Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Sunday Spotlight #1 with Leenya Rideout

Our very first Sunday Spotlight went well.  Leenya was game and so were the participants.
The great thing about gotowebinars is that you get a recording of it and reports.   So our awesome Youth Board Prez, Matt, made a Youtube channel for the Youth Board (we have one for NPT by itself too) and the first Sunday spotlight is on there.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25EBwbKesYY

We have a bit of tweaking we will do but we did two polls and one survey and both came back suggesting good things.  One was that we should create a Facebook page for the Sunday Spotlight (we have one for NPT)  SO:  https://www.facebook.com/NptYouthPresentsSundaySpotlight  and as of last count 42 folks had "liked" it. We can announce each week's guest.  And we will also do that via their blog. www.nptbreakaleg.blogspot.com .

For the Facebook page, I put in the description for what our Virtual Master class was all about and will change it each week to show our next guest and the link to register for that session on Sunday nights.
This week is Alan Rust, March 3, 8pm.  He is the dean of the theatre school at the Univ. of Hartford (hartt school) as well as Artistic director for Monomoy Theatre in Cape Cod.  Register for free with this link:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7238591169609275648

Then our terrific VP of the Youth Board, Nate, created our Rockethub account and we will launch our fund raiser (for $2000) so that we can have that gotowebinar package for the year.  Right now we are on a 30 free trial.  With Rockethub if you don't make your whole amount you still get it, unlike kickstarter.

We also have a Twitter account just for the Youth Board.  They really will have to keep up with much of this but right now....it's kinda me and Nate and Matt.  But I expect this to really pick up steam.  We have students but also adults and industry folks tuning in for our first one, and I hope they will all continue to join us and tell their friends.  It's free so why not!

It's funny because, not everyone got that it was a "virtual master class" when I was seeking my first few guest stars. I got answers like "does it pay because I can't come out to CT unless it does" (um...you tune in from your computer)  "I am really just trying to concentrate on being a mom right now and can't get away.(um...great...you do this from your computer) or words to the effect that they may not have understood that this is a 'VIRTUAL' master class that everyone tunes in FROM their COMPUTER.

But you know what...it will catch on.  The folks who attended (about 25) enjoyed it and got to ask questions of Leenya too,  Check out the recording above and let me know your feedback too.


Sunday, February 24, 2013

New Rules....

Just started reading this ebook by Kevin Kelly, New Rules for the New Economy.  (It is a pdf...free) and can already tell I need to recommend it to you. See the link below and start in.....

http://www.kk.org/books/KevinKelly-NewRules-withads.pdf

Just some of the things that have caught my eye:

"This new economy has three distinguishing characteristics: It is global. It favors intangible things—ideas, information, and relationships. And it is intensely interlinked. These three attributes produce a new type of marketplace and society, one that is rooted in ubiquitous electronic networks.

Networks have existed in every economy. What’s different now is that networks, enhanced and multiplied by technology, penetrate our lives so deeply that “network” has become the central metaphor around which our thinking and our economy are organized. Unless we can understand the distinctive logic of networks, we can’t profit from the economic transformation now under way."


and:


"The new economy deals in wispy entities such as information, relationships, copyright, entertainment, securities, and derivatives. The U.S. economy is already demassifying, drifting toward these intangibles. The creations most in demand from the United States (those exported) lost 
50% of their physical weight per dollar of value in only six years. The disembodied world of computers, entertainment, and telecommunications is now an industry larger than any of the old giants of yore, such as construction, food products, or automobile manufacturing. This new information-based sector already occupies 15% of the total U.S. economy"

I Love this one:


"This vanguard is not about computers. Computers are over. Most of the consequences that we can expect from computers as stand-alone machines have already happened. They have sped up our lives, and made managing words, numbers, and pixels quite extraordinary, but they have not had much more effect beyond that.  The new economy is about communication, deep and wide. All the transformations suggested in this book stem from the fundamental way we are revolutionizing communications. Communication is the foundation of society, of our culture, of our humanity, of our own individual identity, and of all economic systems. This is why networks are such a big deal. 

Communication is so close to culture and society itself that the effects of technologizing it are beyond the scale of a mere industrial-sector cycle. Communication, and its ally computers, is a special case in economic history. Not because it happens to be the fashionable leading business sector of our day, but because its cultural, technological, and conceptual impacts reverberate at the root of our lives"

I can't wait to read the whole PDF and see how on track we are at NPT. :) 

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Sunday Spotlight!

Announcing the NPT Youth Board's exciting new initiative, SUNDAY SPOTLIGHT!
I came up with this while sitting in the marketing convention in Miami.  They had a great streaming video program and I just related it to theatre using Gotowebinar.  This is free so I hope you will all join us online this Sunday.  Suggest folks you would like me to feature too! Send this link to anyone you think would enjoy hearing what Leenya has to say about her Broadway experiences.

Join us this Sunday for our very first one!   


Sunday Spotlight- hosted by The New Paradigm Theatre  (NPT) Youth Board.

Every Sunday night at 8pm a new guest star from the entertainment industry will answer questions, offer tips and share their vision of success in the industry in a free “virtual master class” hosted by teens from the NPT youth board.  Since participants and the guest stars log in via their computers from their own homes (gotowebinars.com) they can interact and ask questions as well as learn from the pros. “Meet” TV/Film/Theatre performers as well as directors, producers, health and wellness advisors to the stars, marketing pros, deans of theatre departments from around the country and in related industries.  The best part is that you can do it all in your PJ’s and so can the star!  Join us each Sunday night for this “spotlight” to learn about your career.  *A bonus feature in the last five minutes will be our "focus" section which highlights a youth in Connecticut who is making a difference with creative thought and leadership ie "the young girl who raised $5000 for Children's Hospital by making teddy bears".  Using her talents, creative ideas to help her community.  

Sunday Spotlight with Leenya Rideout (Broadway: Company, Cabaret, Warhorse, Cyrano) 
Join us for a webinar on Feb 24, 2013 at 8:00 PM EST.
Register now!

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

*to be added soon. 

Friday, February 15, 2013

Open, Generous and Connected

It seems that about every other blog I quote Seth Godin. Or repost.  So I hope you have subscribed to his blog (www.sethgodin.com) But the last line of this one especially seems to be what we are "about" and so how could I not share?  Or be a "sneezer" as Seth calls those that help things go viral.  This is NPT.  ! This is our philosophy.  It's not rhetoric.  We are doing this.  Every business should do this.  And you should only want to work with those that believe this too.

ps. Beta testing our new Youth Board initiative of connecting folks this weekend and hope to go live by next Sunday.  More to come.....


Open, generous and connected-Seth Godin

Isn't that what we seek from a co-worker, boss, friend or even a fellow conference attendee?
Open to new ideas, leaning forward, exploring the edges, impatient with the status quo... In a hurry to make something worth making.
Generous when given the opportunity (or restless to find the opportunity when not). Focused on giving people dignity, respect and the chance to speak up. Aware that the single most effective way to move forward is to help others move forward as well.
and connected. Part of the community, not apart from it. Hooked into the realities and dreams of the tribe. Able and interested in not only cheering people on, but shining a light on how they can accomplish their goals.
Paradoxically, the fancier the conference, the more fabled the people around the table, the less likely you are to find these attributes. These attributes, it turns out, have nothing to do with fame or resources. In fact, fear is the damper on all three. Fear of failure, intimacy and vulnerability. Fear closes us up, causes us to self-focus and to disconnect.
When we find our own foundation and are supported in our work by those around us, we can get back to first principles, to realizing our own dreams and making our own art by supporting others first and always.

Friday, February 8, 2013

New mentoring video

I love the new mentoring video for NPT. Mark Holleran is amazing when it comes to taking the video and making a story out of it.  When we collaborate on these he asks for the text we want, the concept, the shots, and then he puts it all together. It's always brilliant.  All our videos are short and sweet and really show parts of our mission statement.

What do you think!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7iY4Fttoiw

Mark Holleran's business is Holleran Media productions:   Holleran Media 



Monday, February 4, 2013

Social media revolution and youth

Just returned from a fantastic internet marketing convention in Miami. Top marketing specialists presented three days of incredible business tools and ideas.  If you haven't seen this video it will really open your eyes to how Social media is not to be ignored.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUCfFcchw1w

I got a huge idea after one session that I am presenting to our Youth Board at their meeting this Sunday.  Once we work out the details I will fill you in.  I got it after seeing a session on a new site that has streaming videos and bookable "sessions" with stars like Eva Longoria, La La Anthony, Alejandro Sanz and more. www.meeton.com  It's a great way for these stars to connect with their fans and push out ideas and products they support. It's also a way for them to monetize more personal contact with fans.  There is also a "donate now" button for causes they support.

So I started thinking about how we could have virtual master classes with stars in the entertainment world and came up with the idea I am tweaking and working on now with our Youth Board.  What is fun about working with the NPT Youth Board is that any idea you have they are ready to run with it.  They get social media and love to create.

I wrote out the formula and ran that by our Vice Prez of the board, Nathan Cliff (he's a sophmore at Trumbull High School and very tech savvy...also just a great kid).  I will train him to "produce" this Sunday Spotlight show and he'll have something great on his resume when we are finished.

More soon......