Actor-Producer Chronicles: Hiring a Director, Fundraising, Booking a Space

When I left you last, I shared all the work that went into producing a promotional photo shoot and my tips and tricks for photo shoot success.

A lot has happened since then – I’ve been working tremendously hard to get this show off the ground as the months slip by.

HIRING A DIRECTOR

First, I’ve hired a Director. Not just any Director, but an incredible one that I’m so thrilled to work with. And finding the match was no easy feat. It went roughly like this:

1. Ask friends and acquaintances for personal director recommendations

2. Post an Ad up on Playbill specifically detailing what I was looking for in a director. Full text of that ad, in case you’re trying to write something similar:

Seeking a dynamic, challenging, actor-focused director who loves period work and wants to bring an ambitious AEA showcase production to life.

Collaborative and positive nature a must. Network of trusted young NYC designers and the capacity and reputation to attract high-quality talent a plus.

The production is billed as:

The NYC premiere production of Rob Santana’s “The King’s Whore: The Anne Boleyn story,” a modern theatrical re-telling of the story of Anne Boleyn that examines the political, religious, and human conditions that allowed a 16th-century woman trapped in a man’s world to change that world forever.

Lavish costumes, top-notch acting, timeless story. Slated for Spring 2013 and aiming for Walkerspace at Soho Rep.

For more information, please check out the show’s website: http://nycanneboleyn.wordpress.com

Include your resume, work samples, why you’re interested in this production and what you would bring to it, and stipend/salary requirements. Please make special note of any relevant experience with historical pieces.

3. Comb through dozens of resumes received; make an immediate “yes/maybe” and “no” list.

4. Realize I have 25 “yes/maybes” and go through the list again until I get it down to 12 strong candidates I want to meet with.

5. Contact my 12 directors with a copy of the script for them to read on google docs (there is an option to make your google document non-downloadable, so this is a pretty secure way to go about this) and ask them what days/times out of 3 days worth of options would work for them.

6. Have 3 of my 12 directors tell me that the script doesn’t interest them or they’re now too busy for the project (I only share this so you don’t find it discouraging if it happens to you).

7. Spend an exhausting 3 days in a row meeting with awesome director after awesome director.

8. Deliberate for days over the difficult decision, even while deep down knowing who the ultimate best person for the project is.

9. Hire my first choice director! Get super excited about it 🙂

RAISING FUNDS

I’ve also been seriously hard at work on my least favorite task involved with being a producer – fundraising. Yes, it’s odious to us artist folk. No, it’s not optional.

But thanks to a fundraising lesson from the amazing Rhonda of Art & Soul Acting (which I will happily take the time to pass on to you if you’re serious about it, but just know that it involves a lot of scary phone calls), I have nearly $10,000 raised so far, and I’m not even close to finished.

The first step involves making a beautiful and professional-looking case statement (again, thanks to Rhonda for her incredible generosity in teaching all of this to me). Here’s the first page of mine. I’m happy to privately share the rest with you if you’re looking for help on this:

I still have over $10,000 to raise, though, so keep an eye out for a crowd funding campaign in the next couple of months. I sure could use your support.

BOOKING A SPACE

I’m not going to lie to you and pretend that this step was all that challenging for me…although writing that deposit check sure was!

All along, I’ve only had one space in mind for this project, so even though I researched several other alternative spaces, I ended up going with the one and only space I actually visited.

We’re lucky because these days, you can learn most of what you need to know about any potential rental space just by visiting their website. Most spaces even have downloadable inventory schedules and rate sheets, so you can rule out a space or add it to your list of potential places without ever even speaking to anyone. And if you do have questions, it’s usually pretty easy to email someone and get a quick answer.

Once you do have a space (or a few) in mind, the next step is to schedule a site visit to go look at the space. My best advice is to make sure you have a list of questions to ask whoever’s showing you around because it’s easy to get distracted and forget to ask something important. And definitely do ask questions! They expect it.

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So that’s where the project stands at the moment. There’s lots to do and I find many of the tasks I set out upon as a producer to be a bit terrifying, but I’m ultimately so SO excited about where the project is heading. I can’t wait to keep you posted.