The Business of Broadway has announced their new course list, in addition to an expansion of their leadership team, and a new partnership with Theatre Producers of Color (TPOC). Co-founded in 2019 by commercial producers Erica Rotstein, Heather Shields, Rachel Sussman, and Dana M. Lerner, the organization aims to democratize knowledge around how commercial theatre business operates in order to provide greater agency to theatre makers of all kinds and to build an industry focused on greater transparency and more effective collaboration.
The group's new partnership with TPOC also brings Sammy Lopez on as a new leadership member.
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with Theatre Producers of Color (TPOC) and interrogate the ways in which the business has historically operated," says the group's leadership team in a statement. "We hope to inspire a generation of artists and producers who together want to use shared knowledge, values, and experiences to reimagine and rebuild how the commercial theatre industry looks and operates."
The Business of Broadway offers an average of 2-3 courses each month, currently conducted virtually. The foundational survey course, Producing 101, is offered the first week of each month, and 200-level courses offer deeper dives into individual topics such as royalties, enhancement deals, transacting an investment, collective bargaining agreements, and digital producing. See below for a full list of upcoming classes.
Upcoming courses will be taught virtually, with the exception of select Producing 101 sessions that will be held in-person in New York City. Courses begin at $25 per class.
Take a look at the upcoming spring course offerings:
Producing 101
This class will examine how a show is produced, exploring the timeline of a show's creative development from ideation to production as well as the underlying business model that fuels that process. Held March 9, April 11, May 4, and June 14. All classes are at 6:30 PM ET, and the April 11 and June 14 sessions will be in-person.
Producing 201: Creative Development
Investigate how a new theatrical work is developed and discuss the role of the producer in the creative process, including but not limited to hiring generative artists, offering dramaturgical feedback, determining whether a nonprofit or commercial development pathway is right for your show, and crafting artistic benchmarks for the development timeline. Held April 27 and June 22, both at 6:30 PM ET.
Producing 202: Unions & Guilds
Theatre unions and guilds: who are they, who do they represent, and what is their role? In this 2 hour course, we examine the function of labor unions in the theatrical ecosystem, discuss the complex and historic relationship between labor and management with a nod towards the current national context, and provide an overview of what to expect when negotiating a collective bargaining agreement. Held April 7 at 6:30 PM ET.
Producing 203: Assessing & Transacting an Investment
In this course, students will review the documents you receive as a prospective investor in an effort to better understand each one’s purpose through the lens of a producer. Held March 23 and May 9, both at 6:30 PM ET.
Building Your Social Media Strategy
This course is designed to help producers and artists better understand the foundational tenets, potential pitfalls and best practices involved in designing your own social media strategy and maximizing impact, whether for yourself and/or for your productions. Held March 16 and May 18, both at 6:30 PM ET.
For more information, visit TheBusinessofBroadway.com.
