre, its not for the money, but to be a part of this ever changing entertainment industry and to make people open their eyes. I love how this producer wasn't successful from the start and he just kept trying. Like Randy Pausch said, there are going to be many walls in life, but we need to accept that and push harder to succeed. I'm a true believer that you can achieve your dreams is they are within reason if you try hard enough and never give up. Theatre isn't easily nor is it stable, but the people with determination will achieve good in the end.
I am always very impressed to read and hear about young theatre producers. I have always thought that knowing the right people and networking is the biggest and most important part of producing. Naturally, the older a person is, the more professional connections they will have. Therefore, young theatre producers have either made insane connections at a young age, or find ways to produce shows without access to vast amounts of investors and contributors. It was interesting and inspiring to read about this young producer's journey. I especially enjoyed the stories about the productions that failed, and I was intrigued by the young producer's perseverance. After reading this article, I think that the most important part of producing is to be driven and unafraid of failure.
I am always very impressed to read and hear about young theatre producers. I have always thought that knowing the right people and networking is the biggest and most important part of producing. Naturally, the older a person is, the more professional connections they will have. Therefore, young theatre producers have either made insane connections at a young age, or find ways to produce shows without access to vast amounts of investors and contributors. It was interesting and inspiring to read about this young producer's journey. I especially enjoyed the stories about the productions that failed, and I was intrigued by the young producer's perseverance. After reading this article, I think that the most important part of producing is to be driven and unafraid of failure.
As a theatre artist myself, I, also, plan on producing work in the future. Therefore, reading about Alastair Whatley’s story was not only eye-opening, but inspiring. Training as an actor, I hear and experience how difficult it is to live the life of an actor all the time; however, rarely do I hear about the struggles of the producer. Regardless of the many difficult obstacles Whatley had to overcome, he never gave up. A wise man once said that, Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it, and Whatley always reacted with persistence and quick-wittedness. He has taught me that being a leader is a skill that requires confidence and courage. This driven young artist is living proof that success can be achieved through passion, hard work, and perseverance.
This was a very heartwarming, encouraging story. But it was not a step-by-step instruction of how to become a producer as the title might indicate. I think my favorite part about it was how he talked about being bossy in a production of A Winter's Tale. Enthusiasm in a byproduct of passion which often strikes us unexpectedly. I also liked the recount of him persuading a restaurant to feed 20 people for free. That takes serious talent. But the cool thing about that is, he paid off the debt a year later. That speaks to incredible integrity.
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