What if (your show here) were in ABC's Shark Tank?

September 8, 9:37 AMNY Theater Producer ExaminerMeredith Lucio

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the NY Theater Producer Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

  The shark tank at the Atlantis hotel in Dubai.

I've never been much for reality TV shows. While some of them can be really intriguing adventures in travel or "dream" vocations,  most of them are just plain inane and pander to the worst instincts in both the people on them and the people who watch them. I was ill-prepared for the zeal and interest with which I viewed the first episode of ABC's Shark Tank. Starring a consortium of real life "sharks" or people who have been successful enough in their lives they can bank roll other peoples' businesses for a hefty cut of the return, "Shark Tank" pits real-life entreprenuers against venture capitalists in a position to be the difference between failure and becoming the next great American success story. And then I realized why this show had hit a nerve. I had both asked and been expected to answer similar questions as a theatrical producer in New York City.

"What are the start up costs?" (In theatrical jargon, what's your capitalization?) How much does it cost per unit? (What's your weekly operating costs?) Do you own the patent? (What are the underlying rights? subsidiary rights?) On and on, the sharks ask pertinent questions to help them make informed decisions about the money aspects of the entreprenuer-in-question's labor of love. They might like all of the people whose paths they cross. They might want to say yes to them on the likability scale. And yet they'll say "no" if the math doesn't make sense. If the viability of the project isn't reasonable. If they don't get a sense that the entreprenuer has an understanding of the business they purport to be in.  If they don't believe in the viability of your product and your ability to make that product what it should be, your sharks will swim in other waters.

A producer's responsibility is to understand the business of their business. It's the producer's job to have a business plan and financial structure that provides the most opportunities for a positive outcome for all involved. It's the producer's job to have answers to the business aspects of their project as well as the creative. This business, the business of theatre, is challenging enough without putting your and your project's best feet forward. It's crucial to the success of your project and to your long term success as a producer. Know the math, know the business of show business as much as you know the creative side.

After watching a few of the episodes of Shark Tank I couldn't help but wonder how theatrical business persons would do in that room with the sharks. I'd love to see the likes of Elizabeth McCann, Randall Wreghitt, Kevin McCollum or Harriett Newman Leve  take on the sharks of ABC's new show. If anyone can convince those sharks to take on the intense, high-octane, high-risk business of Broadway, those producers could. But how many young producers out there would be able to answer the hard questions? Could you?

Perhaps there's a new reality TV idea there for all of us theatrical producers. At the least here's a great exercise for any producer looking to take on a project. If you had a chance to pitch any of the aformentioned producers, would you be able to do it? Could you answer the hard questions about your project and perhaps convince them to swim with your show? If the answer is anything other than "yes" you're not ready for your investors. Ask and answer the hard questions for yourself before you have to answer them for someone else. When a shark starts swimming in your waters, you want to be ready.

Most people get involved with creative producing because they fall in love: with a writer, a story, something about a proposed property that compels them to see a production realized by "taking up the sword" when no one else will. If you are producing something, you should probably love it for some reason or another. That doesn't mean, however, you shouldn't hold your project or property to a high standard when it comes to the business end of things. If finding the project is like falling in love, producing it is like throwing it to the "sharks". It's always best to arm your production (and yourself) with the right weapons to make sure you and your project aren't the ones getting eaten.