Thoughts from a Los Angeles Theater Producer

A few weeks ago, I posted this post outlining why we need to have an awards season as well as some basic rules that our major awards organizations should follow.  I also announced that I would be analyzing each award show in the context of these rules to see how they compare.  I have reached out to our major awards organizations over the past month and am hopeful that I will complete my analysis in the next two weeks. 

In the meantime, I thought I would talk about why we even have awards in the first place.

For me there are three major reasons why we have awards shows: 

1. To celebrate and acknowledge artistic achievement
2. To market our productions
3. To attract investment/ fund-raise for our productions

Here is an in-depth look at these three reasons:

1)   To celebrate and acknowledge artistic achievement

I don’t think I need to elaborate much here.  If you do great work, then it’s great to be recognized for your work.  This is the most obvious reason why we have awards shows. Some people probably think this is the only reason we have awards shows, but there is much more to it than just recognition…

2)    To market our productions

In New York City, producers loudly proclaim the awards that their productions have won.  Unfortunately, we don’t see that in Los Angeles.  The reality is that in Los Angeles, 99.9% of the shows have closed by the time the awards are presented.  It’s not the fault of the awards organizations that some shows can’t run long enough to win awards and subsequently promote their awards.  The LA Stage Alliance has made an effort to help producers market during their run by bringing in the “Ovation Recommended” feature.  I know over the next few years the LA Stage Alliance will refine and market the “Ovation Recommended” to a point where it is meaningful to the average patron. I hope that other awards organizations can come up with something that is equally helpful from a marketing perspective.  (The LADCC might present a “Production of the Month Award.”)

Ultimately, marketing an award-winning show is the responsibility of the producers.  For producers to successfully market award-winning productions, productions have to run long enough to win awards during their run.  But before we can produce longer running shows, we need to deal with the 99-seat plan, our theater rental agreements, and just about every other issue I have been blogging about.  But, alas, that is not the point of this post. 

3)  To attract investment/ fund-raise for our productions

Many people in the LA Theater community might not think that awards equal money.  But in fact, they most certainly do.  In my opinion, fund-raising is the most important reason that we have awards.  If a theater company wins an award, they can immediately issue a press release to their donors and congratulate them while simultaneously asking them to continue to support their award-winning work.  For commercial producers like me, awards can be used to raise investment money for future productions.

I can’t emphasize enough how important this really is.  Raising money for theater is difficult.  It’s difficult whether you are a commercial producer or a non-profit organization.  People who support the arts enjoy supporting companies and shows that are “great” in the eyes of the public.  Awards are a quick and clear way to point out just how great your production really is. 

And it should go without saying that a lot of money is on the line for all of us.  We might not like to be reminded of this fact, but anyone who understands the mindset of an investor and the realities of raising money knows that this is true.

Because of these three reasons, organizations that run the major awards shows owe it to every winner and nominee to run a solid awards show that is legitimate, free from conflicts of interest, and taken very seriously by both the community, and the public as a whole.

Hopefully, I will be able to start rolling out my analysis of our four major awards next two weeks.