As I select my first commercial project, I have created a check list of four vital criteria:
(1) Commercial Appeal
(2) Operating Costs
(3) Artistic Merit
(4) Investor Interest
Each day this week, I will cover one topic and, using well known examples, explain how my thought process would work in evaluating a property.
Investor Interest:
Not every show is for every investor. A good producer is able to match his projects with the interests of his investors. Investors, just like producers, have different tastes and favorite genres, playwrights, composers, directors, and styles. Investors also have different motivations for backing shows. While some may believe in the message of the play, others may be excited about joining the star backstage or at an opening night party. Some invest for bragging rights during cocktail conversations while others use it as an opportunity to support their arts.
A good producer will ask his investors what kind of plays and musicals they like and try to better understand their motivations. While a producer is more than welcome to present every project to investors, it shows great courtesy and preparedness to only bring those projects forward that match the investors' interests.
Example: HAIR
Folklore says that Diane Paulus' fantastic revival of Hair was having a hard time capitalizing during the period between its summer run in the Park and its Broadway opening. The musical ultimately made it to Broadway when producers tapped into a very generous of segmentation of former hippies who felt guilty about abandoning their "Flower Child" ways for cold corporate cash. Funding this project was a means for this now wealthy demographic to reconnect with their lost youth and ideologies.
(1) Commercial Appeal
(2) Operating Costs
(3) Artistic Merit
(4) Investor Interest
Each day this week, I will cover one topic and, using well known examples, explain how my thought process would work in evaluating a property.
Investor Interest:
Not every show is for every investor. A good producer is able to match his projects with the interests of his investors. Investors, just like producers, have different tastes and favorite genres, playwrights, composers, directors, and styles. Investors also have different motivations for backing shows. While some may believe in the message of the play, others may be excited about joining the star backstage or at an opening night party. Some invest for bragging rights during cocktail conversations while others use it as an opportunity to support their arts.
A good producer will ask his investors what kind of plays and musicals they like and try to better understand their motivations. While a producer is more than welcome to present every project to investors, it shows great courtesy and preparedness to only bring those projects forward that match the investors' interests.
Example: HAIR
Folklore says that Diane Paulus' fantastic revival of Hair was having a hard time capitalizing during the period between its summer run in the Park and its Broadway opening. The musical ultimately made it to Broadway when producers tapped into a very generous of segmentation of former hippies who felt guilty about abandoning their "Flower Child" ways for cold corporate cash. Funding this project was a means for this now wealthy demographic to reconnect with their lost youth and ideologies.
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