A Good Day - Press, Profits and Potter
Nov. 18th, 2005 12:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrdreamjeansPress - A year on tour and I’ve not been asked to do any press or publicity for the show. That changed yesterday when I was asked to participate in an event at Barnes & Noble. Ann Brummel, Richard True, Rob Rokicki and I were picked up in a Limo (a little much:) at 4pm and driven to the Fort Lauderdale Barnes & Noble.
The press person for our producer had not provided many details other than it was an appearance for an educational outreach program called Discover Broadway. To our surprise, there were cameras, sound, a moderator, a line of chairs ... very similar to Inside the Actors Studio. We taped a one-hour program with about 40 people in attendance. The moderator asked good questions about the production and touring and was well-informed. I really enjoyed listening to my co-workers stories and adding my own.
Following the appearance, we were given complimentary meals, which we had pre-ordered, and headed back to the limo which took us up directly to the theater and the performance. I’ve got to admit, arriving at work in a limo beats walking, busing or car-pooling:)
Profits - I’ve written previously about our contract on “Evita”. It’s called a “Special Agreement”, instead of Production Contract. Essentially it means that Actors Equity, our union, granted our producer several concessions, first among them a reduction in salary from the usual minimum for a national tour. Added as an afterthought, was a profit-sharing clause. I expect that no one in the production office ever thought that a 25-year old musical would sell well enough that the actors (last in line) would ever see overage, but it’s happened ... several times.
Last week in Tampa, “Evita” played to near sell-outs and did nearly a million dollars in revenue. Each actor will receive an amount in next week’s paycheck equal to 2/3 of a week’s salary. For the record, the cast received profit-sharing in Schenectady, NY; Los Angeles, Toronto, San Diego and Tampa. I plan to use the extra pay for debt reduction.
Potter - After last night’s performance, 15 of us drove in a driving rain to a special midnight showing of Harry Potter 4. I enjoyed the film, though I should have re-read the book to remind myself of story-line details. I’m sure that people will quibble about how much of the book was left out, will say that depth and character development were sacrificed at the expense of special effects. This is true. I found its visuals dazzling, the tone much darker than previous installments and and moments which were flat-out funny. The film moved at break-neck speed.
It was fun to see it with a large group and a surreal experience to see Kathy Voytko as Eva appear five times in an advertisement on the big screen before the movie. (We called Kathy on the spot to tell her of her guest appearance. She’s in Denver visiting her husband who’s playing Raoul on the tour of “Phantom”) I got to bed at 3:30am, but it was a perfect ending to a long day of press, profits and Potter.
The press person for our producer had not provided many details other than it was an appearance for an educational outreach program called Discover Broadway. To our surprise, there were cameras, sound, a moderator, a line of chairs ... very similar to Inside the Actors Studio. We taped a one-hour program with about 40 people in attendance. The moderator asked good questions about the production and touring and was well-informed. I really enjoyed listening to my co-workers stories and adding my own.
Following the appearance, we were given complimentary meals, which we had pre-ordered, and headed back to the limo which took us up directly to the theater and the performance. I’ve got to admit, arriving at work in a limo beats walking, busing or car-pooling:)
Profits - I’ve written previously about our contract on “Evita”. It’s called a “Special Agreement”, instead of Production Contract. Essentially it means that Actors Equity, our union, granted our producer several concessions, first among them a reduction in salary from the usual minimum for a national tour. Added as an afterthought, was a profit-sharing clause. I expect that no one in the production office ever thought that a 25-year old musical would sell well enough that the actors (last in line) would ever see overage, but it’s happened ... several times.
Last week in Tampa, “Evita” played to near sell-outs and did nearly a million dollars in revenue. Each actor will receive an amount in next week’s paycheck equal to 2/3 of a week’s salary. For the record, the cast received profit-sharing in Schenectady, NY; Los Angeles, Toronto, San Diego and Tampa. I plan to use the extra pay for debt reduction.
Potter - After last night’s performance, 15 of us drove in a driving rain to a special midnight showing of Harry Potter 4. I enjoyed the film, though I should have re-read the book to remind myself of story-line details. I’m sure that people will quibble about how much of the book was left out, will say that depth and character development were sacrificed at the expense of special effects. This is true. I found its visuals dazzling, the tone much darker than previous installments and and moments which were flat-out funny. The film moved at break-neck speed.
It was fun to see it with a large group and a surreal experience to see Kathy Voytko as Eva appear five times in an advertisement on the big screen before the movie. (We called Kathy on the spot to tell her of her guest appearance. She’s in Denver visiting her husband who’s playing Raoul on the tour of “Phantom”) I got to bed at 3:30am, but it was a perfect ending to a long day of press, profits and Potter.
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Date: 2005-11-18 05:48 pm (UTC)I'm learning more about overages and Equity contracts. We had to add a daytime matinee for the Christmas show, are looking at adding a daytime for the January show, and have already set aside 2 extra possible daytimes for Snapshots: Life in the City (wish you were around...this is a gotta see!).
Someday, I'll get you up here :)
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Date: 2005-11-19 04:46 am (UTC)