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Exactly What Does a Producer Do?
Dateline: 7th September, 2003
Even those who have been involved in theatre for years are sometimes
unsure about the exact role of the Producer and there are perhaps more
misconceptions about it than about any other job in theatre. To try
to clear them up, Peter Lathan talked to James Seabright of Bright Choice
Productions, one of Britain's young up-and-coming producers in his own
right and half of Festival Highlights, which made a major impact at
this year's Edinburgh Fringe.
Peter
The role of the producer is probably the least understood – apart
from, perhaps, that of the dramaturg – among theatregoers. What
is your perception of your role?
James
I’d like to think that if a producer has done their job well, their
involvement will go unnoticed! By that I mean that the show is good,
sells well and runs smoothly. Which probably explains why producing
is a confusing concept to grasp. A producer’s role is also very
flexible depending on what the show is, and how the producer came to
be involved with it. I have been credited as the producer on shows where
my role has been almost exclusively administrative – i.e. looking
after the money side of things and generally making sure that the practical
aspects of a show tick along as they should. But I much prefer those
shows where I have had a stake – or even been the lead player –
in the creative process.
Peter
Most people who want to go into theatre as a career want to be actors
or directors or techies. What made you choose to be a producer?
James
I think that producing chose me rather than the other way around. I
had an interest in the backstage aspects of theatre during my school
days, and arrived at university thinking that I’d do a bit of stage
management for the student theatre. I actually ended up publicising
the freshers’ show and really got a buzz from working out how to
attract people to come and see a show, and what made a show sellable.
Around the same time, there was a desperate hunt for producers on the
big musical for the year. Anyone who’d been around long enough
to know how much work it involved was running away from the job at high
speed. Soon I found myself co-producing the show, and found that it
was a great combination of my new-found interest in publicity and my
long-standing fascination with running a show from a production perspective.
Peter
Can you tell us a little about your background?
James
I grew up in Bournemouth, a lovely town but hardly a centre of cultural
sophistication. Bizarrely enough, in a recent interview for a grant,
I was quizzed extensively about my home town, as one of the panel had
produced his first ever show at the Pavilion, and another had performed
naked there. They assure me the productions were not connected. Anyway,
despite the lack of culture on offer in the town, there was an active
theatre scene at my secondary school. I became involved with that as
a performer; I soon realised that I was a terrible actor and moved into
stage managing. Whilst growing up I wanted to be everything from an
AA patrol man to a journalist to a diplomat, but never anything involving
the theatre. I guess I’ve ended up doing something that involves
fixing things, spreading news and being diplomatic, so my childhood
dreams have not been entirely unfulfilled.
Peter
What qualities does a producer need?
James
I don’t really know the answer to this, maybe someone who’s
been producing for longer than me would have a better idea. But if I
was to identify one quality that I find especially important, it is
the ability to remain calm regardless of what crisis has just landed
at your door.
Peter
You have been remarkably successful in a short time. What are the highlights
of your career so far?
James
I’m still yet to repeat the box office success of my first show,
that musical which nobody wanted to produce. We managed to sell out
every performance in advance, which was quite unusual in the scatty
student world where people normally turn up late and without any money
to see a show.
In my professional career, a definite highlight would be the Christmas
Eve matinee of Told You So, the musical I produced last year.
When I saw a theatre full of families loving the show, all the months
of hard graft that go into making a musical seemed worthwhile. This
is all the more exciting when you remember that for a lot of children
Christmas is the time when they have their first experience of theatregoing.
Despite the constant references to musicals, I have actually produced
many more plays. I’m still buzzing from the excitement of my most
recent production, The Typographer’s Dream. It was an incredibly
tricky play to stage, but it was admirably mastered by an amazing trio
of performers and a fantastic creative team. Typographer was
one of those shows where things just gelled together to make everything
work beautifully both on and off stage.
Peter
For this year’s Edinburgh Fringe you linked up with another producer,
Martin Sutherland. Why was that?
James
The basic answer is that Martin asked me whether I’d like to join
forces with him. We only met at the end of last year’s Edinburgh
festival, but it became clear very quickly that despite our very different
backgrounds, we have a similar taste in theatre. So it made sense to
work together, because by joining forces we were able to take on more
shows and present them in a more successful way than we could have done
independently. I think this vision came to fruition as intended!
Peter
How does this kind of collaboration work? Do you jointly produce or
just share resources?
James
It really was a joint enterprise – we worked closely to develop
the programme of shows, and although we divided the shows between us
to look after the day-to-day aspects of producing them, it remained
a close partnership throughout its duration.
Peter
Many shows these days are joint productions – X and Y in association
with Z present… Do you see yourself going down this road on
a regular basis?
James
I hope so. Working with other producers and companies is very healthy,
as it is all too easy to become entrenched in your own particular way
of doing things if you always work by yourself or with the same people.
At the moment I’m very excited about Ophaboom’s co-production
with Unity Theatre Liverpool, which is a new play based on the Burke
and Hare legend.
Peter
You are also, I believe, managing Ophaboom. What does this entail?
James
I started working with Ophaboom two years ago to manage a tour for them.
We got on very well and I loved the work. Fairly quickly my role developed
into being the producer of the company. So now I’m responsible
for finding them funding and developing the company’s output on
an ongoing basis. For Ophaboom a lot of the work involves setting up
tours, because that is the focus of their work.
Recently I have taken on a few management clients, the best known being
David Benson and his range of solo shows. At the moment this is mainly
about getting his shows out on tour and making sure things run smoothly
from a practical point of view.
Peter
Does a management role form a large part of your future plans?
James
I enjoy the mixture of management and producing. I hope at some point
to focus on producing the shows I want to, but for the time being I
find that by managing other shows I learn so much about my own tastes
and those of audiences across the UK and indeed the world. And as someone
who’s been doing this a lot longer than me has said, a good producer
is someone who knows what an audience wants before they know themselves!
Peter
Thanks!
James
Thank you, and long may BTG continue to brighten my Sunday afternoons
with its weekly bulletin!
Visit
James' websites at www.seabright.info
and www.bright-choice.co.uk
James recently was awarded a New Producers Bursary from the Theatre
Investment Fund and recommends that anyone interested in production
should go on one of their workshops about producing for commercial theatre.
For further information about the Bursaries and courses, phone 020 7557
6737. The companion book to the course, 'So You Wanna Be A Producer',
is available from the TIF for anyone to buy, at a cost of £50.
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