big theatre show

[Jimbo]

hey folks, myself and onother magician just rented out a theatre to do some big shows, for a while. It was surprisingly cheap, and we have some promo out there about it, but thie is our first time venturing into the producer and promoter world of show biz. any tips or advice?

[worldwidese]

Stay friendly with the Fire Marshal, get Insurance Coverage.
Have plenty of audience participation so you get return customers

[scot]

• if someone will not go because it costs money, give them free tickets
• offer tickets to the press
• get your press releases out right now.
• give the money you make to charity, that way you'll get more press and people will be more excited to come
• you'll spend more money on promo than on rent
• make sure you have something for people to drink
• you can make more money on merchandise than on ticket sales
• packing the house is more important than making money
• get video
• find out about all the free mailing lists and advertising opportunities in your community
• have physical tickets made. Then people will feel more committed to showing up.
• all advertising copy and press releases should be short(like 6 sentences) and fun to read
• You need people for all kinds of things like tickets, set up, clean up, merch, sound, lights , video, stage management, directing, promo, pr
• get a simple website up and a way to buy tickets online through a friend's store or something.
• get other performers in the show. they'll bring their friends at least
• involve businesses for free. in the future, they may want to sponsor you.
• don't underestimate the general disinterest in your shows.
• if you're doing a long run, you can generate some word of mouth. Make sure everyone gets a flyer before leaving. Give them buy1 get1 coupons so they can come back with a friend.
• change the show on a regular basis so you can say, "Come back next month for a new show" repeat customers are your easiest ones if you're good
• never cancel a show no matter what your turnout is.
• no matter what's going on in production, before you step on stage take a deep breath and make sure you're having fun for the sake of the audience. The other stuff won't matter to them.

[Stretch]

add this thread to the library!

Great post. Scott!

Please elaborate on where to find free mailing lists and advertising opportunities.

Thank you! Good luck on your new show!

[scot]

To find events sites and mailing lists and free ad space:
search the internet (mytown events, mytown discount tickets),
talk to performer friends
Small town groceries have bulletin boards
newspapers have event listings
some city's public transportation departments have lists
Craigslist
Community and Cable access channels
Maybe your friends have big mailing lists ask them if they'll include your posting.
usenet

[Doctor Eric]

you forgot a few...

citysearch,yahoo dir...

I live by the weekly. If you get in the weekly, you'll sell out, period. Call them every day until they feature you, when they do feature you, let them know what changes the show will go through in order to plant seeds for another feature. Make whoever writes the article come see the show, you'll get a review. If you can afford to take out an ad in the weekly, you're home free. If you give out prizes, people will come, if you have games, people will come, if you have a chance for people to feed their ego, people will come. If you cook vegan food, no one will show up, and when people do, they won't eat it.

"get other performers in the show. they'll bring their friends at least"

My ass, they will.

I think when you had guests that weren't performers, it worked better scot. They were the kind of people that felt like it was a treat to be onstage, and their friends actually WOULD show up.

[dave walbridge]

making money...

Know that 70% of your work needs to be on the business end of the show, and most of that into doing lots of early promotion.

Most magicians spend thier time building a great illusion show and play to no one.

70%

[Rev]

If you get in the weekly, you'll sell out, period.

Unless you're in Cincinnati. Then everyone who reads the weekly will just bitch that there's nothing to do in this town and go to a bar instead.

Note to self: Get bar to hire me.

[scot]

If you cook vegan food, no one will show up, and when people do, they won't eat it.
This time no one will know that the food is vegan. I'm going to sneek the vegan ingredients into the food.

My ass, they will.
Inviting other performers works best for bands, yoyo professionals and restaurant owners.

I don't really believe that it's that great to advertise in a weekly paper, but do whatever you can. If you can do it all, you'll need it. Try everything you can think of to sell more tickets.

Organize everything write down everyone's contact info that volunteers to help. Keep everything sorted and filed and all your notes should be written out so you understand them later.

You probably won't be successful the first time So the better you can use this opportunity to learn, the better your next time will rock.

[Mr.Taxi Trix]

Get a copy of the book "Presenting Performances" from the American Council on the Arts. Here's a review...



This sixth edition of Presenting Performances describes in detail how to go about organizing, producing, and sponsoring a live performance. Chapters cover administrators, performers, fund raising, publicity, and technical advice. Appendixes cover contracts, sample by-laws, press releases, and how to apply for NEA grants. There is also a glossary of technical terms. Written in a clear, easy-to-understand style with humorous illustrations by Carter, this should be an invaluable aid to local performing arts groups. In the eight years since this title was last revised, many changes and challenges have arisen in the field. This new edition is highly recommended


It's available at Amazon for short money... get the most recent edition.

[worldwidese]

Audience participation is the key.
People will keep coming back to see their friends making fools of themselves onstage.
If you learn a little hypnotism, then you've got it made.

[Jimbo]

thanks

I just want to say thank you to all who have posted on this so far. It's I never expected this show to sell out but so far it's doing pretty good. The theatre world is not that much differant from the pub and night club world as far as being a producer goes. so far it's going well, an I've sold out 1 of the three shows already, but that was just to my email list of fans, so any more advise would be great.

thanks

[jester]

Set up a web site dedicated to the show.