The Top 6 Most Important Skills A Producer Must Have. Part II
Did you enjoy your intermission?
Yesterday, I gave you Act I of this two-parter with 3 of the 6 top skills Broadway Producers must have now . . . and forever.
To give you a recap, that trio of traits is:
1. Imagination
2. Optimism
3. Objectivity
Now, we resume this e-performance with Act II and three more mad skillz you need to produce on Broadway:
4. Thick-skinness
Here’s a fact. If you put something out in the world, someone will throw tomatoes at you. Robert Kennedy once said, “One-fifth of the people are against everything all the time.” That’s right, 20% of the audience that sees your show won’t like it or YOU . . . no matter what you do.
So you best have the skin of a politician to brave the critics, audiences, and even some of your peers! Especially after your first big success. One Hollywood and Broadway A-list superstar once told me, “When you achieve something great, you can bet money that people will try to bring you down.”
Don’t let it surprise you. And don’t let it bother you.
5. Collaborative
I often say that creating a new musical is like trying to get fifteen people to paint the Mona Lisa. Someone wants this shade of color. Another wants this texture of brush stroke. And what about the frame? And maybe she should frown?
Creating a musical or a play is one of the most collaborative processes on the planet. So you better be good at it AND you best be good at facilitating it. Because when people fight, as the Producer, you’ll need to suss it out. Because you’ve got the most at risk if the show doesn’t turn out the best it can be. (And rest assured, your team will fight, even on successful shows. And sometimes even MORE on successful shows! Read this book for an example of that!)
6. The Action-ator
Like Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator, all Broadway Producers need to be relentless in their pursuit.
They need to take action, and massive amounts of it, every day, to get their show up the Broadway hill.
They can’t wait for someone else to pick up the ball. Because no one will. No one cares as much. It’s up to you. Become The Action-ator and you’ll get to where you want to go, without even knowing how you got there.
I started this post thinking it was for TheaterMakers who wanted to be Producers. And somewhere during that intermission, I realized that these traits are essential for ALL TheaterMakers. So whether you’re a Producer, Playwright, Director or Actor, infuse your work with these six traits: Imagination, Optimism, Objectivity, Thick-skinness, Collaboration and Action-Taking, and you’ll get through this strange period we’re in and ANY strange period we’re ever in.
Need some examples of the action I take to get me and my projects going? Click here for 19 daily actionable tasks that help me get my shows off the ground.
Podcasting
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.
