american entertainment magazine

THE BAND PERRY: OUR FEATURE STORY 26If ever there was a band on the way to the top, most artists, agentsand buyers would admit, this is it. In this exclusive interview with allthree of the members of “Perry,” you will get an upfront and personallook at why the cards are stacked in their favor and it is a whole lotmore than luck. You will visit with three of the hardest working, mostpersonable artists in the business.

hot comedy picks fornext season 10Sometimes programming comedycan be a little tricky. We’ve selecteda dozen artists that we think can playfor any audience...even yours. You’llfind direct contact information tohelp you decide exactly what mightbe right for your stage or event.

PERFORMING ARTS...HERE AND NOW 16An exclusive interview with oneof Performing Arts’ veteran pro-ducers. We take a look at the artsfrom the Golden Age of Broad-way to where we are now withthe emphasis on how theaterscan better program to get buttsback into seats.

AEP SELECTS GREEN VALLEYFOR SEPT 19-21, 2011 24Green Valley is an eloquent prop-erty and well fitted for an enter-tainment conference. AEP hasdecided to take advantage of theOvation stage there for showcas-ing talent for its Signature Event.You’ll find a complete list of ben-efits to help you improve yourbuying process.

DEPARTMENTS

FROM THE PUBLISHER 4

TECHNICALLY FUNNY/ GREG SCHWEM 6

REMEMBERING CHARMAGNE 8

HOT COMEDY 2011/12 10

THE FUTURE OF THE ARTS 16

AEP: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER 22

THE AMAZING DANA CARVEY 26

BUYING COMEDY WITH APA’S JACKIE KNOBBE 32

THIS ISSUE IS DEDICATED TO THE LOVING MEMORY OF OUR ASSOCIATE AND FRIEND, CHARMAGNE LOVELESS (2/9/1952- 2/10/2011)

First, it is important that I thank all of youwho have sent me such kind commentson the reconstruction of American En-

tertainment Magazine. The finished producthas been the result of input from readersfrom all segments of the entertainment in-dustry. We got the largest feedback fromthe stories on The Band Perry and TheEvolution of Country Music. I am glad itserved as an eye-opening experience tothose of you who haven’t really looked atemerging country as viable options for yourprogramming. This is a hot segment andwe received some great information fromour contributors.

This issue deals with two different segmentsof the market: Comedy and Performing Arts.

Comedy in the campus market has neverbeen that big of a deal. They program it allof the time and they have so many oppor-tunities to see it live through showcases,they can get a pretty good feel for what willwork and what will not. Having come fromthat market originally, I can tell you back inthe day, I have seen comics showcasingsome pretty disgusting material. But astimes have gotten tougher economically,much of the material I saw back 25 yearsago would not fly today. Obviously, it doesn’thave to be as squeaky clean as what wemight expect to see for general audiences(and by general audiences I mean corpo-rate shows and family venues) but directorson college campuses still have to report tothe administration.

With that said, there are a lot of “G” and“PG” artists out there who are still extremelyfunny without using lewd and offensive lan-guage. Almost every agency specializing incomedy can provide you with safe, sensiblechoices. Don’t think that the days of CarolBurnett and Andy Griffith are gone forever,because they are not.

On a more serious note, we have an ex-cellent interview with Paul Bartz of Wind-wood Theatricals dealing with his take onthe history and the future of the perform-ing arts. I have known Paul many, manyyears and during that time he has beencompletely immersed in a segment ofthis industry that he truly loves.

“The Times, They Are A Changin’” Bob Dylan

4, AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT MAgAzINE, March/April 2011 www.americanentertainmentmagazine.com

What has happened to the arts is bothtragic and indefensible. It is an importantpart of our history as well as our future.In this story you will savor the glory daysand find some hope for tomorrow.

Audiences are changing and theatersand those who buy for them must changeto in order to remain viable. The artsmust not only deliver what is expectedbut some of what isn’t.

My advice for any young artist who is trying tobreak into any market is NEVER deliver ashow of all original material. Audiences haveears tuned for the familiar and that is what theyexpect. No matter how good your catalog oforiginal music is, it is likely to become a snorefest for the audience if that is all you give them.

I think that is a lesson learned in programmingfor venues too. One of the things you will learnfrom this interview with Paul is that in order tobe successful you have to deliver brandedacts. Branded doesn’t mean they have to beat the top of the Billboard or iTunes charts; butit does mean they have to be familiar. The term”familiar” varies from location to location. Insmaller cities, it can be an act with a local or

regional following as well as national expo-sure. In larger cities, it may mean they need tohave a following in your part of the country tonationally. In some cases, it may mean simplythey are performing material familiar to yourdemographic (60s or 70s music, swing or bigband, tribute acts, etc. based on you local pop-ulation). We learned last issue that more mod-ern country music crosses over many age andsocial barriers and is a good fit in most areasof the country.

Read this story on the arts carefully; it is fullof facts, beliefs, insight and experience. It willgive you something to think about.

Finally, I can’t let you go without putting in mypitch for AEP Worldwide. This magazine is notonly a supporter put a developer of the Asso-ciation of Entertainment Professionals. Wethink it is time that buyers and sellers from allfacets of the entertainment industry come to-gether to share our knowledge and experi-ences and learn about acts we have neverbeen exposed to before. As budgets gettighter, we honestly feel this community willmake a difference in the success of our busi-nesses and venues and the development ofnew and inspiring talent.

BRING A PRESIDENT TO YOUR NEXT EVENT!

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Volume 10, #56March/April 2011

Staff:W.C. Kirby, Jr., Publisher

Ian Kirby, Editor and GM

Bryan Waldrop, Design Team Head

Chandler Cook, Graphic/Video Sales

John Thorne, Web Developer

Samuel Hooker, Writer

Greg Schwem, Contributing Writer

AEP WorldwideW.C. Kirby, Jr., Partner

Leona K. Plaugh, Partner

Ian Kirby, Dir. of Associate Development

Chandler Cook, Graphic & Video Services

John Thorne, Website Developer

American Entertainment

Magazine

Offices/Contact:

Main Office:

• 15420 Newberry Road, Blair SC 29015

(803) 712-1429 • (803) 712-6703 (F)

Accounting & Mailing:

• PO Box 509, Prosperity SC 29127

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• 7338 SC Hwy 395, Newberry SC 29108

(803) 276-1635 , Graphic Design Office

On the Web: americanentertainmentmagazine.com

A CAMEO PUBLISHING GROUP

COMPANY IN ASSOCIATION WITH

PUBLISHING PARTNERS

American Entertainment Magazine

Is The Official Publication of

The Association of Entertainment

Professionals Worldwide (AEP)

www.americanentertainmentmagazine.com March/April 2011, AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT MAgAzINE,5

@#*^0-=!*%iPad!

Apple's iPad 2 was just released andthat roar you hear is people around theworld cheering the fact that finally, aftera WHOLE YEAR, Apple got around toimproving something.

Yes, the iPad 1, or simply the iPad, waslaunched on April 3, 2010. By the endof the year, Apple had sold nearly 15million worldwide. Suddenly every-

body had yet another way to readbooks, watch movies, send email andplay games that involved bouncingmulti-colored balls from one side of thescreen to the other.

The iPad also proved to be the quintes-sential meeting distraction.

How can something so irresistible beso infuriating at the same time? I'vemet hundreds of meeting planners andthey are among the hardest workingpeople I know, spending countlesshours to make sure the stage is cor-rectly proportioned, the lighting hits thepodium just so and the IMAG screenscan be seen equally by everybody inthe room.

Of course all of this work is for naughtif nobody in the audience ever looks upfrom their iPads.

Remember the good old days of meet-ings when an offstage "Voice of God"politely asked attendees to turn off theircell phones...and everybody complied?

Those announcements have all butdisappeared as technology evolvesand more and more types of gadgetsare being hauled into ballrooms byaudience members who seem towant to do anything other than watchand listen to whatever is taking placeon stage. Isn't the action on stagethe reason they are at the meeting inthe first place?

I am a professional speaker—a co-median specifically—so the iPad is athorn in my side. Before its launch, Ibasically just had to deal with peoplesneaking a peak at their phones fromtime to time, in case that ALL IM-PORTANT email popped up duringmy presentation. I could deal withthat. As long as they remembered tosilence their Two and a Half Mentheme song ringtone, I could do myshow knowing that I had their atten-tion and their focus.

Then along came the iPad, with itsthree-axis gyroscope, accelerometer,digital compass and ambient light sen-sor. (Note: I have no idea what any ofthat means; I just copied and pasted itfrom the Apple website) It didn't have acamera but fear not! The iPad 2 hasnot one but TWO cameras! Plus it stillretains all the original features, allow-

ing meeting attendees to bring their en-tire offices into the ballrooms and com-mence working wirelessly, thanks tothe device's 10-hour battery life.

Unfortunately I know that iPads aren'tgoing away because, let's face it, theyare very cool. Furthermore, they havequickly become a corporate em-ployee's electronic briefcase; every-thing you will ever need neatly foldedinto a 9.7 inch screen (another figurefrom the website).

So instead of cursing its existence,maybe it's time that speakers andmeeting planners put their heads to-gether and figure out how to make theiPad our friend. Maybe there's a coolapp we can develop that would enticeiPad users to pay attention to the ac-tion at hand.

How about this? Use your iPad 2 andits multiple cameras to take pictures ofthe live action. Continue snappingthrough the entire meeting. When it'sall over, use the app to upload them toa special site.

Whoever took the best photos wins aniPad 3! Coming soon!!

Greg Schwem is a corporate stand-up

comedian, speaker and author of “Text

Me If You’re Breathing: Observations,

Frustrations and Life Lessons From a

Low-Tech Dad.” www.comedywith-

abyte.com


Bio and Photo provided byJohn Thorne


There aren’t many of us who haven’tknown Charmagne and her contribu-tions to clients in the corporate and spe-cial events market. I was honored whenshe accepted our offer to come aboardas our marketing liaison and Director ofArtist and Agency Relations back in Au-gust of this year. Her reputation for in-spiration and creativity in meeting theneeds of clients had long preceeded heras a sales rep for T. Skorman Produc-tions and Key Artist Group. She was in-strumental in bringing in the most newmembers at IACEP.

Over the fall of 2010, Charmagne wasextremely active in helping re-develop thelook and the image of American Enter-

tainment Magazine as the publicationbegan to encompass a more diverse au-dience. Many of the stories you haveseen over the last two issues have beendeveloped from her inspiration. She alsobecame an advisor to the staff as webegan to birth the Association of Enter-tainment Professionals (AEP Wordwide),giving that organization the benefit of herexperience in both the entertainment andhospitality fields.

For me personally, Charmagne was afriend and a colleague. When we discov-ered a newly born kitten that had beendeserted by its mother, she guided me onhow to care for the baby. As soon as itwas a few weeks old, Charmagne had al-ready contacted several “no-kill” shelterswho in turned reach out to me to find“Elvis” a home. Without her I would nothave had a clue how to manage the situ-ation and this poor cat would have had todefend itself among my six dogs.

Even when I knew she was not feelingwell over the last few weeks of her life, Ihad to insist that she take a break and gosee a doctor. Her answer was “there wasalways so much to do and she didn’t want

to let me down.” I finally had to threatento call emergency vehicles to her housebefore she finally relented.

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY

Charmagne Loveless was born in Mil-waukee, Wisconsin, on Feb. 9, 1952 asCharmagne Ann Talsky. On February 10,2011 she “fell asleep in death” at the ageof 59 after a battle with cancer. Her hus-band Bob Loveless, of eight years, wastirelessly by her side till the end.

Charmagne is survived by her parents,Connie and Phil Fillman, Jim & Sue Tal-sky, and her grandmother, Ann Zimny,her sisters and brother in-laws, Colleen& Homer Blake and Tami & BobbyMorales, her step-brother and sisters,Randy, Donna & Cathy Fillman, her in-laws, Jim & Joy Loveless and La VonneGorski, her step-daughters, JodelWogou & Jennifer Martinez. Manynieces and nephews and of course herbeloved cats Shadoe & Roscoe.

Charmagne and her family moved toFlorida when she was five years old. Asa young girl she loved to write livelypoems and stories about simple things inher life such as washing dishes, and thedynamics of being in a blended familywith six kids all under the age of 14. Shelearned sewing from her grandmotherand made many of her beautiful outfitsthrough the years. You would neverguess by looking at these fine garmentsthat they were handmade.

In the 46 years she lived in Florida shehad a variety of employment opportuni-ties, first related to the furniture business,beginning her career at her father, JimTalsky’s furniture store, “The House ofBargains” in Ocala. She then embarkedon a new career in the hospitality indus-try by working at a major hotel in central

Florida as a salesperson, and finallymerged into the corporate entertainmentindustry. If a company needed a goodband or “little green men” for a functionshe could make it happen! She had theopportunity to meet many celebrities andwas able to enjoy traveling to many ex-citing destinations. Charmagne was out-going and a people-person, alwaysprepared to meet and talk to new people.Learning new things always excited her.She was known as an expert shopper,which she enjoyed doing with her friends,and of course everything she boughtwas “on sale!”

In 2002 she married Bob Loveless andbraving the cold, moved back to Wiscon-sin. She continued working in the field ofentertainment and last fall was hired asdirector of Artist and Agency Relations forAmerican Entertainment Magazine.

All who knew Charmagne were aware ofher love of critters, especially cats, whichmakes sense seeing that when she wasborn her initials were C.A.T! Cats justseemed to gravitate toward her, as if shewere one of them. She took in manystrays over the years, caring for themand finding them good homes. Her dailymorning routine included going out tofeed the birds, ducks, cats and whateverelse was out there. Any animal within a20 mile radius of her home was notgoing to starve!

Most importantly in Charmagne loved life,was energetic yet at the same time kind,loving and compassionate. We willdearly miss her warm nature and enthu-siasm for life.

W.C. Kirby, Jr.PublisherAmerican Entertainment Magazine

www.americanentertainmentmagazine.com March/April 2011, AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT MAgAzINE, 9

JOHN HEFFRON: Having won the second season of NBC’s Last

Comic Standing, Heffron’s popularity has grown tremendously. John’samusing and extensive material has earned him three specials on the hitstand up show Comedy Central Presents. He has become a regular on nu-merous VH1 and featured on Thom Filicia’s “Dress My Nest”. He has per-formed on CMT’s “Coming to the Stage”, NBC’s “Late Friday”, and ComedyCentral’s “Premium Blend”. He has made numerous appearances on “TheTonight Show with Jay Leno”, and E’s! “Chelsea Lately”. John has taken thestage at several prestigious comedy festivals including the Las Vegas Com-edy Festival, the Just for Laughs Festival and the HBO Comedy Festival.

DOUg EDLEY • THE gERSH AgENCY (310) 205-5885 • [email protected]

HEATHER McDONALD:Besides performing stand up comedy, Heather

McDonald is a full-time writer and story producer on the E! Channel’s toprated show - “Chelsea Lately”. Heather can be seen weekly on “ChelseaLately” either on the roundtable or performing in the comedy sketches whereshe is known for her impersonating such celebrities as Drew Barrymore,Kim Cattrall, Lauren Conrad, Amy Winehouse, Celine Dion, Cher, The Kar-dashians, The Octomom, Sarah Palin, Miley Cyrus, Jen Aniston, RenéeZellweger, and various Real Housewives. Heather has appeared on the hittelevision shows “Frasier”, “Malcolm in the Middle”, “Reno 911”, “Drake andJosh”, MTV’s “Lyricist Lounge”, and “Watching Ellie”.

gINA KIRKLAND • KP COMEDY • (866) 769-9037 [email protected]


JIMMY PARDO: Jimmy Pardo is the host of the award-winning

podcast “Never Not Funny” and the official opening act for ConanO’Brien at Conan tapings. He is the star of his own half-hour Com-edy Central Presents special and has performed on “The TonightShow with Jay Leno” and “The Late Late Show with Craig Fergu-son”. Jimmy hosted GSN’s “National Lampoon's Funny Money” andco-hosted four seasons of AMC's “Movies at Our House”. He alsohosted episodes of VH1's “The Surreal Life”, “Love Lounge” andNBC's “Late Friday”. He has appeared on “Monk”, “That '70s Show”and Comedy Central’s “Root of All Evil”.

BRUCE SMITH • OMNIPOP TALENT gROUP • (818) 980-9267 [email protected]

LOUIE ANDERSON: Two-time Emmy award winner Louie An-

derson is one of the country’s most recognized and adored comicsand was named by Comedy Central as “One of 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comedians of All Time.” Currently he is headlining in his ownshow, “Louie-Larger Than Life” at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino onthe famed Las Vegas Strip. Anderson’s stand-up comedy careerhas skyrocketed. Known as a “clean” comedian, his stories aboutgrowing up in the Midwest, being one of 11 children and dealing withan alcoholic father provide endless material for the comic with au-diences of all types relating to his everyday life experiences.

JACKIE KNOBBE • AgENCY FOR THE PERFORMINg ARTS (APA)(310) 888-4291 • [email protected]


DAVID GLICKMAN: The more specific the humor, the

more terrific the humor! David Glickman presents Custom Cor-porate Comedy—a combination of humor & music that’s fo-cused exclusively on the client’s company and industry. David’sbeen a professional speaker & entertainer since 1985 and haspresented over 2000 programs. He’s worked with everyonefrom The Beach Boys to Steve Martin and has made severalnational television appearances. Custom Corporate Com-edy is not so much a ‘stand-up comedy routine’ as it is afull-blown high-energy one-man show. It’s got observa-tional humor, funny visuals & props, hilarious song par-odies, and a big ‘rock and roll’ finish.

Custom Corporate Comedy • (813) 920-8283 [email protected]

DON FRIESEN: Don Friesen is a high energy clean stand-

up comedian who uses self-deprecating humor to lampoonhis life as a suburban husband and father just trying to getthrough the day with a little money in the bank and a bit ofdignity intact. Don has appeared on Comedy Central's "Liveat Gotham," “Comics Unleashed”, the “Martin Short Show”,and is the only two-time winner in the 35-year history of theSan Francisco International Comedy Competition.

He can be heard regularly in Los Angeles on the 95.5 KLOS“Five O-Clock Funnies”, and nationally on XM and SiriusSatellite Radio.

Encore Entertainment • (702) [email protected]

HENRY CHO: “I’m an Asian with a Southern accent,” re-

marks Henry. “To a lot of people, that right there is funny.” Al-ways making the most of who is, Henry recently inked a dealwith CBS and Paramount Studios to co-create and star in hisown sitcom based on his life as a Korean-American born andraised in Tennessee. In 2006, Henry had his own one hourcomedy special entitled: “What’s That Clickin’ Noise?” on Com-edy Central. You can catch Henry on the big screen as well,starring opposite Hilary Duff and Angelica Houston in Material

Girls. Henry’s other film credits include FOX’s TV movie, Re-

venge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation, Universal’sMcHale’s Navy and the Farrelly brothers’ movie Say It Isn’t So.

The gersh Agency • (310) 205-5885 [email protected]

MARIA BRAMFORD: Maria Bamford is the firstfemale comic to have two half-hour Comedy Cen-tral Presents specials. She starred in the film andComedy Central series, “The Comedians of Com-edy” and contributes comedic voiceovers for sev-eral animations including Comedy Central’s “UglyAmericans” and PBS’s Emmy-winning series“Word Girl”. Maria has made multiple late-nightappearances on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”,“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, “The LateLate Show with Craig Kilborn” and “Jimmy Kim-mel Live” and not-so-late appearances on “Pre-mium Blend”, “Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn”and The World Comedy Tour: Melbourne 2003.

Omnipop Talent group • Bruce Smith • 818-980-9267 [email protected]


DEAN EDWARDS: Actor/Comedian Dean Edwards has

been making his mark in comedy following two successfulseasons as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live.” Deanhas been featured on “The Late Late Show with Craig Fer-guson,” “Last Call with Carson Daly,” Showtime’s “ComicsWithout Borders” and helped create the character of Don-key for SHREK THE MUSICAL on Broadway. He is a fre-quent guest on “Comic Unleashed,” and regularly providescomedic commentary on various VH1 highlight shows. Hisdynamic stage presence and his ability to seamlessly flowfrom one dead-on impression to another, makes Dean Ed-wards a perfect fit for your next event.

KP Comedy • gina Kirkland • (866) [email protected]

NANCY LOMBARDO: “Nancy has performed her unique

comedy from coast to coast. She was a leading member ofthe award winning comedy troupe, The First Amendment, per-forming with the likes of Robin Williams and Bruce Willis.Nancy was a comedy consultant to John Leguizamo's Off-Broadway hit Mambo Mouth and wrote additional comedymaterial for his HBO Special, “The Talent Pool”,as well as astaff writer/performer for Leguizamo’s H.I.P- FOX show,“House of Buggin." TV credits include “The Colin Quinn Show”NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”, “All my Children”, the PBS, net-work and Comedy Tonight, Nickelodeon and the ComedyChannel. She has written for Penthouse and Cracked maga-zines and created a comic strip for Lady's Circle Magazine.

Nancy Lombardo [email protected]

ANDY KINDLER: Andy Kindler was a series judge on

the seventh season of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”. Heis the star of two half-hour Comedy Central Presents spe-cials and is a frequent guest and correspondent on “TheLate Show with David Letterman”. Andy recurred on“Everybody Loves Raymond”, Comedy Central’s “The Rootof All Evil” and Fox’s “Bob’s Burgers”, and he has appearedon the HBO Young Comedians Special, “Late Night withConan O’Brien”, “The Daily Show”, “Dr. Katz ProfessionalTherapist”, “Home Movies” and “The Larry Sanders Show”.Andy delivers the State of the Industry Address each yearat the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal.

Omnipop Talent group • Bruce Smith • (818) 980-9267 [email protected]

UMBILICAL BROTHERS: The Umbilical Broth-ers perform a variety of fast-paced comedicroutines featuring mime, physical movementand sound effects skills. Their routines includeeverything from classic mime with a twist, tophysical satire of tap dance to impossible con-tortionist illusions.

The Umbilical Brothers Off-Broadway show,Thwak, won a Drama Desk Award nomination forthe "Most Unique Theatrical Experience." Fea-turing two bizarre Australian performance artists,The New York Times called their show, "Wildlycreative and wildly funny." Furthermore, Time

Out described the show as "Twisted, mar-velously peculiar and absolutely hilarious!"

Emily Fox • Concept Artists(212) 343-0956


MIKE BIRBIGLIA: Mike Birbiglia’s name has become

synonymous with smart comedic storytelling. Birbiglia is bestknown for his hit show Sleepwalk With Me, called "simply per-fect" by the New York Timesand named "Comedy of the Year"by Time Out New York. In addition to being nominated for nu-merous awards (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Outer Circle Crit-ics). He is working on Sleepwalk with Me, the film, which hewill write and star in. Birbiglia closed out a 35 city Comedy Cen-tral Live tour called, “Mike Birbiglia: I’m In The Future Also” sell-ing out concert halls nationwide. Birbiglia’s longstandingrelationship with Comedy Central includes three of his ownstandup specials, including his critically acclaimed one-hourspecial, “What I Should Have Said Was Nothing.” Jackie Knobbe • Agency For The Performing Arts (APA)

(310) -888-4291 • [email protected]

JESSIE CAMPBELL: Jessi Campbell is an energetic

and clean comedian who travels the country performing herunique blend of high-energy story telling and dead-pan sar-casm. She was a stand out in the 2008 Boston Comedy Fes-tival and is a contributing writer for “Life and Style” Magazine.Jessi was also voted the People’s Choice winner for the 2009Aspen RooftopComedy Festival, and performed at the 2009Great American Comedy Festival. In 2010 Jessi released herfirst comedy CD entitled “Winner Winner” to stellar reviews.She continues to build a strong fan base of people of all agesin every city she goes to. Recent credits include NBC’s “LastComic Standing,” and is a regular on the syndicated radioshow Bob & Tom as well as XM & Sirius satellite radio.Chuck Johnson • Summit Comedy • (704) 947-3057

[email protected]

STAN PEARSON: Ron is a comedian, actor and world

record holding juggler that the Hollywood Reporter called “…a comic ball of fire”. The L.A. Times wrote, “laughed so hardmy jaws ached”. Ron has taken multitasking to a whole newlevel, from starring on the sitcom “Malcolm and Eddie,” to gueststarring on shows like “The Drew Carey Show,” “Two Guysand a Girl,” “That 70’s Show” and “The George Lopez Show.”He has made late night appearances from “The Late LateShow” to “The Dennis Miller Show” and Comedy Central. Hehas hosted game shows and reality television on the FamilyChannel and The Discovery Channel. Starting his career as achild street performer, Ron has now developed his own brandof humor to captivate the top of the Fortune 500 Companies.Jackie Knobbe • Agency For The Performing Arts (APA)


THE PASSING ZONE: “"Comedy fans have struck gold

here!" That's what the Los Angeles Times says about theseguys, and it's true! Wait, juggling? Funny? The Passing Zonedefies all expectations, and delivers one of the funniest expe-riences on stage today. Whether they're performing at TheWhite House, on television, or as a killer keynote that'll knockit out of the park every time, they simply amaze audienceseverywhere. And not just with their wild stunts like the Chain-saw Ballet, juggling rat traps, or flying audience membersaround the stage. Jon Wee and Owen Morse are genuinelyclever, hilarious, and they somehow manage to be edgy, whilekeeping it clean. A rare feat, indeed! American Entertainment

Magazine raves “These guys know how to deliver a show.They deliver spot-on, hilarious comedy while intriguing you withtheir professional juggling expertise. The best thing of all is theyknow how to work an audience. Standing ‘O’s’ all the wayaround. You won’t be disappointed!”

Karen Harris • CMI Speakers • (877) [email protected]


JON REEP: Comedian, Actor, & Metro Jethro - Jon Reep

played ‘Raymus’ from the movie Harold and Kumar Escape

from Guantanamo Bay and the dim witted cop ‘Gerald Bob’from the ABC sitcom “Rodney.” He was Dodge's ‘Hemi Guy’where he uttered the now famous line, "That thing gottaHemi?” Reep was the winner of Season 5 of "Last ComicStanding" on NBC and has been seen on Comedy Central's"Premium Blend, " "Comedy Central Presents: Jon Reep,”TBS's "Pit Stop Comedy," NBC's "Late Friday," CMT's "Com-edy Club," & "Comedy Stage." His show is supersonic energyfilled with non-stop characters and super clever writing.

KP Comedy • gina Kirkland • (866) [email protected]

ADAM FERRARA: Entertainment Weekly dubbed him

“Hilarious” and he has been praised for his acting chops andimpeccable comedic timing. Adam is a regular on the FX Cableshow “Rescue Me.” He co-starred in the film, Mall Cop withKevin James. He is praised by his co-star opn “Rescue Me,”Denis Leary as “a great comedian...and a great dramaticactor.” Ferrara will resume his role as Chief Nelson as the se-ries begins its sixth season. Adam is a regular on “The TonightShow with Jay Leno”, “The Late Show with David Lettermanand “The View.” He began his comedy career on NBC’s “Car-oline In The City,” and has since appeared on ABC’s “UglyBetty” and NBC’s “Law & Order.”

The gersh Agency • (310) 205-5885 [email protected]

ERIC O’SHEA: With Over 4 MILLION Hits on YouTube, ap-

pearances on NBC, VH-1, and the Creative Arts Emmys, EricO'Shea wants you to sit back, relax, and let his CLEAN wit andpriceless observations take you on the ride of your life! Fromembarrassing childhood moments to today's frustratingmishaps, Eric's high energy show will give you the peace ofmind that you're not alone. From original stories to celebrityimpressions -- including the cast of Seinfeld in kindergarten,Family Guy and ELMO -- Eric's high-energy humor and subtleexpressions are unlike anything you've ever heard...Includinghis world-famous "Commercial Songs for Products" thatcaught the eye of and got rave reviews from Steven Spielberg.

Chuck Johnson • Summit Comedy • (704) [email protected]

ALONZO BODDEN: Even before appearing on

LAST COMIC STANDING, Alonzo Bodden knew therewas absolutely nothing that would ever make him giveup comedy. “That’s the drug”, he says “when theylaugh, it’s like I’m a jazz musician and they hear it, andthey get it. It’s power to take the crowd wherever I wantthem to go. I love it when they laugh, especially whenthey relate through laughter. It’s a beautiful thing. It alsomeans I’m going to get paid, which is nice.” A graduateof Aviation High School, for nine years he earned a pay-check as a jet mechanic for Lockheed and McDonnellDouglas. While comics around the country were makingaudiences laugh at airline jokes, he was working on thetop secret Stealth Bomber. After placing as runner-upon Season 2 of Last Comic, he came back strong to winSeason 3. He went on to become a series judge onSeason 5. His film credits include Scary Movie 4, Bring-

ing Down The House and The Girl Next Door. He is aregular on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno”.Jackie Knobbe • Agency For The Performing Arts (APA)



When it comes to the arts, I often think of Paul Bartzof Windwood Theatricals. Paul is not only a veteranin the performing arts market, But he knows the in-dustry inside and out. First starting off with Bill FeganAttractions and then becoming a prominent figure asone of the owners of Mainstage Management andfinally his own company, Windwood Theatricals.

Paul and I first became acquainted when MainstageManagement was still pretty much in its infancy andI was developing a graphics division for the NationalAssociation for Campus Activities (NACA) back inthe 80s. I had developed a division that providedgraphic design and print services for the organiza-tion specifically devoted to developing companiesand artists and Mainstage started using our serv-ices. Paul and his partners Terry Kippenberger(Mainstage Central) and Ingrid Kidd (MainstageWest) became my conduit to the arts. I learned notonly about artists and agencies serving the needsof the arts, but about the venues they served. I de-veloped an inventory and warehouse plan, first tospecifically serve the needs of Mainstage and as Ilearned more about the arts, we ended up servingkey agencies and producers across the country. Wewould design, print and then inventory the goods.As the shows began to tour, we would ship flyersand posters out to venues all across North Americawell before the arrival of the show to promote thedate and help fill seats for the performance(s).

In 1991, when I left NACA to start my own business,Cameo Publishing Group, Mainstage Managementbecame one of my largest followers. When PaulBartz started his own company with WindwoodTheatricals, we earned that business too. It wasthrough Paul at the APAP show in New York that Imet dozens of future clients and learned about themany perspectives, perks and issues that have sur-rounded the arts.

I almost hate to admit that my first experience withPaul and the arts was more than 25 years ago now.But I felt that no one was better to bring you the storyof his journey through the arts and his perspectiveof Broadway because he has been successfullyand consistently involved in bringing Broadwayshows to the outer reaches of America.

So sit back and relax. Take in the information he issharing with you here.

As publisher of this magazine, I welcome your per-spectives and comments too. You can contact meat [email protected]. Now here’s Paul.

Welcome to 2011

For the last five years, we have been going throughthe great recession and while this effects everyone,the arts have been the first to get cut. It really hasn’tmattered whether it was federal funding, state fund-ing or local funding. We have seen cuts for the NEA,states have cut funding for colleges and performingarts centers and many local governments can’tbegin to take up the slack. Because many of ourtheaters rely on public funding through donations,they are struggling to provide quality programmingat reasonable costs. Across the board, donations

are down by about 20% which can constrict thebuying of programs, the level of staff support forshows and the number of entertainment choicesthey can offer their audiences.

In today’s world there is so much competition for ourtime. The internet, email and social media consumeour daily activities. This wasn’t so true five or tenyears ago. We have to make time to relax, go to amovie or go to a performance. The economic strainhas complicated our lives even worse.

The industry has changed too...it has gone througha series of trends.

What’s On Stage?

TWENTY years ago, when I was running Main-stage Management, we were the first to bring inChinese acrobats. They were an instant successand soon everyone climbed on the band wagon.Suddenly there were five or six acrobat groups.Next, we discovered Russian acts as relationshipsthawed with the Soviet Union.

Then TEN years ago, we began successfully tour-ing The Three Irish Tenors. Now there are probablya dozen or more Irish tenor acts available from avariety of suppliers.

FIVE years or so ago, Cirque acts became all therage and theaters with facilities to house them wereanxious to provide this amazing genre to their audi-ences.

But as soon as the recession hit the United States,

cirque acts became far less in demand simply be-

cause they were relatively expensive and compli-

cated to produce.

NOW it seems the rage is tribute bands. I think it isa reaction to the economy. Most theaters can notafford the real thing (if the real thing still exists) and

these acts are more affordable. Audience memberscan sing along with familiar lyrics and some of theseacts are very good.

Theaters are not spending the big bucks they oncedid without assurance they are going to fill the seats.We used to bring in big international acts like ThePeking Opera which was $40,000. Theaters are notspending $40,000 anymore.”

Changing of The guard

The audiences for traditional performing arts the-aters are changing significantly in order to expandticket sales to a wider demographic.

The current trend is to bring in more inexpensiveartists, more contemporary artists and more main-stream artists. The NEA came out with a studywhich indicated there was a significant decline in at-tendance to traditional performing arts events : clas-sical music, opera, and symphonies. And now weare seeing a decline in jazz and classical ballet.People are just being given too many options andthe internet is responsible for that.

On the flip side, the internet has been a boon to ourbusiness because people can have access onYouTube to thousands upon thousands of artists.We are able to expose our artists to theaters acrossthe country much faster. We can use email to reachpotential buyers. We sent out 1,600 emails lastweek and within 24 hours 250 of those recipientshad opened those emails. While we still use snailmail, I go back to when that was our only option andyou wouldn’t see anywhere near that kind of resultsin a week.”

But there are pluses and minuses with email. If oneagency is sending out mass emails, so are all oftheir competitors and many of these messages sim-ply end up in the trash unread.

THE UNEXPECTED BOYSAN AWARD-WINNING TRIBUTE TO FRANKIE VALLI& THE FOUR SEASONS


There is Nothing Better Than Personal Contact.

I will admit, there is nothing like one-on-one contact. That makes the relationshippersonal. And we would prefer to reach clients that way if they will take our calls.Quite honestly all the exhibit booths at the conferences are sold out and thereare more agencies and artists attacking this market than ever before. Some ofthe younger agents and artists are so aggressive that it turns many buyers off.In fact, at some conferences we have adapted an ‘open house’ segment duringan exhibit hall time where the agents are not in their booths and the buyers canstroll through the exhibit hall and not be accosted. This is a radical departureover just the last two years in the way business used to be conducted.”

Business is more competitive when it comes to the arts because you have moreagents and more artists in a market that is shrinking. There is this feeling thatyou have to go to conferences, whether you do business or not to steady theclients you already have and hope you get more. If you don’t, your competitorswill certainly be there. We should be doing that anyway because face-to-facecan close a deal you would never get otherwise. This is a business of relation-ships. For many agencies it is the fear of loss.

It’s Not Just Us

But the arts is not the only entertainment entity suffering during this down econ-omy. “I have heard that sporting events as well as national tours of celebrityartists were off substantially. Live Nation, the country’s largest promoter, suffereda huge loss this past year because people were simply not going to concerts.I think one of the reasons was that ticket prices were too high and buyers simplydecided the costs were unreasonable. Add to that the ticket price the cost ofparking and concessions and these shows were well outside the budgets ofmany middle-class Americans.

Now you have agencies from all parts of the world coming to the United Statestaking booths at conferences and selling tours to performing arts venues. Othercountries around the world support the arts much better than our governmentdoes. What happens then is money that once supported American entertain-ment businesses and artists is leaving this country and going over seas.

The New golden Age of Broadway

If anything can be a success story in today’s economy, it is Broadway.Broadway is experiencing a major revival that can only be comparedwith the 40’s and 50’s. Every Broadway theater is filled. There are alot of shows waiting to come in. Attendance is down slightly as com-pared to several years ago, but box-office revenue records are beingbroken. Where you used to have a clique of New York producers whocontrolled the product, now you have a wide array of money cominginto the theaters including many major motion picture studios. While ithas had its problems, the most expensive show ever to hit Broadwayis Spiderman and it is all the buzz. They have invested $65 million(and counting) in the production. Previous to that, the most expensiveventure was The Lion King at about $25 million.”

Spiderman is playing in the largest theater in New York, but it will takea long run to turn a profit. Obviously money could be made by spinningoff a number of road tours of the project, but there are 27 arial mo-ments in the show which could end up being problematic on road tours,especially since they have proven extremely difficult in New York. Youwould have the cost of transporting elaborate sets built for the road,selecting cast members who could be trained and then all the rigging.They may look at Spiderman being a destination act that would nottour but set up in various locations across the country much like a showyou would see in Las Vegas.

On the negative side the show as been fraught with accidents. Justseveral days ago the under study for Spiderman fell into the orchestrapit when his teather rope broke. The state authorities have come inbecause of safety regulations. But they couldn’t buy this publicity ifthey wanted to. Now people want to see the show to see what is goingto happen next.

Broadway vs. Your Town USA

But Broadway tends to be a lot different than what we can expect at venuesacross the country. “The demographic is upper middle-class to lower upper-class. The average ticket holder makes $100,000 with an average householdincome of $200,000.

Here’s the deal. If you are a winner on Broadway, your show is a winner on theroad. Wicked has three touring troupes as does Jersey Boys. But if you arenot a block-buster Broadway show, you are having trouble on the road. Therewas a musical in New York, Nine to Five that lost money in New York and isnow struggling on the road. What has happened is that many of the touringBroadway shows, whether they are a one-nighter in Oshkosh or a week-longbill in Chicago have been previously bought on subscription series. Most the-aters have a Broadway package that includes all the shows for that season.With the availability of the internet, those series are down in favor of watchingschedules online and making single purchases based on last minute decisions.Without the success that Broadway delivers, many pieces of the subscriptionseries will not be picked up by individual ticket sales.

How Does Windwood Decide Which Shows It Puts On The Road?

We try to have as many connections in New York as possible and if I am lucky Iwill get a show that has been recently produced there. But, most Broadway pro-ducers have their own apparatus where they bring a show to New York, produceit there and then for the first national road show the major companies take theshow into the major cities (about 150 of them) for one, two or three weeks.

From there my specialty is developing a show that goes into secondary marketsfor one or two nights. But right now, many of the Broadway producers have de-

WINDWOOD’SBYE, BYE, BIRDIE!


cided to control everything including producing alltours plus handling it with in-house booking agen-cies. It is for that reason it is a struggle for me to getnew product. It has been my goal to produce ashow in New York and control everything that hap-pens thereafter.

There is a movement afoot to bid and buy showsand I actually wanted to tour Spam-a-lot. Therewas a competition to get the rights to tour the shownon-equity which started at $500,000 up front andthat is when I said good-bye. Because I did thenumbers it simply did not compute. There is only somuch you can get for a show and when you calcu-late all the expenses, it would put it out of reach formost theaters in this market. We are getting thesame fees now that we got 10-15 years ago andthe reason is there is so much competition.

Equity versus Non-Equity:

There are union and non-union tours that are avail-able to theaters.

There is a union for every creative aspect of the en-tertainment business, whether you are an actor, di-rector, choreographer, scene designer, costumedesigner, etc. They ban together and with that forceto reckon with, any show produced in New York hasto be comprised of people who are in the union.When you reach the point of joining a union, it isgenerally a bevel of accomplishment and stature inyour field, so it is believed that you are part of thecream of the crop. Their salaries, fees and benefitsare higher so if you are in this industry, you are at-tracted to join the union because you will makemore money. This means that as a matter of con-

tract, when there is a road tour, the people whomake up the components of the show are generallygiven right of first refusal, which means that the touris an equity tour. For that reason most of the showsthat appear in New York will first go on the road asa union property.

Now because beyond the major cities, singles anddoubles have to go out at lower prices, a producersimply can not pay the numbers required to tour theshow as equity in those markets and survive. Sowhat has happened is there are a number of com-panies like ours who have developed tours that canand will serve the one and two-nighter markets.These tours can not be equity tours because theysimply will not work financially.

Given my druthers, would I prefer to work with unionactors and designers? The answer is ‘yes!’ They arecreative geniuses. But I can’t because of the finan-cial implications. My challenge is to find those as-piring actors and designers, choreographers anddirectors who are not yet union but are well on theirway. We are a stepping stone for many of these tal-ents to bigger and better things.

There are some equity tours that will play one-nighters but it is out of necessity because of splitweeks on a tour. They would rather be playingsomewhere than sitting in a hotel room. So they willcherry-pick a location. Unfortunately that hurts mebecause they are competition. But as times havegotten tough, there are middle-of-the-road equityshows that haven’t gotten the routing or the datesthey anticipated and all of a sudden they will offer aone-nighter along their route at a reduced price.

Here’s the rub. Most equity shows are four to fivetruck shows and you can’t get all of that in most one-nighter theaters, so they have to drastically scaledown the performance. All of a sudden you getcomplaints from those presenters that half the showis still in the truck. If you don’t design your show forthose smaller theaters, it can get a little squirrelly.When we plan a show for that market we haveFOURdifferent plans based on the capacity and thestage of the theatre. We can take the whole set orwe can adapt to plan A, B or C. Even if we have toscale it down to Plan C, it still looks like a set. Thetours with the 5-truck loads are not adaptable likethat and sometimes the stage can look naked.

I have not personally produced an equity show in thelast five years. I have had two occasions where Ac-tors Equity approached me. At the point of agree-ment, I asked for some waivers because they havestrict travel agreements where they can only be in thebus for so many hours, they have to be off the roadso many hours, rehearsal can only be so manyhours, etc. But the nature of the one-nighter businessis that you are not playing the top major cities andyou don’t have a few days off where you can takeyour time and relax. We are on the go all of the time.The company’s co-counsel told me I would getwaivers, but two weeks before we were to go on theroad, I was in formed that we would not indeed begranted the waivers. Because, we had to get frompoint A to point B to point C which was in violation oftheir rule book, I got fined. After $30,000 in fines, I hadhad enough. This is why I have shied away from eq-uity tours in the secondary market.

Product That Works Virtually Anywhere

To be licensed to tour the show, you have togrant the owners of the show 10% of the grossfrom the tour. I can’t play major markets and Ihave to provide them with the playdates. Butthere are only about 200 cities considered “majormarkets” where I can’t play.

The major markets are a list of first tier cities that aregenerally considered as the first national tour. I cannot play theaters within those cities without ex-pressed permission. But I can be five minutes out-side of Boston in Waltham and it will be fine. Mostof the shows I am touring are the big Tony Awardwinners for best musical in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.I have The Music Man going into rehearsals thisweek. It won five Tony Awards including Best Musi-cal. I had Cabaret last season, which again, was ablockbuster on Broadway. That show won Best Mu-sical not only for the original performance but the re-vival ten years ago. I did Bye, Bye Birdie theseason before that and again it was a Tony Awardwinner for Best Musical.

The last show I did which was a recent Broadwayshow was Little Women. We did that four yearsago and it is a wonderful piece. It did a year onBroadway and we picked it up because it has beena favorite story of girls growing up.

This brings up another issue. A show has to bebranded to be a success. Anything we sell in this mar-ket, whether it be a musical act, a single performer or


PAUL BARTZ’S STORY ON THE ARTS CONTINUES ON 35

a Broadway show must be relatable to the audienceto sell seats. There are 28 Broadway theaters thatwill open some 40 shows each year, but there areonly a handful of them that will make money.Forevery success there are probably 6-7 shows that willflop. And to take shows to markets around the coun-try, they must have name recognition.

For me, Broadway offers something that mostAmericans, regardless of age, can relate to. But Ihave learned that I have to offer diversified choices.While our primary markets are performing arts the-aters, colleges and universities and historic theaters,we offer a wide array of talents that can easily fit intothe demographics and budgets of most venues.When we are talking to buyers, it only makes senseto be able to offer them ideas in different disciplines.Ten years ago the range for our clients was $10-15,000. Now, most of them want shows from$7,500 to $10,000. They have to be able to offermore product to sell more seats. We have to be ableto sell more product because our expenses havenot decreased but increased substantially. With The

Music Man on the road, I am looking at fuel costs atup to $300 a day.

Nobody Wants To Pay Retail!

Windwood has rack rates on their shows but every-

one wants to barter.

We determine a reasonable rate for our shows. Mosttheaters want us to give them a flat, in-the-door price.If it ends up that we have to barter on the price, wewill ask the theater if there are any ancillary servicesthey can provide to help us get the price where theywant it. For instance, many theatres have deal withhotels where by listing these properties on their web-site or in their brochure, they will get so many roomsper season. A lot of times we will barter from $15,000to maybe $12,000 and rooms, obviously dependingon the location. Now the technical people have re-quirements beyond the extent of the fee. With The

Music Man, we need 24 staffers to load-in and out.We don’t carry lights, so the facility would have to pro-vide those. We do carry our own sound system. Sothere are some backline expenses for the facility.”While most facilities do have staff people to assistwith the load-in procedure, many rely on volunteersto save costs.

The only problem with volunteers is they are notusually experienced. The set designs and piecesare expensive and if damaged can not be easily re-placed. I had a well-meaning student damage a$10,000 piece of sound equipment because he didnot anticipate the weight. We’ve also had 70+ agedguys turn up to move set pieces and they did thebest they could before they were about to keel over.

League of Historic American Theaters

Historic theaters came in vogue about twenty yearsago. The league is a group of owners of the lovelyold historic opera houses and theaters that were re-discovered. They had become dormant whenmovie houses opened and moved to the suburbs.They were closed and remained closed. Whencities decided to do downtown revitalization, these

jewels were identified to put money into with thehope that it would spur downtown economic revival.A lot of money came from patrons of the arts andsome of these facilities when completed werenamed after them. But the facilities were also tar-geted with local, state and federal funds to becomea focal point of the revitalization process.

We have seen a lot of economies grow as the resultfo these theaters and artists find these to be gloriousplaces to perform.

Five Years From Now

The competition is going to continue for disposabledollars and times. We have gone from single house-hold breadwinners to both parents having to work. Ithink you will see some growth from baby boomers.

Broadway will continue to grow. Many people willrealize the value of time with the family especially inages before 40.

Theaters will do more family oriented programmingthat can reach a very broad demographic. Manyvenues will do children’s tickets for half price to fill avoid in the community for exposing the youngergeneration to the arts.

Theaters will be looking for their featured audiences.Yes, the baby boomers are a viable audience nowbut they are not going to be here forever. In orderfor presenters to reach audiences of 20-30 year-olds, theaters are going to have to offer program-ming that will appeal to these buyers.

Then there is the Community Concert Organizationwhich is one of the last vestiges for emerging artists.

This group was started 70-80 years ago by Colum-bia Artists Theatricals and at that time there wereseveral thousand of them. I think they have whittleddown to about a thousand and they are comprisedmostly of volunteers. Columbia Artists basicallystarted the touring industry. They came up with anidea to send representatives out to theaters allaround the country with the belief they could assistthe locals in bringing in the arts to their community.You have to remember this was before televisionand before anyone was touring. They would givethe theater a list of twenty or thirty artists from whichthey could choose. They would show the theater toput together a season, how to promote the season,how to provide the support to present the show inthat theater. In return, the theater books the showfrom their roster.

They created this network all across the countrywhereby primarily musical artists would get dates.After all these years, that network is dwindling sim-ply because the people involved are getting older.Originally their goal was to provide five or six con-certs throughout the year for $50-$60. I think nowthe rate is $1500-1600 and pretty much all a venuecan buy in that range are emerging artists.

The Future Now.

Now, almost all of the theaters we are working withare only looking for artists that are branded. That issomewhat of a departure from historical data. Mosttheaters had subscriptions for different kinds of actsthat included five or six shows. Among those wereboth branded names and emerging artists. The wayfor talent to get name recognition was to be a hitwith those subscribers. Until recently, going to thetheater was a social event as much as it was about

Today, every buyer is looking for more bang for the buck. But there are pitfalls in buying cheap. Itis our job to help you find the best options for your investment. Through a network of

professionals throughout the industry, you will find the best deals on emerging and major talent.

American Entertainment Magazine invites you to join the world’s first association dedicated to entertainment from all sectors of the entertainment industry. Rub elbows with artists, agenciesand other buyers from all facets of the industry. Educate yourself on legal issues, legislation

and tax issues. Find amazing new artists and shows outside your realm.Discover new interns and possible employees with entertainment experience

from College and University members.

Your membership includes a fully functioning website with a searchable database of membersincluding artists by category, genre and agency with bios, photos and videos. There are blog

capabilities to connect with others who have had the act your are currently considering.Get member discounts on delegate fees to AEP’s Signature Event September 19-21.

Get $100 Off your membership to Celebrity Access. Get a free subscription to both Campus

Activities Magazine® and American Entertainment Magazine. And that’s just for starters.

BUYERS JOIN BY JUNE 30 AND PAY ONLY $199/YEAR*Plus additional members from the same company location are only $50.

and that guarantees your renewal for 2012 at the same rate.all memberships are for 365 days from the acceptance date of the primary member

NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD REPRESENTATIVES FROM YOUR SEGMENT:CORPORATE & ASSOCIATION BUYERS: JUDY THEE, THE FREEMAN COMPANY

SPECIAL EVENTS: ANDREA MICHAELS, EXTRAORDINARY EVENTS

* $100 OFF THE REGULAR PRIMARY BUYER RATE OF $299 WHEN YOU JOIN BY JUNE 30, 2011

FOR MORE INFO OR TO REQUEST A MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION OR CONFERENCE REGISTRATION: LEONA PLAUGH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (803) 782-1947 • IAN KIRBY, ASSOC. DEV. COORDINATOR (803) 712-1429

AEPWORLDWIDE.ORG

In today’s world, you have had to join so many organizations and go to so many conferences tomake sure your talent is exposed to the right buyers. AEP is changing all that.

Now there is one organization that brings together buyers from all segments of the entertainmentindustry where they can meet and socialize with agency representatives, see showcases and find

artists outside their own niche. Previously there has been a wealth of talent which has been confined to one or two segments of the industry, undiscovered by other facets. Here is your chance

to easily present your talent to the entire marketplace.

Your membership includes participation in a fully functioning website with a searchable database ofyour artists by category, genre and agency with bios, photos and videos. Get member

discounts on delegate fees, showcase and exhibit fees to AEP’s Signature Event September 19-21. Get $100 Off your membership to Celebrity Access and a free subscription to both

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SUPPLIERS PAY ONLY $399/YEARPlus additional members from the same company location are only $50.

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NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD REPRESENTATIVES FROM YOUR SEGMENT:CORPORATIONS & THEATERS: JACKIE KNOBBE, SENIOR VP OF COMEDY, APA LITERARY AGENCY

PERFORMING ARTS: DEBORAH SMITH, HISTORIC NEWBERRY OPERA HOUSE, SC

FOR MORE INFO ON MEMBERSHIP, CONFERENCE REGISTRATION, SHOWCASING OR EXHIBITING: LEONA PLAUGH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (803) 782-1947 • IAN KIRBY, AEM COORDINATOR (803) 712-1429

AEPWORLDWIDE.ORG

2011 Conference Registration Form

To Register: Complete this form and fax to (803) 787-8073. You can also register online at aepworldwide.org. A Preliminary Con-ference Agenda, along with Showcase and Exhibit Applications can also be found at aepworldwide.org. If you have questions,contact Leona Plaugh at [email protected] or call (803) 782-1947.

Hotel Reservations at Green Valley Resort and Spa can be made by calling (866) 782-9487 and asking for the Association of En-tertainment Professionals (AEP Worldwide) Discount Rate of $115 per night for single or double occupancy plus taxes. Pleasenote that there are a limited number of rooms available at this rate. The hotel has also extended this rate to 3 days before and3 days after the Conference, again based on availability. MAKE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATION EARLY to get this rate. Compli-mentary shuttle service will be provided based on a schedule to and from the McCarran International Airport.

Advanced Registration (Before July 1):❑ $375 (Member) ❑ $475 (Non Member) $______________

Regular Registration (July 1 - September 9):❑ $475 (Member) ❑ $575 (Non Member) $ ______________

On-Site Registration (After September 9):❑ $525 (Member) ❑ $625 (Non Member) $______________

AEP MEMBERSHIP: ❑ Yes ❑ No

Name: ____________________________________ Company: _________________________________Title: _____________________________________Address: ___________________________________City: ______________________________________State: ______________ Zip: ___________________Email: _____________________________________ Phone: _____________________________________ Fax: ________________________________________Cell: ________________________________________

❑ Use same address for billing info

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Total Amount: __________________ (U.S. FUNDS)

If Sending a check with your application, please remit to:

AEP WORDLWIDE, 73 Somerton Place, Columbia SC 29209.

Questions? (803) 782-1947.

FAX TO : (803) 787-8073 or EMAIL TO: [email protected]

If you are a supplier and would like to receive a Showcase Application And/Or An Exhibit Application,visit aepworldwide.org or contact Leona Plaugh at (803) 782-1947.

The Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa offers an exceptional resort experience at an amazing ratefor AEP Delegates and Guests. The $115 (plus tax) AEP Guest Rate INCLUDES their regular$24.95 Resort Fee. Unlike many other associations, AEP has not marked up this special rate butoffers it to our delegates at exactly our negotiated rate with the property. Included are roomsequipped with high-speed internet access, unlimited local and toll-free calls, turn-down service onrequest, free admission to the exercise facility, daily newspaper in your room, free coffee in yourroom and in the lobby and free shuttle to and from McCarren Airport based on a set schedule.

While the conference schedule runs September 19-21, attendees are encouraged to come in Sunday,September 18 for a social gathering for buyers, agents and artists as well as complimentary tickets toshows in the area that evening.

You may lock in your special hotel rate for up to three days prior and three days after the conferencebased on availability, but the rooms must be reserved at the time you make your AEP Reservation. TOLL FREE RESERVATIONS: (866) 782-9487. Ask for the AEP Worldwide Conference Rate.

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We’re in the process of making a paradigm shift here at Ameri-can Entertainment Magazine. The publication launched in2001 as American Corporate Entertainment, but adjusted to

its current title in 2004 to reflect more buying segments outside of the cor-porate market. This direction was weighleighed somewhat with the in-ception of the International Association Of Corporate EntertainmentProducers, an association this publication became the official voice for,commanding our attention toward the corporate marketplace.

With the inception of the Association of Entertainment ProfessionalsWorldwide, we have redoubled our efforts to have a balanced flow of


EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ANDSTORY BY IAN KIRBY

choices viable for all of our readers invarious markets including corporate &special events, performing arts,casino, fairs, festivals, parks, militaryand campus dates.

With that maxim in mind and consideringhis recent efforts to re-introduce himselfto all markets, we thought Dana Carveywas a perfect fit for this month’s cover.Dana is a guy that can truly work any-where, having the credentials to sell outtheaters and the talent to work clean andcapture any audience.

A star of “Saturday Night Live” from 1986through 1993, Dana has been the faceof some of the show’s most legendarycharacters including "Wayne’s World’s"Garth Algar, The Church Lady, Hans of

Hans & Franz and many more as well asspot-on impressions of George H.W.Bush & Jr., Tom Brokaw, Ross Perot,Johnny Carson, Bill Clinton, Hilary Clin-ton and more.

With his triumphant return to host “Sat-urday Night Live” this past February,Dana breaks his hiatus of almost adozen years’ time taken out to performthe most important of life’s tasks: dutyto family. “Basically the thing that haschanged is my kids are older. I haveone in college in southern California soI am down here now often and myother boy will be a senior soon. Par-enting has evolved into something dif-ferent, not nearly as much driving themto school,” he laughs. “I have drivenmy kids to school I reckon about 1700times, not that I was counting,” hejokes. “Since my youngest will be 18in August, I feel like that first stanza ofparenting is complete and that freesme up to work more,”...SomethingDana loves to do.

It’s not exactly as if he were retired,as he still performed regularly. “Ilove doing Stand-up and traveling all

over the place. I made a choice es-pecially in the last 12 years to focuson my family. I still did about 40dates a year. I guess other guys dolike 300, but they must have verypatient families (laughs).”

While a number like that may not be un-common for the working comic still tryingto claw their way up, by the time onemakes it to Dana’s stature, the scheduletends to let up a bit. “I think Jay Lenoaverages maybe 160 with his ‘TonightShow’ work. He loves to work and I doto, so I did my best to balance it with myfamily. I still did talk shows, Vegas andcorporate dates and was able to make agood living for my family. We alwaystook Christmas vacations and I almostnever worked during summer. We made

that choice and made the best of thetime we had with our kids while theywere young. Now I am coming out theother side with much more time to workand I’m really excited.”

If the true Hollywood dream is not justmaking it, but maintaining one’s positionin the public eye, one’s worst nightmareis to again fade into oblivion and perhapsthe most Herculean task is to rise againphoenix-like from those ashes of obscu-rity. The thought never even crossed hismind. “I know that profile and image areimportant in show business, but it neverreally occurred to me. I was a bit naiveabout it. I am not naturally comfortableon a red carpet or at a photo shoot, so Ididn’t miss anything with the simmeringdown of fame, it was actually nice.”

As far as maintaining his profile goes,Dana explains while he may have left“SNL” and the public eye, he never reallyleft from career home base. “I think atthe end of the day, if you are going to dothis type of career for many decades youjust have to roll with it. I think stand-upshave a unique thing going for them andSeinfeld, Leno and Robin Williams (who

I am good friends with) would agree.Stand-up is its own microcosm of showbusiness. It’s like being a specializedcarpenter who can fit a particular needwith your trade. It is a unique entity fromother show business. There are peoplewho are not household names who drawvery well, like Brian Regan. I am veryblessed to have this Stand-up thing fromthe very beginning.”

As cliche as it may sound, we are againfaced with the landscape of a perform-ance medium immensely shifted andscattered by the information superhigh-way. “The continuing fragmentation ofmedia is a truth for everyone. If you canhave a niche and draw in certain cities,you can sell out 3,000 seat theaters orbig clubs for a week and have most ofthe general population still have no ideawho you are,” he laughs almost giddily.“The opportunities for more qualitycomics to be successful even withoutwidespread recognition are more abun-dant and so the art evolves.”

This isn’t necessarily the box Dana him-self is confined to, as one of the most fa-miliar comics of his generation. “WhenI came through SNL from ‘86 –’93 therewas no Internet and cable was just start-ing and all the shows had much largerviewerships.” Dana’s profile has allowedhim to sell well in just about any marketall the way up through today, possiblyaided by the Internet and viral clips of hisold sketches, interestingly enough.

Millions of people saw Dana on TV,but nowadays someone can be a“star” and still somehow lurk in rela-tive obscurity. “I have a friend, MarkPitta who opens for me in Vegasand as a joke I’ll always introducehim off stage as if he is the star of asitcom. He’s not, but the audiencebuys it every time and every night Imake up a new name like “here heis just celebrating his ninth seasonon TV Land’s 'I’ve Had Enough WithYou.’ Who can keep track? You canwalk around telling people ‘Hey I amon a series, I have been for tenyears on DirecTV Channel 101, I’ma TV star, next story…”

While Dana really is a TV star, his truelove is performing live, and though he

Dana Carvey was slated to take over the 12:30am time-slot on NBC in 1993 when David Letterman left the show. When Carvey rejected the offer, the spot

eventually went to Conan O’Brien.


has done some film and voice over workas a character actor, he hasn’t tappedinto it as much as he could, in somecases to his chagrin. “(Laughs) I havefamously turned down a lot of offers, Ihave turned down some stuff both fromDreamWorks and Pixar only because ofthe time commitments, which I obviouslydo kind of regret. That was a long story.If you said to me now that I could onlydo animated voice overs and features I’dsay ‘Sure, that would be great.’ (laughs).I am a little scattered, because there isno aspect of show business that doesn’tinterest me.

“My most valuable commodity hasbeen time. The question has beenwhere can I go, have fun, make somemoney and get back home in a reason-able amount of time and usually it hasbeen Stand-up. That has been myfocus. As time goes on who knows,and my son is in film school so I wouldlike to do something with him at somepoint as well (laughs).”

On to the meat of the subject, Dana’scomedy is something special. Namednumber 90 of Comedy Central’s 100Greatest Stand-ups of All Time, thisfeat is compounded by the fact thatthe guy can work clean and work any-where. Combine this with his house-hold name recognition and you havean act bookable for performing artstheaters, casinos, corporations andcertainly military dates.

Folks shouldn’t expect The Church Ladyor Hans or Bush, they should expectDana. While elements of a little bit of allthese characters do make it into hisshow, commentary and personalthoughts from the man himself are muchmore prevalent than just the anticswhich made him a star. “Over the yearsI have never really gone full bore with animpersonation show, traveling with cos-tumes and working changes throughoutthe show. I think Martin Short does thatsome (and I do like doing those charac-ters) but in the old days and when I didStand-up before SNL I never did that. Itwas more free form and a lot of improv-isational stuff. When you don’t havemake up you can go from Church Ladyto Barack Obama and back in a flash.Heck, they can even have a conversa-


tion. So, I feel a lot freer and more dy-namic when I am just me on stage ableto shift throughout the gamut of charac-ters in a blink and also be myself someof the time as well.”

Dana’s material is all over the place andcan be tailored for the particular audiencehe is performing for. “I have political humor,both social and geopolitical stuff, all in a sillyway. An example is Al Gore trying to getthe Chinese to lower their carbon emissionslike, (in a perfect Al Gore voice) ‘Yes, ex-cuse me China, would you consider bring-ing your CO2 levels pack to 1790 ppm?’and the Chinese government goes (ofcourse with the accent) “Aw yeah, we ahhso all oba dat shit, oh man we gonna take‘em way down.’ (Laughing) I have my ownway of saying things but I try to keep themas relevant as possible. I am amazed bythe world and on the web I have learnedmore and read more since 2004 than in theprevious 40 years before that.”

While Dana’s show is adaptable and ac-ceptable to a wide demographic, a cer-tain amount of his material is a productof his generation. “The basic tenets ofthe baby boomer or the so-called‘Oprah’ generation are existential ques-tions and spirituality. We are the firstgeneration to widely have the wealthand time to ask these questions and aresurrounded by all of this media that al-lows us ask these questions about psy-chology, raise social and cultural issuesand health obviously is a big thing in myage group. Parenting is a big area aswell. These all make a fairly good baseof the topics I am interested in.”

As a self-described “radical moderate”right in the middle of the field, Dana hasa pretty pure view of politics in the coun-try in general and is able to commentfrom both perspectives. “As someoneright in the middle, I see that the leftthinks the right is greedy, selfish and big-oted while the right thinks the left are abunch of utopian nut balls and emotionalthinkers. Those sorts of perceptions re-ally fascinate me and I think those dis-cussions have gotten more intensesince Obama’s election. Folks are curi-ous about it as a topic and it doesn’thave to be offensive. Sure, I have goodcomedian friends of mine like Bill Maherand Dennis Miller who stomp through


more overt turf with these topics in termsof their points of view. I am very inter-ested in how two very smart people canarrive at two very different conclusionson the same topic. It is fascinating andI like to talk about it in my show and Ithink I do it without drawing bias to oneside or the other.”

Mostly Dana’s show is a free-for-all (hiswords). “I do touch on all my charactersand what I like about live stand-up is thisidea that it is the complete opposite ofhaving any sort of metaphorical straightjacket on when I perform. If they reallylike my Arnold Schwarzenegger impres-sion; I might go on for 12 minutes thatnight. I give the audience what theywant and they definitely dictate theperformance. I do most of the Presi-dents, my SNL characters, and mostof the other favorites.”

Dana does know the markets he playsand understands that no two are thesame. “Corporate for example is itsown kettle of fish. When it comes topolitical humor, I can still do it becauselike I said, I am radically in the center.I will find audiences who are a littlecenter left or right, but I don’t think theway I do it is heavy-handed. When Ido a corporate date, my first questionsare ‘What is the environment and whatis the vibe?’ They are hiring me and Isee corporate work as another of itsown little sub microcosms within thebusiness. It isn’t like playing a theaterto my fans; this is their party or eventso I seek to accommodate them, atleast within the realm of the way I per-form stand-up.”

Custom work seems to be the favoritecarrot to dangle for corporate eventplanners and it just so happens to be thesame carrot Dana’s enjoys as well. “Iget a kick out of integrating the companyinto the act and I love improvising. Mybest corporate shows have been whereI can get a few bullet points about thecompany and then just riff. Once in awhile you will stumble upon some situ-ation or dynamic that just drives themcrazy. For example, when MorganStanley bought a lesser bank, I madefun of the elitism of Morgan Stanley andsort of portrayed the smaller bank theybought as the meat & potatoes guys.

You just find an area in the ether in the mo-ment and ride it. That is how I like to workcorporate. Some guys come in with acompletely brilliant act rehearsed and kill,but that’s not the way I work. Every showis a one-of-a-kind and so far I have gottengreat response.”

Dana has as detailed responses on justwhy he likes to perform for all of our var-ious buying segments. In brief, perform-ing arts theaters (his ticket buying fans),casinos (beautiful resorts & varied audi-ences with artistic freedom to boot) andcampus (young and energetic) shows allfloat his boat.

This is one of the nicest, most genuineand down-to-earth comics you’ll evermeet, especially at this level. Dana hasthe notoriety and ability to be just an-other prima donna, but bring him to yourevent and you’ll find this comicchameleon from Missoula, Montana issomeone you look forward to workingwith again.

BOOK IT! For more information onbringing Dana Carvey to your nextevent contact Robert Norman at Cre-ative Artists Agency at (424) 288-2000or at [email protected]


Exploring further our highlight this month oncomedy that crosses all borders, we de-cided to bring in an expert, Jackie Knobbe,Senior VP for Comedy from APA Talent &Literary Agency. Stay tuned to future issuesfor perspectives from agents at CAA andThe Gersh Agency.

Jackie has been in the business since shewas a student on her campus activitiesboard and has been specializing in comedymost of her career. Now a VP specializingin comedy at APA, she works with some ofthe best names in the business.

She sits down with us to discuss the industryin general, who’s hot and some ideas tothink of for buyers across multiple marketsegments. As we all know, some comicswill work for corporate, casino or performingarts but many don’t do all three. Throw incampus, military and other special eventsdates and it can be even harder to findcomics to hop across all the fences. Theyare out there.

The face of the business of booking com-edy has shifted dramatically. “The biggest

change in the last ten years or so is thatthere are not as many acts playing com-edy clubs,” Jackie says. “They are stillthere, but look how many people are play-ing theaters now. I think at one of the Poll-star conventions recently someonecounted and there were about 40 actscurrently touring theaters headlining. Ithas never been like that before. It is theperforming arts world that has changedfor comedy mostly. Casinos still book thebig names, but they have never been inthe business of building rising comedians.Comedy clubs build people but now per-forming arts centers are starting to takepeople with just a little bit of heat andmake them popular among their subscrip-tion bases. The entire market haschanged and this has changed how weall do business.”

The recent resurgence of comedy in themainstream with “Last Comic Standing” andits various knockoffs and the rising popular-ity of Comedy Central (especially among ayounger audience) coupled with the viralnature of comedy on the Internet andYouTube has brought the art form back to

AzIz ANSARI BILL BURR

DANIEL TOSH

JEFFDUNHAM

BO BURNHAM


the forefront. “One of those old sayings isthat in times of depression, entertainmentnever waivers or even becomes stronger.Thatn seems like it holds true now. Comedyseemed to really get hot once the countrygot into the current recession. It was nevernot hot, but it has been huge recently. Be-fore Larry The Cable Guy, Dane Cook andJeff Dunham played arenas, it had beenyears since any comic had played an arenatour. It is interesting all of that came togetherwhen it did and now the theaters are so pre-dominant. It seems a bit older and moremature crowds are making their way out tosee comedy and they are willing to pay the-ater ticket prices to see comics with somecredits to avoid the clubs.”

YouTube and building an online presence iscertainly a factor in this business and couldbe just the place to find the next big head-liner. “Dane Cook is a perfect example, hewasn’t even widely known until he made hisMySpace empire and became a big hit. BoBurnham did videos for YouTube in his bed-room and got picked up and started sellingtickets touring after a few million hits. It re-mains to be seen if these types of people

can sustain it, but they are currently hot .”

One need look no further than Jackie’s ownroster to site an example of a comic that hasbeen able to sustain a prolonged reputation.“A perfect example on our roster is KathleenMadigan, who has been around foreverchugging it out, working clubs her whole life,now happily working the theaters selling out1200 seaters. That is maintaining an audi-ence and she has that appeal. There arejust so many different ways to make it now.”

Not everyone is an overnight success,Kathleen has worked for years making hername. One of the hottest names goingaround right now is Brian Regan, a guy whohas been working for years and has beenmentioned to me personally at least a halfdozen times in the last few months (includ-ing by Dana Carvey in our interview).

“Look at Brian Regan, who isn't one of myclients (laughs), but he has been around amillion years and he sells tickets now justbecause it finally all came together for him.I think that some of that is probably becausemany of those people who are willing to go

DANE COOK

KATHLEEN MADIGAN

GREG GIRALDO

LEWIS BLACK

RON WHITE


see him just don’t want to attend comedyclubs anymore where things are a bit morerowdy and food and drinks are involved.”

By no means is it either Jackie’s nor themagazine’s intention to knock the clubs, ob-viously they have their place in developingtalent and pushing cutting edge of comedy.“They are still there,” Jackie says affection-ately. “We still need them and can’t be with-out them but they haven’t really figured theirplace out yet. They still have faithful audi-ences, they just need to expand and keepcomics in there longer. Some agents areguilty of taking comics out of the clubs andputting them into theaters the minute theystart to sell tickets. That works for some co-

medians but others it doesn’t. It is very dif-ficult for an artist to be in a club doing sixshows in a weekend trying to make it. Whilesome legendary club comedians are okaywith this, others are reaching for the nextstep up the food chain.”

Comedy clubs are viewed as a provingground at this point, much the same way thesmaller campuses lacking big major eventsbudgets are viewed in the college market.“Colleges are secondary for most of theseacts these days. When I was a student buyerand when I first began as a college middle

agent, that was different. People wanted toconquer that market to move on to the nextthing or simply be big in that market becausethat was who they knew their audience was.Nowadays it almost seems like an after-thought for many comics. They say ‘Oh,that’s great, if we can throw a couple collegesin here and there, we can keep it fresh.’”So, what’s the difference between a clubcomic and one that can perform in front ofthe wide variety of audiences representingthe readership of American Entertainment

Magazine? Is the sole distinction someonewho can work clean? “No...I don’t know thatI am smart enough to even answer thatquestion (laughs) because I will be the firstperson to tell you that I have passed unwit-

tingly on many people that have gone on tobecome hot,” she says playfully chagrined.“You just can’t discount anyone; it is all aboutthat individual, what their drive is, what theywant to do with themselves and how theybuild up their audience. Some people aresmarter at it than others. That is really it.”

While perhaps working clean isn’t the soleprerequisite for working across market lines,Bill Cosby’s old adage of “If you can workclean, you can work anywhere” still holds.

“Working blue just narrows the field for the

folks who do it. The cleaner you are, in mymind as a booking agent, the better off youare in the sense we can book you any-where. If you are not clean, there will be nocorporates and it might mean mostly no col-leges as well. The bigger the name you arethe more you can get away with though.”

Comics who are diverse are important tobuyers because during the course of work-ing for multiple audiences in multiple mar-kets, they are much more likely to learn tocater their shows each time they go out.This always makes for a more positive en-tertainment experience for the ones that re-ally matter – the ticket buyers or attendees. “Comedian are not just comedians anymore. They are authors, writers, they de-velop shows, they act in TV, movies,plays...they can do almost anything. We callthem multi-hyphenates because we wantthem to do everything. Being clean justadds to that, but it doesn’t mean you won’tbe successful if not.”

This is where Jackie’s most important jobcomes in – placing the right buyer with theright act. If all these events work on a slid-ing scale of tolerance for edgy materialbeing directly proportionate to fame, justhow does she explain to an artist that theyaren’t hot enough to say this or that to aparticular audience?

“You don’t,” she says laughing. “That is whyit is so important for an agent to do their jobwell. You don’t change their act. They arewho they are. If someone is dirty and theywant to do corporates, I am going to haveto tell them they are probably not going getmany or any. If a buyer wants a certain veryhot comic that is not clean, I have to be very,very clear about the material they are likelyto come in with. It is a constant balancingact, part knowing the market and part know-ing the talent, but we pride ourselves onmaking those matches just right.”

For questions about crossing market linesin the comedy industry in general,[email protected]

For guidance, advice and recommenda-tions on some of APA’s great acts includingfavorites like Sinbad, Aziz Ansari, Bill Burr,Caroline Rhea, Louis Anderson, Dan Levy,Kathleen Madigan and many more, callJackie Knobbe at (310) 888-4291 [email protected].

BRIAN REAGAN


the entertainment. It was a chance to dress up andget out of the house and socialize with friends. It wasduring these events that new artists caught the eyeof subscribers and developed a following so theyeventually became branded.

The internet is killing the socialization of the country.It is keeping us indoors more. Throughout historywe have been social animals and we need that inour lives. There is nothing that is a substitute for liveperformance. You can’t get the electricity in the airfrom YouTube, television or even the movies. Youcan only get it at a live performance.

Too many times young people think of Broadwayshows as boring, dull, completely not cool. But if youcan get them to go once, in most cases they arehooked for life.

Broadway understands its responsibility to familyvalues in the theater. Disney has been at the fore-front of that movement. You have The Lion King,then Beauty and the Beast, followed by The Little

Mermaid, Tarzan and Mary Poppins. These areshows the kids can relate to because they haveseen the movies.

Performing Artist presenters have come to the real-ization that their position, if so desired, of becomingelitist is over. If you want people to come to the the-ater they have to feel comfortable. You have seena dramatic change in dress codes. There are morepeople going to Broadway shows in jeans. There isa comfort level that needs to be there for people tofeel welcomed. There is a concern for ample park-ing and now at some Broadway theaters, the con-cessions are open so that you can bring drinks intothe theater. That was unheard of five years ago.

Off-Broadway

Off Broadway is the poor step-child to Broadway.It is having a difficult time. Probably as difficult asit has ever had because of the economics. Ad-vertising is the same rate no matter what and ifyou are dealing with the unions, that cost is alsothe same. One of the problems is the seating ca-pacity. You can’t generate the income to pay thebills. Very few producers will look at Off-Broad-way because the model doesn’t work financially.Those that come to New York and produce Off-Broadway tend to be those who just don’t knowany better yet or aren’t worried about makingmoney. Certainly their are philanthropists whojust want to see their show in New York and don’tmind losing money. There are producers thatmay have a good product and will do a limitedrun Off-Broadway because a theater is not avail-able yet and they want people to see it and talkabout it with the hopes they will generate addi-tional investors. There were several Off-Broad-way theaters that were built lately with the hopethat there would be product for them only to findout this was not the case.

I tend to keep my eyes and ears open for Off-Broadway shows that I feel will be successes onthe road. The reason for this is they are generallysmaller shows and they adapt very well to one

and two-nighters. Plus generally I don’t have todeal with equity arrangements that would kill theshow on the road. I had great success with Altar

Boyz which was a show I got from Off-Broadway.That was a successful tour for us that ran forabout a year and a half.

Taking It On The Road

The shows that Windwood produces usually playin theaters that are in the 1000 to 1500 seat range.Most of those facilities can spend between $12-17,000 for the production. Once we get those the-aters confirmed as anchor dates, we are alwayslooking for filler. When we are on the road, there areprobably a dozen others looking for the same ven-ues so we can’t afford not to try to fill in those emptydates. Many of those theaters are appreciative theyare getting a discount and for us it works too be-cause they will take a Monday or Tuesday night. Ina perfect world everyone wants Friday, Saturdayand Sunday. Plus many times those smaller venuesare the difference between being in the red andbeing in the black for that week. Add to that, smalleraudiences are often more receptive because weare one of the bigger shows to come to town.

Current Trends

As the economy continues more uncertain, it is

more difficult to get commitments from venues.

Generally after the fall conferences we are activein trying to close dates for the next year. But now,presenters don’t want to talk to us until after thefirst of the year. The reason is they are more con-cerned right now about filling seats for next week.Ticket sales for next week can pay the bills. Soclients are buying later and later. We can have ashow ready to go on the road and be weeks andsometimes months off on confirming dates now. Ihave never seen the stress level of our clientshigher. They are having to do much more with

less. Programming has become a luxury for thembecause they have to worry about operations andfund raising, marketing, raising the number of vol-unteers and local politics.

One big plus is that in some areas we are seeingthe formation of grass roots arts organizations. Be-cause arts education is not being offered in second-ary education in most states now, parents are takingthe initiative to see that the arts continue to live intheir communities.

The NEA in Peril

There has been a rallying of leaders in the arts com-munity to stress to various communities across thecountry that there is a financial benefit to presentingarts. Local communities started doing studies to findout what kind of impact the arts had on their popu-lations. Now these studies are being presented tolegislators to prove the existence of the arts is nec-essary in the development of youth and growingcommunity values. We create jobs. We bringtourists into the area.

2008/2009 Broadway’s Economic Contribution to NYC

• Broadway’s total impact on the NYC economy:$9.8 Billion

• Spent to mount and run shows: $942 Million• Spent on computers: $34.6 Million• NYC tourists who considered Broadway an important

reason to visit spent $5.2 Billion on ancillary activities• When this money changed hands, it created another

$3.6 Billion for a total of $9.8 Billion.

That is indicative of what is happening around thecountry.

Audience for Touring Broadway 2007/2008

• 15.3 million tickets were sold to Broadway series through out North America

• 70% of those tickets were purchased by women.• The average age of ticket buyers were between

50-65 years of age and caucasian. Average age of the theater goer was 50

• 73% of the audiences had a college degree and 32% held a graduate degree.

• 43% reported a household income of over $100,000compared to only 22% of Americans overall.

• 44% were subscribers to a Broadway series at their local venue.

• Average touring Broadway attendees saw six shows.• The internet has surpassed phone sales as the

most popular way to purchase tickets.• Local newspapers were still the choice for theater information.

• Children who actively are involved in the arts whetheracting on stage or playing a musical instrument perform better on aptitude tests. It’s all about

teaching kids to reason.

BOOK IT: My sincere thanks to Paul Bartz fortaking an incredible amount of time to contribute tothis story. To speak with Paul, you can contact himat Windwood Theatricals at (540) 592-9573 [email protected] THREE IRISH

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