In my last article on the topic, we started looking at the journey that a show and its team go on during the production of a play or musical. We saw how the core creative team comes together, how they then put a cast together, and how they produce a workshop production in order to promote funding. However, if they are successful and receive funding at this stage they are still only half way and have a long way to go before their posters will be seen decorating a Broadway theatre. This article will look at how producers make sure that their show continues to receive popularity, rather than flopping once on the stage.
The next step in taking a show to the stage is the tech period. Once a show has financial backing, and the actors know their lines, the team have to start considering how the action will look on an actual stage. Often, the cast and crew will move to an out of town theatre to test the lighting, scenery, costume changes and special effects before it actual plays. This period can be stressful for the whole team, since there is a deadline before the show actually has to open, and if it is running behind there is a rush to make sure everything is ready in time. Despite this, this stage is the first real chance to see the show in its full splendour, and a lot of elements which had to be imagined in the previous stages of the show’s development, can now actually be realised, so it is very exciting for the whole team.
After the tech stage is out of the way, the production is ready to be performed, and so the majority of shows will perform at a theatre out of town for several weeks to gain feedback about how the show is doing. From reviews of this production they can then know whether certain elements need changing, or whether it is feasible to make a transfer to Broadway or the West-End. Also, if parts of the show do not run smoothly for the actors and people working behind the scenes, then changes can be made to allow for this.
Those shows that are successful at this stage may quickly transfer to a theatre on Broadway or the West-End, while others may require a short period to make edits and to gain more support from the theatre community. The better a show does in its out of town previews the quicker it will be offered a theatre, since theatre owners are running a business too, and so only want to display shows that will give their theatre a good name, as well as bringing in large amounts of money. Once a theatre is found for the show in one of these locations, the team will go through another tech process, to setup all of the equipment in this new venue in the way they had it in their out of town theatre, or to set it up for any new scenes that have been added since then. Of course, if a show producer has enough money to fund the whole project themselves, they may skip both the workshop and out of town try-out stages and so for them, this will be the first time they see their show on stage. But, once again, there is a high risk with this choice, since if the show flops, then the massive amount of money put towards the production and getting the Broadway theatre will all be lost. At the end of this stage the production is ready for its opening night which for many will be the most exciting stage in its production.
Even once the show has opened, the actors will still have to work to make it seem fresh every night, and the team must also keep working to promote it, so that it does well in awards shows and gets good reviews from critics. The opening date for a show is such an important decision for this, because it will be the factor that affects which awards season it is in, and so which shows it will be up against for awards. Also, this promotion process is important for those producers who want their show to transfer across the Atlantic from Broadway to the West-End or vice versa.
As these articles have shown, the production of a show is a highly competitive and ruthless process, and should not be taken lightly, but for those who have big dreams and who are willing to put in a lot of effort, it is an extraordinary achievement to realise.
Image from: http://www.campbroadway.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/broadway.jpg
0 Comment:
Be the first one to comment on this article.