Every book I read during the pandemic.
One thing I did A LOT of during the pandemic? Read! (Or “Listen” – since I’m a big audible guy).
I didn’t just limit myself to the fun theatermaking books either. Because I believe we should be looking outside of our bubble to learn how to make this industry stronger and better.
And when a TheaterMaker in my NextStage mastermind asked me what books I’ve read recently, I decided to put the list together and share it with you too!
There are books on writing, producing, marketing, and just plain ol’ kick-you-in-the-butt inspiration.
So here’s my 2022 TheaterMaking Reading List:
On Producing
- The Commercial Theater Institute’s Guide to Producing Plays and Musicals
- The Business of Broadway: An Insider’s Guide to Working, Producing, and Investing in the World’s Greatest Theatre Community
- From Option to Opening: A Guide to Producing Plays Off-Broadway
- The Palgrave Handbook of Musical Theatre Producers
- I Wanna Be a Producer: How to Make a Killing on Broadway … or Get Killed
- Theatre Management: Producing and Managing in the Performing Arts
- So You Want to Be a Theatre Producer
- The Stage Producer’s Business and Legal Guide
- Self-Disciplined Producer: Develop a Powerful Work Ethic, Improve Your Focus, and Produce Better Results
- Producers on Producing
- Stage Money
- A Technique for Producing Ideas: A Simple Five-Step Formula for Producing Ideas
On Writing
- The Nutshell Technique
- Beating Broadway: How to Create Stories for Musicals That Get Standing Ovations
- The Art of Dramatic Writing
- The Secret Life of the American Musical
- Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer
- Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
- How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One
- On Writing
- Writing in Restaurants
- Mastering the Craft of Writing: How to Write With Clarity, Emphasis, and Style
- Sensory Writing for Stage and Screen
- Writing Dialogue for Scripts (Writing Handbooks)
- The Writer’s Journey
- On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
- What Playwrights Talk about When They Talk About Writing
- Writing in Collaborative Theatre-Making
- Writing the Award-Winning Play
- How to Write Everything
- You Can Write a Play!
On Marketing
- Purple Cow: Transform your Business by Being Remarkable
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
- Building a Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
- Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through The Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Retention
- The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
- Pre-suasion: A Revolutionary Way To Influence and Persuade
- Contagious: Why Things Catch On
- Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive And Others Die
- The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them At Your Own Risk!
- Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends Into Customers
On Motivation
- How To Be a No Limit Person
- You are a Badass
- The 5 Second Rule
- Failing Up: How To Take Risk, Aim Higher, and Never Stop Learning
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
- Mindset
- War of Art
- White Fragility
- Daring Greatly
For Fun

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Ken created one of the first Broadway podcasts, recording over 250 episodes over 7 years. It features interviews with A-listers in the theater about how they “made it”, including 2 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 7 Academy Award Winners and 76 Tony Award winners. Notable guests include Pasek & Paul, Kenny Leon, Lynn Ahrens and more.