Who in their right mind would produce a brand-new musical in today's economy? In Los Angeles? In the summer...!?
Only someone who made money doing it last summer.
And that's the Academy for New Musical Theatre, who produced a musical at the Secret Rose Theatre in North Hollywood under 'risk-free' conditions...and saw a 156% return on its dollar. Now it's trying to repeat its success.
Their business plan last summer worked, and their Executive Director, Scott Guy, is confident it will work again. 'It's not about investors; it's not about not paying actors...,' says Guy, 'It's about
pre-sales. Last year we actually made money producing our first musical. Now we're determined to do it again. At approximately ten times the scale as last year. Well, okay,
eight times the scale.'
Here's how Guy and the Academy did it last year. They reached out to their members, friends, and fan base and requested everyone to buy tickets in advance for the workshop production of
40 is the New 15. Guy insisted that the Academy would not commit to production until pre-sales equaled the entire budget, from opening night to closing night, every single dollar. It took a massive email and telephone campaign, but the Academy did it: they raised the entire budget by selling tickets in advance...and so, they were able to produce risk-free, and the show went on to become a big summer hit.
40 is the New 15 follows the lives of five 40-year-olds looking back to when they were 15 looking forward to being 40. It's received a lot of attention, garnering a 2010 GLAAD Media Award nomination, and being selected by
Stephen Schwartz for the ASCAP/Disney
Musical Theatre Workshop at the Disney Studios in February.
Now they're asking members and friends to do it again. Only this year, the stakes are higher: a full production is much bigger than a workshop production. There will be a live band, a bigger theatre, more elaborate scenery, costumes and lights; and of course the budget is much bigger.
The Academy is looking for $15,000 in pre-sales by April 15th. They're giving ticket-buyers the option of exchanging tickets for different dates, and patrons have embraced this idea. 'I'm happy to help new musicals by buying a ticket in advance,' applauds one supportive patron, 'especially because they're letting me switch my performance date later; that's great. I get to see a show when I want to...
plus I get to help contribute to musical theatre history by supporting a new show. I love that!'
40 is the New 15 is scheduled to open on July 16th and run through August 22nd at the NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood. For reservations and more information, visit the Academy's website at
www.anmt.org
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