Bringing Broadway to Bridgeport

Here is the latest press release I have been working on.  Always best to be a month in front of any press, but the hurricane is delaying things, so this weekend is my crunch time. I included a whole "perks" section that probably won't go with the press release but that will be in a newsletter I have been creating.  It seems to me that if you can get the "early adapters" to engage and invite groups of their friends, it's better than just selling one ticket at a time.  Plus, each perk furthers part of our "mentoring" or "engaging your tribe" idea.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kristin Huffman

Cell Phone: 646-342-3200

Email: missohiokh@yahoo.com

The Bijou Theatre presents: A Holiday Extravaganza: Bringing Broadway to Bridgeport!

Amidst all the stress and strife of “Sandy” the Bijou Theatre and Broadway performers from The New Paradigm Theatre bring an uplifting and enjoyable event to the community!   

Bridgeport, CT (November 1 2012) –

Bringing Broadway to Bridgeport.  Thinking outside the…holiday box, the Bijou Theatre and The New Paradigm Theatre Co (NPT) have found an “all-in-one” way to benefit the community and create a an uplifting holiday tradition.  Broadway performers from The New Paradigm Theatre Company will perform a NY-esque customized Holiday show for Bridgeport and the surrounding area Dec 1 and Dec 2^nd at the Bijou Theatre.  Created just for Bridgeport this show not only entertains with Broadway singers, instrumentalists and Santa, but it comes with a mentoring outreach that allows the Broadway performers to teach young people in weeks prior to the show and gives a few lucky Bridgeport students the chance to be featured on stage with the performers for the exciting Holiday extravaganza.  Some will even have a chance to help write part of the show with the Broadway performers as guides!  Adding to the glamour and fun are title-holders from the Miss CT program (including a cameo by Miss CT), the Bridgeport Boy’s choir will be featured onstage with the performers and The New Paradigm Theatre’s  “So Ya Wanna Be a Broadway Star” Junior and Senior winners will also be featured.  Finally, proving that it takes a village, the “Village Vogue Boutique”, in neighboring Milford, will be supplying all the gowns for the event.  Connecting, uplifting and mentoring the community through this “Holiday gift” to Bridgeport.

Tickets:  Call  Bijou theatre:  (203) 332-3228

Perks for early ticket buyers (before Nov 16^th) include:  1. VIP pass to the “Invited dress rehearsal”.  2. “Talk back after the show with the stars”.   3. Dinner with the stars. 

Group ticket sales for senior centers and homes (10 or more) receive the above as well as a visit during December by Kristin Huffman (BWay performer and Artistic Director) with a young crew of carolers for your own “Sing along” and caroling door to door at your Center. 

Group Ticket Sales for Schools (10 or more) include :  1. VIP pass to the “Invited dress rehearsal”.  2. “Talk back after the show with the stars”.   3. Dinner with the stars.  4. Master class on auditions/bway with Kristin Huffman, Bway performer, Artistic Dir and college professor.  www.kristinhuffman.com

Group Ticket Sales for Businesses (10 or more)  include: . VIP pass to the “Invited dress rehearsal”.  2. “Talk back after the show with the stars”.   3. Dinner with the stars. 4. A “Caroling Day” at your office during December by Kristin Huffman and some young stars! Treat your employees to an hour of caroling in the lobby or door to door at the office!

FINALLY:  All EARLY buyers (before November 16^th) will be entered into a raffle for a WALK ON ROLE IN THIS SHOW and will be featured with the Broadway stars on stage!!!!

About NPT:

The New Paradigm Theatre Company (501, c 3) non profit, creates a professional theatre experience that promotes a defined interconnectivity and sense of community. Embracing a new paradigm shift by “breaking the fifth wall” we enlist those formerly known as the “audience” transforming them into a tribe of promoters, “stars” and assistant “directors” who interact with the professional actors we feature in our productions. Through social media and Internet marketing we benefit local businesses, other nonprofits and educational institutions as we mix “stars” in the community with the stars of Broadway, TV and film. Utilizing our experienced press corps, we are the community’s best PR. By mentoring emerging leaders to think progressively utilizing innovative arts education we set the pace for more than just “art for art’s sake”.

·      NPT has also helped many other non profit groups raise funds this year including, The Bruce Museum, The United Way, The Leukemia Foundation, The Volunteer Ctr of SW Fairfield County, AT HOME in Greenwich, as well as many gigs coming up to help other non profits and schools.  

Short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKSIFFCxQFE

Shoulds

Seth Godin had a great post today:

The end of should

Banks should close at 4, books should be 200 pages long, CEOs should go to college, blogs should have comments, businessmen should be men, big deals should be done by lawyers, good food should be processed, surgeons should never advertise, hit musicians should be Americans, good employees should work at the same company for years...

Find your should and make it go away.

So I wrote out a "should" so I could make it go away: 

Theatres should start with a building first instead of being "virtual" for as long as it takes to build the tribe and let the community chose us. 

I know it takes patience, but nothing, no business, no non profit, nothing, should go by the same rules as it did five years ago.  And if anyone is telling you that, they are still living in the past.  Example: Theatre directors, colleges, producers, casting directors are asking for and getting video submissions, along with their typical live auditions. Regional theatres are doing more education outreach and creative programming instead of just producing shows.  Smart actors are getting good at all things internet related and are able to operate without an agent.  Blogging is something that shows encourage their actors to do for PR (during "Company" it freaked the producers out) 

While we might long for the good old days...of five years ago...NOTHING is a "should" anymore.  The Internet alone has changed everything. Some of the top businesses in CT right now are "virtually" based.  It is what it is, and we have to move and adapt with the times. 

Being "virtually based" is different than just being Virtual.  We are doing some of the work of a "theatre", but are not locked in to one spot yet. This allows us to blow by those "shoulds" when it suits us and to be selective in deciding who we will work with...and who we won't.   

And our winners are....

So Ya Wanna Be a Broadway Star...

Junior winner:  Matthew Fliegauf
and
Senior winner: Amanda Forker
(Pictures below)

What a great event and thanks to everyone who helped. The first thing everyone noticed was the beautiful theatre this year. The Bijou and their staff were awesome and the theatre itself is a great place to perform and see shows.

Our new format, with the singers divided up into two age categories worked well and then on their one day of performance, getting feedback from all judges in the preliminary round was good.  But what they really loved was that the highest scoring folks then got to work on stage in front of us with an individual judge for 10 minutes in the final rounds.   Everyone did so well and the competition had a lot  more of a Q and A feel.  The judges were spectacular in giving advice and working with the contestants.

It was that final round that really helped to decide the winners as well.  We got feedback like:

Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity. The feedback I got was completely invaluable. I now have a very clear vision of the expectations of the industry. I wish you and your growing program with the NPT all the best.

       Thanks again,  

           Matt Sweeney

and

Thanks so much for the wonderful performance opportunity on Saturday.  Juliet (and her parents) learned a lot!  We were delighted to see how talented and poised our daughter was in her first "real" competition.  She is thrilled to have been chosen as a finalist and even more thrilled to have worked with "Christine" from "Phantom".  We also learned Juliet needs some "go to" songs that show off different vocal styles and her vocal range and especially, that her choices need to be age appropriate. 

    Best,

       Pamela Dale

Pictures of our winners. 

                                      Amanda Forker went from Children of the Wind to The Alto's Lament in the finals and    it was her comedic side that won the competition for her.  

Judge VP Boyle working with Matthew in the finals. 

Sarah Pfisterer our final judge!

Our final judge for So Ya Wanna be a Broadway Star is Sarah Pfisterer.  We went to Northwestern together and she got her Broadway debut wayyyyy before I did!  Sarah is also a teacher and will be a wonderfully thoughtful and precise judge this year for the Junior Division!  And she's gorgeous!

Sarah Pfisterer   (Broadway Perfomer, Wiremill Academy- Theatre Arts for Young People Co-Founder). B.M and M.M. from Nor­­thwestern University. Sarah is one of Broadway’s most esteemed leading ladies, having starred as Christine Daae in over 1000 performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, as well as an acclaimed portrayal of Magnolia in Showboat! (Both for director Harold Prince). Her experience as a successful actor and her passion for teaching, have led Sarah to a busy private voice studio. She finds joy in communicating the knowledge of her craft and takes great pride in her students’ many accomplishments. Her students have appeared in film, television, and on professional stages as well as having gone onto some of the top programs in the country such as, The Stratford Festival, University of Michigan, Syracuse University and Berklee School of Music.

Sarah had a solid foundation, graduating from Northwestern and discovered the professional experience in Phantom and Showboat to be an invaluable extension of that. Teachers include many leading pedagogists in the industry: Bruce Kolb, William Riley, Edward Zambara, Lorna Haywood, Sunny Joy Langton, Elizabeth Fischer, and Sherrill Milnes to name a few.

After a highly successful run in the New York company of Showboat! with John Cullum and John McMartin, she toured the show with Tom Bosley. Also on Broadway she was seen in Children and Art directed by Richard Maltby, celebrating Stephen Sondheim’s 75^th birthday. Off-Broadway she played Anna Smith in Meet Me in St. Louis at the Irish Repertory Theatre directed by Charlotte Moore. Regionally Sarah has appeared in The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Maria in Sound of Music (IRNE award – Independent Reviewers of New England - for Best Actress) with John Davidson, Julie in Carousel (IRNE award for Best Actress) with Shirley Jones, Marian in The Music Man (IRNE award nomination), Anna in The King and I (IRNE nomination), Belle in Beauty and the Beast (IRNE nomination), and Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady. A Metropolitan Opera semi-finalist, Sarah has sung in concert with symphonies around the world with performers such as, Michael Feinstein, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Shirley Jones, Ciaran Sheehan, Betty Buckley and Ruben Studdard and has worked with conductors such as Michael Tilson Thomas and John McGlinn. She also made a recording of Jerome Kern’s “Oh Boy” in London under the direction of Mr. McGlinn. Sarah has a busy concert schedule, working with Broadway Pops International.  She has appeared on The Today Show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, and on The Food Network. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sarah lives in beautiful Wilton, Connecticut with her husband, actor and fellow Wiremill Academy Founder Rick Hilsabeck and her two daughters, Hannah and Lily. www.wiremillacademy.com

Randye Kaye is back again too!

I tell ya, we had so many great comments about Randye Kaye as a judge last year that we just had to have her back again this year.  She gives good, no-nonsense advice that anyone can relate to and she does it with compassion.  

She's also a good friend and has a wonderful career as an author and much more.  Read her bio:

Randye Kaye has over 20 years of experience as a voice talent, stage/TV/film actress, and radio personality, with a long list of major clients. She brings years of acting and improv experience to your commercial - as spokesperson or character – and provides a warm, rich, smooth, intelligent and expressive voice for your website, e-learning tutorial, IVR, on-hold message, promo/imaging, industrial narration, audiobook (children, adults), science/medical/technical instruction, video game, travel/real estate/museum tour, or event. 

Randye has been heard on major radio stations as Morning Drive sidekick, PM Drive Personality, news director, and NPR classical music host, but now focuses on Voiceover work full-time. She is also a Voiceover coach with Edge Studio in New York, Connecticut and the virtual world.

With years of experience as a morning radio personality and actress, Randye knows how to think on her feet and help your event go smoothly and happily as live host, MC, or announcer. She also provides acclaimed motivational keynotes, leads fun and interactive workshops (self-esteem, happiness, communication, presentation skills, media awareness), and is a really fun and productive live auctioneer.

On the more serious side, Randye speaks frequently to groups of doctors, nurses, medical students, families, providers, and legislators regarding the family experience when mental illness hits. She is a published author, Family-to-Family teacher/trainer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and diversity trainer with the Anti-Defamation League.

Randye uses her vast experience in radio, improvisational acting, voiceover and theatre to teach and inspire in educational and corporate environments.

http://www.randyekaye.com/

CREATING THE TRIBE

Again, I am going to recommend that everyone read Seth Godin's book "Tribes". In fact I am going to reread it today.  I am seeing it in action over the last few months.  The concept is that, instead of mass marketing and slinging a net out over anonymous groups of people hoping that they will show up at your theatre's doorstep, you instead cultivate and create relationships with people who really want to hear from you.  You cater to them.  You delight them.  You create, just for them.

They in turn become your "tribe" and are much more dependable and loyal than mere strangers who might happen upon your website, facebook page, theatre etc.

Last night we performed one of our customizable concerts at St. Anthony's in Faifield CT.  They hosted an event at their church to benefit The Center for Women and Families.  http://www.thecenteronline.org/

Part of the reason this event was so successful for them and for us is that Father John has a "tribe" that loves him.  They go to Broadway shows together.  They respect him.  We did our first "In Home" event some months ago for a group of about 20 of his tribe (and ps he would hate that I am giving him credit for it being his tribe because he is so modest) At the In Home event he approach me about doing another larger concert...which became last night's event.

It sold out a couple week's beforehand. They were turning folks away.  Everyone was jazzed when they arrived and the energy propelled our concert.  Um....isn't that what we hope for in our theatres?

I customized the concert, as usual, and no one will see this same concert again.  One section, the "Family Favorites"portion, had Bret Shuford, Fred Rose, Kate Chapman and me going into the audience to sing to them and around them and with them.  I knew this crowd would eat that up and participate.  I sang "Cruella Deville" to some gentlemen, Bret sang "Do I Love you because you're beautiful" to some nuns, and Kate and I brought one unsuspecting woman on stage with us to be "made over" during the song "Popular".

The dinner consisted of pasta and sauces brought by the congregation. There had to be 20 different sauces and you got to chose what you wanted.   So I worked in a "Sauce Judging" competition to our show. While Bret sang "Be Our Guest", Fred, Kate and I tasted all the sauces!   We had fun awards ( I bought prizes at the dollar store) like "Most Joyous sauce" or "Hotter than Hell sauce" for the five winners who had to come on stage with us.

Finally, at the end of the show, I invited them all to become part of our "tribe" too as we have our "So Ya Wanna Be a Broadway Star" and our "Holiday Show" coming up right around the corner in Bridgeport in the next months.  They are already planning a large group to attend.

While it might have been easier for me to make up an eflyer.  To buy lists from other groups. To mass market.  Seriously, it would take less time.  Less effort.  The response from last night, from the At Home in Greenwich folks, from other groups that we are taking time with and helping first....is worth it.  Not only because it helps us to found solidly...but because it builds a community.  A tribe of people who help each other.

Broadway Judge #4 Jamibeth Margolis

No "So Ya Wanna Be a Broadway Star" panel would be complete without the lead judge and our Executive Director, Jamibeth Margolis!

Jamibeth Margolis:

Jamibeth is now entering her 15th year as a professional casting director in New York. She was with Johnson-Liff Casting, Cameron Mackintosh, and Margolis-Seay Casting and is now out on her own as a freelance casting director. Previous credits include the Broadway and National Touring Companies of such hits as Les Miserables, The Phantom Of The Opera, Miss Saigon, Cats, and Jane Eyre as well as two dozen other shows on Broadway. She also currently casts for Off Broadway, National Touring Companies and shows for prominent regional theaters and all of the major theater festivals in NYC. Her casting office is dedicated to the development of new plays and musicals. Additional casting credits include multiple television pilots and on camera industrials for major US companies.

Jamibeth is also an accomplished stage director. Recent theatrical directing credits include Family Dinner at the Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row and Do I Hear a Waltz? and Jekyll and Hyde at the Arvada Center Theater in Denver. Jamibeth served as assistant director to Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks on the recent Broadway revival of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial and also on Jules Feiffer’s A Bad Friend at Lincoln Center Theatre. She has also helmed developmental productions and readings of the following new works: Naked In Encino, Owl Creek, Far From the Madding Crowd, Plane Crazy, Great Googley Moo, 1812, and Warsaw (which is currently on track for a Broadway production in the next two years).

Currently Jamibeth serves as Artistic Director For Musicals at the Midtown International Theatre Festival (MITF) where she fosters new writing talent and looks to bring a dozen new musicals to life each summer. Jamibeth also teaches musical theater, acting, and audition technique in studios all around NYC and at Pace University.

Jamibeth comes to New Paradigm Theatre with extensive experience working with non profits including: The National Alliance For Musical Theatre, Theatre Resources Unlimited and more.

Jamibeth is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Casting Society of America, and the Stage Directors And Choreographers Society. She served as a Tony Awards Voter for three Broadway seasons. Member: Lincoln Center Directors Lab. She holds a B.A. from Ithaca College in Drama/Directing.