Paul Floriano is well-known in Cleveland. This equity actor is a staple in the performing arts scene, but did you know he also runs his own production company?
Floriano Productions is a multi-faceted conglomeration of entertainment, and it's no surprise that Paul is the man behind it. Here's a little bit about Paul's business powerhouse.
KM: How was Floriano Productions started and why?
PF: Floriano Productions was started in 1987 when my boss at Sea World of Ohio, Art Freeman, suggested the need for a company that does corporate entertainment and training. The need was for high quality, professional acts that could provide the entertainment for corporate functions and training seminars at a reasonable price. We started doing a musical revue at the Aurora Inn (which is no more) called “Broadway Memories”.
From there, we branched out into entertainment for private parties, birthdays, fundraisers, weddings, you
name it. To be honest, at the start I was just a professional actor trying to keep myself employed!
About 1991, we did our first murder mystery and discovered a real need for murder mystery entertainment packages for weekends at hotels, private parties, corporate parties, holiday gatherings and fundraisers. We’ve also recently done some diversity training for Marymount Hospital and hope to be doing more of that soon.
Also, I just recently added an arm of FP called FP DJs which provides DJ services for weddings and parties at a discounted cost. No sense letting all that great sound equipment go unused when we don’t have a mystery booked!
KM: You specialize in murder mysteries. In a nutshell, will you give us an idea of how one works?
PF: A murder mystery is an entertainment package for companies, restaurants and private functions that are looking for something different.
It’s complicated but here’s how it might play out- the evening usually begins with a cabaret performed by the actors (most of whom are excellent singers), then the lead detective then tells the audience how the game is played and the audience is divided up into teams. There’s a ransom video, a death, the guests observe the crime scene looking for clues, they are introduced to the characters and sworn in. They then see some short scenes between the characters, and everyone eats dinner. During dinner, the characters mingle with the guests, imparting information. There are a few more songs, a speech from one of the characters, a fistfight between two of the characters, (sometimes women, sometimes men), a few more scenes, another death and then the guests have 10 minutes to solve the crime and prizes are awarded to the winning team!
The emphasis is on fun and making the audience laugh, as well as solve the crime so that at the end of the evening, the audience doesn’t feel cheated. Our murder mysteries are about half scripted and half improvised, so no two are ever close to being the same! If you think of a version of the wonderful interactive show “Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding”- where Tony gets wacked, you got it!
KM: What kinds of entertainment do you provide for fundraisers, parties, corporate events?
PF: We provide musical revues, celebrity impersonators, game shows, a kick-___ DJ service, team building and problem solving exercises, diversity training and murder mysteries. They are all available to peruse on our website, www.florianoproductions.com.
KM: Do you use local talent for your productions, where do you get those performers from?
PF: We use local talent, almost exclusively, for all our events. We find them by viewing different shows
locally, people we’ve worked with directly, or just someone who is referred to us by someone who already works for us. For example- we wrote, directed and produced a musical revue called “Motown” at (what was then) the Cleveland Play House Club, which is now known as “Stages” restaurant. All three of the fabulous singers were local, as were all three of the musicians. It was a show that was developed from scratch, and sold out for 4 weekends, receiving standing ovations along the way.
Our murder mysteries are performed by a group of actors I’ve worked with and known for years, and
they always come through. They’re great at improv and at creating full blown characters in a very short
period of time, which is very important, because mysteries are typically put together in one rehearsal.
The actors are so good! Imagine being able to put a full two-hour mystery together in one rehearsal! And
the audiences always love them!
For diversity training, we sometimes use the people who work at the company we are doing it for. They know the problems in their workplace better than anyone, and they are glad to be doing something about issues that pertain to their company.
KM: Do you cater to small and large groups?
PF: Yeah, we’ve done mysteries for as many as 375 people. For one murder, we entertained 375 teenage girls and their fathers, as well as incorporating a DJ to keep things moving. It was great and we had a
scavenger hunt, as well.
Sometimes it’s a very small group, for example, this summer we went to Michigan to do a bachelorette
party of 15. Everyone at the party had a role to play and some of them were quite entertaining! The
amazing thing is, no one was that drunk! Bottom line, it was an event that the lady of honor will always
remember.
Since we’ve got a full size sound system, larger groups are not a problem. It was one of the reasons I
started our DJ service, FP DJs, for weddings and parties. We can fill a large room with music or
amplification and we have wireless mics and a full library of music.
KM: Does your company do functions out of state, or just in Ohio?
PF: In a month, we’re going out of the country! We are booked for a murder mystery at The Therapy Lounge in Brantford, Ontario on March 5th, 2010. While I wish it was in the Bahamas, we take ‘em where we get ‘em!
Over the last quarter of 2009, (a great year for us, by the way), we were in Fort Collins, CO, Peoria, IL,
St. Louis, MO, Buffalo, NY, Rochester, NY, Richmond, VA, Syracuse, NY, Omaha, NE, and Kansas City, MO. By the way, many of those places are cities that George Clooney’s character goes to in the movie “Up In The Air”! The St. Louis gig was a Marilyn Impersonator booked just 4 days in advance, so if we can make it happen, we will. That’s important, I think. This doesn’t include the bookings in the Cleveland area which are too numerous to recount here.
KM: Murder mysteries involve improv. Any funny stories about gags gone wrong or story lines that
take an unexpected turn that really stick with you?
PF: One night we were doing a mystery for one of our regular client venues, Williams On The Lake in Medina (great place!), and Doug Kusak was playing a character with a German accent. I was playing a
character with a French accent. I was interrogating him (all improv), and as the interrogation wore on, I
adopted his German accent. By the time the interrogation was over, the actors were in hysterics,
and I was totally confused.
As you can tell, the focus at an FP murder mystery, is for the audience to enjoy themselves, bond and (hopefully) solve the crime. It’s not complicated, but it is fun!
KM: What about the business side of running your own production company has taken you by
surprise? What's been the hardest part?
PF: Probably the hardest part of running my own company and the most surprising has been the fact that
bookings rarely fall into your lap, although we do get dozens of referrals. About 80% of my time is spent on pursuing new bookings and, in this day and age, that means the internet. I’ve become much more adept at website optimization because I’ve had to. I have a company that I pay monthly to update the website (I’d be happy to share their name with anyone out there!), but the day-to-day maintenance falls to me. Most folks looking for a murder mystery find it one of two ways- they ask a friend for a referral, or they go to the internet. Our goal is to have the company website pop up when they search online. It ain’t sexy, but it’s the way the business is going, and I understand that. I’m one of those rare people who get to do what they love for a living, and everyday I thank my lucky stars for that!
KM: So let's say someone wants to get more info or book an event: How can people get in touch with you?
PF: Go to the website, www.florianoproductions.com. Or they can call me directly (which I love!) at 216-513-5305, email at paulflorianoproductions@yahoo.com or fax at 440-827-6038!
***Be sure to check out the Floriano Productions Slideshow below!***
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Do you have a performing arts related project that would be a good fit for this column? If so, contact
Kate Miller at KateMillerExaminer@yahoo.com
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