How To Handle Reviews (Especially Bad Ones)

Alec Baldwin posted up on HuffPo an opinion piece regarding how Broadway has changed.  After reading it, I felt I had to share some advice to my fellow producers as to how to deal with reviewers and how to deal with the consequences of having been reviewed.

Getting Reviewed In The First Place
Press releases are the key to getting reviewed.  I would also venture to say that you should ask one of your colleagues to write a small review on your behalf.  I'll leave it up to you as to whether you want them to be honest or biased; either way, you can still get a little bit of "press" during your run that may get picked up elsewhere.

A lot of the time, a reviewer comes out based on merely title alone.  I feel the show I wrote El Mari-ChiChi:A Robert Rodriguez Burlesque for Gorilla Tango Burlesque got reviewed due to the multiple pop culture references in the title - basically boiling down to "boobs", "Robert Rodriguez", and "Desperado".  My Brat Pack: The Musical got reviewed for the same reason.  Have a kitschy title and you may well be on your way to getting someone to come out and write about the show.

How To Deal With The Reviewer
Many of the times, I'd find out about the reviewer coming to the show the day before or the night of by the theatre.  TIME TO FREAK OUT?!  No.  The cooler you are about this the better.  Do the following to make sure you've done everything you can to influence the odds in your favor to get a good review:

• Ensure the reviewer has two complimentary tickets (comps).  Many reviewers don't like going to see a show by themselves.  Call the box office as soon as you find out they're coming to set this up.  Reconfirm that the tickets are available once you arrive to the theatre.
• Do not contact the reviewer to discuss any show particulars prior to the show.  It looks like you're trying too hard.  If you wish, drop them a quick, brief email letting them know you've set their comps up and that you look forward to reading what they thought of the show.  That's it.  No more!
• If you can afford it, comp them on some concessions.  Let the staff know who the reviewer is, what they look like (try to find out as quickly as possible), and that a certain amount of what they want is either free or will be purchased by the production.  Let this be a surprise to the reviewer once they go up and get a drink or some snacks.  It'll hopefully buy you some brownie points towards a good review.
• Let go once they arrive.  Hopefully the talent put into the show will be apparent and be judged fairly.  There's nothing you can do to get a good review beyond what I mentioned above.  If the show sucks to begin with, no amount of free M&Ms and beer will change their opinion(ok, well, maybe with enough beer...)

To Tell Or Not To Tell - That Is The Question
Generally there are two rules of thoughts regarding telling the cast you have a reviewer in the audience.  On one hand, many actors have never been reviewed and allow their performances to be affected because they are either scared about how they're going to be perceived on stage or overcompensate to make sure the reviewer writes about them.  On the other hand, it may motivate the actors to put on a better show and draw a more supportive crowd.  As a producer, you want all of your shows to be the consistent night to night.  Talk to the director and get their thoughts on how the actors are going to deal with the news of having a reviewer in the audience.  If they think the cast can handle the news and it would only help the production, then it's probably ok to let them know the reviewer is there.

If you choose to not tell your actors about the reviewer, be aware the decision could come back to haunt you.  Some actors get upset not being told every minute detail about what's going on with the production.  You may get accused of "hiding things" from the actors which isn't good for morale.  Luckily, I don't believe anyone has every come back to me with this but I've always been cognoscente of the possibility.

Dealing With The Aftermath
So, the reviewer came, the show went on like it was supposed to, and now you're scouring the internet looking for the review.  Be prepared for what you might find.

If the review turns out to be not bad (yes, "not bad"), you can probably share the article.  By "not bad", I mean that the reviewer wrote something that doesn't completely destroy the chance of someone coming out to see your show based on that review.  If you say "eh, not bad" after reading it, it's probably okay to share with the others.

If the review turns out to be good, SHARE THAT WITH EVERYONE AD NASEUM!  Good press is good press so take advantage of it!  See if you can use that good press to land more shows or an extension of your current run.

If the review turns out to be bad, you may want to leave it alone and allow the others to search for it on their own.  Depending on whether or not you told them about the reviewer, it may not be found until your run is over.; this case is atypical unfortunately.  I've had actors forward links of bad reviews to the entire cast attached with angry verbiage like "THIS IS SOME BULLSH*T!" or "THEY DIDN'T EVEN WATCH THE SHOW WE PUT UP!".  Be prepared to provide words of encouragement and civility to the cast so that the review doesn't destroy morale. I'm not saying you should blindly contradict anything they say about your show, but rather be prepared to take those comments in and process them. 

After your review, you may want to think about changing your show to either expand on the good things mentioned or "fix" the bad things swimming around in your head.  My advice is to make almost no changes to your show as far as content, casting, blocking, and direction.  The show is what it is.  However, if you determine you may need some pick-up rehearsals to improve the execution of the show, that'll probably make for a better show.  Changing things at this point to appease one person's opinion is fool hearty and will probably result in an inconsistent show at best.

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As entertainers, we want everybody to like our work.  Not everybody will.  Produce a show that speaks to the facts of your vision instead of playing to somebody else's opinions.

Got any other useful tips handling the review process?  Let us know down below in the comments or hit us up on Twitter (@nvgdesign) with your ideas.

When You Need To Know Who's Who In What

Civilians (non-producers) tend to like to give me their thoughts on what they think improv is all about: 

• It's stand-up comedy. 
• That Drew Carrie show thing, right? Whose Line? I watch it all of the time on TV. 
• Where you make EVERYTHING up! 

Contrary to popular belief, there's a lot of structure around improv shows.  We spend an inordinate amount of time learning how to create different pre-determined forms and structures in which we improvise the content.  As part of these forms we have to also think about the production of the show itself.

To have a successful show, we need to be able to execute the forms in a show within the timeframes we're allotted.  We also need to consider who else is playing on the same bill as they could have a form similar to the one we wish to present.  We also need to consider what kind of crowd we're playing to.  Are we playing for a "bar" crowd?  Does the audience want more "refined" humor?  Factor in all of these items, the percentage of improv that's being executed in the overall production is actually in the minority compared to all of the preparation just to set up the conditions to improvise on stage.

Most of the time, I know the answer to most of the important details going into a show:

• Who's producing the show?
• What time is the official call for the teams?
• What's the location of the show?
• Who's on the bill?
• What's the after-show activities?
•  What promotion will be done by the host and what needs to be done by the participants?

When I don't know this information, I find performing a little bit nerve-racking.  i'm typically the point man going into shows so my actors come to me asking me all of these questions.  If I don't have a ready answer, they tend to get in their heads which in turn puts me in my head because I'm now worried if I'm going to get a good performance out of my actors and worried as well if I'm going to be out of my head enough to perform well.  ARGH!

I tell the civies about these thoughts and they come back with "Well, it's improv right?  Just improvise!"  Perhaps that's a valid point.  It should be about improvising but producing is much more about planning for the expected and unexpected.  In these scenarios, the more planning and communication performed, the better.

What are some of the details you need to know going into a performance to make you feel comfortable to give your best?  Share you ideas int he comments below or hit me up on Twitter at @nvgdesign.

P.S.  In a future blog, I'm going to explore how improvising can be an important tool to keep in the back pocket of aspiring producers.