Ken Davenport is having a pretty good run. The producer has two shows on and Off-Broadway, “Spring Awakening” and “Daddy Long Legs,” respectively. And he loves his job so much that he created Be a Broadway Star, a board game about producing a show to get kids interested in theater.
How did you get into producing?Like most people who get involved in the administrative side, I was an actor as a kid, but I got too cool and I decided I was going to play for the Celtics and Red Sox simultaneously. Then I saw “Les Miz” at 16 and it really moved me. I was going to be a lawyer, and then I transferred to Tisch at NYU. I fell in love with the business of Broadway. I worked for an agent; I stage managed for a while. Then I worked for company management. Then, about 10 years ago, I started producing on my own. My first show was called “The Awesome ’80s Prom,” produced for $120,000. That sucker ran for 10 years. That got me my start. I learned more on that little show than I did in 10 years of company managing big Broadway shows.
What was the biggest lesson? I learned so much more about getting a show up, but also about the sales process and direct marketing. I had never had direct
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