The Producer's Perspective: Before I dive in to today’s post, let me clear the tropical air. Yes, I am on my honeymoon . . . in Hawaii . . . And yes, I am bloggin’ from the beach. Why? Well, first you gotta read this post, and second, well, some people read paperbacks, and I . . . read scripts and write blogs.
My nuptials of last week aren’t the only thing I’m celebrating while I’m in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Today is the tenth anniversary of Davenport Theatrical!
12 comments:
I think Ken Davenport gives very good advice that everyone should follow. He knows the importance of asking other people for help, which is a skill that many people have not acquired. Theatre is a very collaborative art. If you cannot work with other people and ask for help, you will never succeed. People need to realize that they are not always the best at everything and learn to trust people to help and do things for them.
"No one else is you, don't expect them to be," is incredibly accurate. When time is running low and there's much to be done, it's easy to expect others to work just as hard as you are, beyond what's reasonably acceptable. It can be hard to understand why everyone else isn't just as interested as you are. Well, not everybody else is you. This can be hard to remember.
Right now I'm in the middle of trying to figure out what I want to major in. I really love scenic, lighting, and media design. I have the drive and talent to some day be good at all three. But by trying to do all three will I only be a medium-xpert at each? It's a big question.
Being nice to everyone is so important in this industry (and sort of life in general). Each time I run into someone I thought I'd never see again, it's just a reminder that I don't want that person to be someone I've had a fight with. Also, once a project is over, the fight will seem even more sillier and be even more embarrassing.
When possible, I certainly believe you shouldn't go to bed with any unread messages. Whether you respond or flag a message for followup, it should be read and routed that day.
Sometimes it is better to get someone else to help you. It can free up your time for the things that you're best at or that you can't delegate. It can be hard to find this person, which goes back to hiring is the hardest part of running a business. But once you find great people to work with, it's a dream come true.
These are awesome, and I've sent this list to a couple of non-theatrical business owners in my family because I think the rules apply across industries and fields. My favorite points are numbers 1, 4 and 10 because they're a good reminder that the trappings of power does not a good producer make.
The one thing I'm not sure about is #2, the medium-xpert one. I feel like, in some roles (ie production management), it's more than just helpful, it's essential to have enough understanding of a bunch of different fields but it would be almost impractical to have mastered them all yourself.
I suppose the advice stands on a larger scale, like different types of theatre, but part of being a good manager (and producer, I think), is having enough knowledge about each piece of the puzzle to not be taken advantage of, but a vague enough understanding to not micromanage.
I really like "Don't get too angry at someone today, because odds are you're going to need something from them tomorrow." It's a big reminder that even though our business is also a huge community of extremely passionate people with strong, unique personalities, it's still important to remember that we all share a common goal: to create art. It's also a reminder that it's up to every member of the community to try to promote a positive and professional attitude in the workplace. I also really like "No one else is you. Don't expect them to be." No one else runs a company like you, no one else has your exact skill set, temperament, and style. And because you can't do everything perfectly and have to rely on others to balance you out, you have to remember that above any of your other traits, you have to be a good collaborator.
"You can’t do it all alone," is so perfectly true, no matter how independent you are (or think you are). All through high school, and into my freshman year of college I was trying to do it all by myself. It wore me down, and in the end I did very little of anything at all. It was one of the worst times of my life. The minute I asked for help, however, I found that there were people in every direction willing to give me a boost, another chance, or just a shoulder to lean on. This philosophy especially rings true for theatre, because no matter what you do (act, build, etc.) you are always a part of a larger whole.
I think is a pretty good list. I usually like most of the lists that get posted on the NFTRW pages, but this list is very different.
I think this article is well written, and I think that I mostly appreciate that its from a working producer with a >10 year career.
My favorites were 1 and 5.
Nobody else is you is an interesting way to phrase this sentence. I take it to mean that nobody else will do things exactly the same why, so why try to impose that on them.
Number 5, don’t be angry at somebody today, because you’re going to need a favor tomorrow is especially true. I think this one is especially true in an academic setting. The people, at this school particularly, are likely to be the next generation of leading theatre practicioners. The connections that we make here are the most important. Don’t burn bridges over school stuff, it could cost you a job one day.
This article rings so true! Not only in the entertainment industry, but most on this list apply to all fields, especially "You can't do it all alone". Even from what I've done so far in CMU and in Highschool, asking for help is the single best thing I have ever done. No matter how much a person feels like they are drowning, asking and talking help so much. In almost every industry, you are part of a bigger picture, relying on people will always help.
I really like how the author presented his advice. There's usually advice, with each piece being followed by a short paragraph describing it, but I really appreciate the straightforwardness of the author. I'm chilling on a beach, here's 10 simple sentences of advice, here's one more sentence, done. I really liked the last piece of advice, and I think that it's one of the most important pieces on that list (although everything on that list is important). I also found the advice about checking your inbox to be amusing, but also important. Ken Davenport has a lot of experience in this field, but I think that no matter how much advice he gives, it's still super important for us to fail and make mistakes the way he did. There's nothing wrong with screwing up as long as you learn from it (and people are safe and you don't destroy a lot of stuff and you don't get fired and it isn't super costly).
This article makes its point very well. I also don't think these are things people don't know. Ken Davenport probably knew these things ten years ago. Rather, they seem to be things people have a hard time accepting. It's not easy to let go of idealism, what you want or think should be, in favor or what is real. However, accepting the reality of people and situations can make things much easier. It makes us better able to rely on people, to ask for help, as the article points out as a positive thing. And, no, you can't expect everyone to be you, but it's also good to learn that there is more than one right way to do things. And not having it your way isn't always a disaster. I enjoy that these are revelations in maturity, rather than groundbreaking secrets of aging.
It may not have been his main point at all, but the line about exceeding peoples expectations and Davenport's inclusion of an 11th "thing [he] learned" really stood out. It probably stood out so much because I truly wasn't expecting an 11th point. I don't know if he exceeded my expectations per se simply because of the connotation of "exceed expectations" but he certainly surprised me, did something I wasn't prepared for, and that was cool, for lack of a better word. I feel strange going on about this point, for it is so minute, but for some reason, I really enjoyed that, whether it was for its comical tone or interesting delivery, I don't know, what I do know is I want to make sure that I exceed expectations as well. While in class or in my future professional career, I hope that people get things they didn't even ask for. That could be an added feature in a home, a special special effect (yes, two specials were intentional) on stage or even something in everyday life. Helping someone out more than they asked for, going an extra mile just to help someone out, or paying it forward. I realize I'm not really addressing this article head on, and don't get me wrong, I loved and took to heart all 11 "things" but something struck me about the inclusion of that 11th thing. This post really made me stop and think, maybe not for the reasons the author intended, but I appreciated it.
-Drew
This article strikes me a lot. I think it's really well written and very inspiring.Espicially me, as a just started business owner, When you start your own business, it's a lot to think about. It's a whole other lever of stress and expectations. But this 10 things that he mentioned make me stop and thinking about it. I like all of them but my favorite one is of course, like most people, the first one. I also like the fifth one a lot just because it's so true, especially when you own a business and this is what my parents always tell me: You cannot let people know how you feel or what you think. If you still need them to work for you, you need to be very careful about express your feelings. And in this industry, it's a small world, you may definitely need helps from people you don't like at some point and that's why you should not get angry at anyone today.
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