BroadwayCon 2016 - Experience reports!- Page 12

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 3:02pm

Kad said: "I honestly don't know any locals who attended this event in a context not related to their jobs. Why would New York theatre fans, who have access to not just the shows but also many unique events year-round, shell out that kind of money to attend a more hectic, condensed, and commodified version of what they already have access to? "

 

Same. Exactly.

 

[b-way obsessed]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 3:19pm

I'm usually just a silent observer, but I figured I'd put my report in from a volunteer perspective.

So, I volunteered Friday and Saturday. Friday was mostly registration and helping out signing in volunteers. I saw all the craziness for the opening ceremonies from downstairs and was just glad that I was at registration because it looked like a mess. But, I was done at 5 so I got to enjoy all the night panels which were awesome! Saturday, I was stationed at autographs (for anyone there, I was the person controlling the lines outside the marketplace for people who wanted to line up as early as 45 minutes beforehand usually). I was there all day from about 10-4 (even though my shift was until 2, but no one came to relieve me. which is fine because I enjoyed being there and didn't have a panel I wanted to see). The frustrating thing for me was that there was zero communication. So, I would be lining people up to see Susan Blackwell in a half hour only to be told that she wasn't coming after people waited a half hour. Or people would want confirmation if the person they were lining up for was coming, but I couldn't confirm because I hadn't seen a staff member in hours. And people would also want to know if they could see someone else if their autograph cancelled, which again I had no information for. It would've help a lot if they gave a few volunteers headsets and stationed them in specific areas to help with the organization because staff members were too busy. Then, I had to work a 4-7 registration shift, but got out at 6 because I told them about working an extra two hours upstairs.

Overall, volunteering was a great experience for me. I've volunteered at cons before and there were good/bad things about this one. Communication/ropes/signs are definitely needed for next year. Plus, I got to see all the programming I wanted to see. As far as training, we were told not to question disabilities, if there were any problems with anything find a staff member. There was an overview of what to do at each volunteer station, but no real training. I just kind of took my past experiences with line control and used it. Never worked programming at any con, so not sure what to tell you there.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 3:29pm

Thanks for the input! I was surprised more volunteers didn't have headsets. That sounds like a bit of a mess.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 3:46pm

Kad said: "I honestly don't know any locals who attended this event in a context not related to their jobs. Why would New York theatre fans, who have access to not just the shows but also many unique events year-round, shell out that kind of money to attend a more hectic, condensed, and commodified version of what they already have access to? "

 

You didn't personally know any locals who attended the convention, but 25% of 5k-6k pass sales to New York residents is nothing to sneeze at either. Are the panels and workshops listed on the schedule really that accessible to the year-round Broadway show viewer as you imply? I'm not in the area so I haven't heard of any other "unique events" besides the flea market and various concerts.

 

Thanks, b-way obsessed, for another volunteer's input. Supposedly the BroadwayCon management will be releasing a survey of some sort, and hopefully you guys get some input too.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 3:51pm

I don't know where I could've found a singular place with panels that discussed in-depth Millie in La Jolla, Les Miz OBC audition and rehearsal process, and marketing agencies' victories/disasters -- other than maybe the banter at a 54 Below reunion show? Certainly not some of the theatre news sites' video features, even.

[UnwoundFantasies]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 4:57pm

Hey bway-obsessed, I loved hearing your input since I was also a volunteer. That's very frustrating that no one came to relieve you. I guess I was lucky that someone came for me. But I experienced many of the same issues as you.. ex. having absolutely no information or communication and just having no knowledge for the attendees. Whenever anyone asked me a question I simply just said "I honestly have no idea". You're a way better volunteer than I was though!! I wouldn't have stayed longer at a shift, but I totally understand the fact that you were completely alone so what more could you have done?

 

That's a great idea for volunteers to have headsets! I would have loved that. Or even if I knew someone else was nearby with a headset. 

When the survey is released, someone please link it here! I can't wait to give my thoughts haha

[Kad]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 5:15pm

You might not find panels discussing such extremely niche topics in depth, or so many in one place, but there's no shortage of talks and discussions throughout the city that aren't majorly publicized. Drama Book Shop regularly has playwrights in for discussions, events occur at the 92nd Street Y regularly, there are workshops galore for performers at any number of venues, events occur at Signature, Lincoln Center, the Public, and more.

The industry is based here. Of course there's always stuff.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 5:17pm

Has anybody had success getting reimbursement due to the weather? I just sent my plea email.

On a lighter note, here's my footage of the group "Let Me Be Your Star."

The obnoxiously louder voice in the video is me behind the camera, obviously...lol...

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 6:09pm

Kad said: "You might not find panels discussing such extremely niche topics in depth, or so many in one place, but there's no shortage of talks and discussions throughout the city that aren't majorly publicized. Drama Book Shop regularly has playwrights in for discussions, events occur at the 92nd Street Y regularly, there are workshops galore for performers at any number of venues, events occur at Signature, Lincoln Center, the Public, and more.

The industry is based here. Of course there's always stuff. "

 

Maybe that's the problem. The 25% may have preferred to devote a concentrated weekend in one place instead of hunting for the smattering of events spread out under rocks. Moreover, I don't think the Producing 101 panel was "extremely niche," nor marketing or "why didn't it run," but the business-end topics don't seem to be part of your list. Did you look at the BroadwayCon schedule? Would most of the listed panels and lectures have existed outside the convention?

 

Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "Has anybody had success getting reimbursement due to the weather? I just sent my plea email."

 

Hopefully you'll get squared away soon, though I wonder just how many people they have working on the backlog, which I expect to be significant. BroadwayCon tweeted this on Jan.26: "If you have emailed our Helpdesk recently, please allow extra time for a response. We are addressing each case individually. Thanks!"

[atuomala]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 6:12pm

I've gone to a number of panels/interviews/discussions that are theatre related in the city, but you have to be 'in the know' and have an idea as to where these things are accessible and when. I've gotten tips from my theatre professors and Audience Rewards is always good about letting people know when talkbacks become available for major musicals. There's one coming up for Fiddler on the Roof in March, and I attend almost all of Roundabout, MCC Theater, and The Public's talkbacks because they let you know in advance on the show calendar when they will be held. There's also an interview at TimesTalks with Audra McDonald and George C. Wolfe coming up. But, a lot of panels and discussions at Broadway Con felt like lectures in college that are steered towards theatre people, and not the average audience that goes to Broadway shows every night. I don't think the average person who sees Phantom would stay afterwards to listen to a discussion with a dresser, a stage hand, and the musical director, but Broadway Con made that experience possible for someone like me who would be more than happy to listen to the technical crews in addition to the creative and the performers.

If anyone has any other information regarding discussions/panels that are accessible to the public on a year-round basis, I would be happy to hear about them.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 6:15pm

Having all those panels in one place was great. I don't think I'd have chased around that many people for a 50-minute panel if it would take me 50 minutes round-trip to get there. But in one building, even with the chaos that felt a little like changing classes in high school? A great idea, and I appreciated it very much.

[rwlevin]

Posted: 1/29/16 at 6:51pm

Kad said: "I honestly don't know any locals who attended this event in a context not related to their jobs. Why would New York theatre fans, who have access to not just the shows but also many unique events year-round, shell out that kind of money to attend a more hectic, condensed, and commodified version of what they already have access to? "

 

I'm a local who attended this event. I live 40 blocks away and was looking forward to this all year long. I have a career that I worked hard to get to and am definitely not in the teen or early twenties demographic. Smash kind of bored me. I am not a Wicked fan. I haven't even seen Hamilton yet. I didn't sign up for a single photograph or autograph. I was a little upset that you needed to audition for the workshops. While I am a singer and a dancer(primarily tap and have been dancing for about 30 years now), unless they wanted a video of me dancing when I was 6, I was out of luck as far as auditioning goes.

 

However, I was a Renthead when I was a teenager. Les Miz was the show that got me into theatre so that panel was awesome. I LOVED the behind the scenes panels. I didn't go to the sing-alongs. I didn't go to the party line. I was heart broken I didn't get to see Sheldon Harnick. He gets a huge pass though-I would never ever want my 88yo grandmother outside in this weather so Sheldon stays inside and stays safe.  And $250 isn't that much. A night on the town with dinner and theatre costs twice that. And you know what? Maybe I'll go again next year.

 

And the last time I did behind the scene panels was about 10 years ago at the summer play festival when I was still in school and out of work and had time on my hands to just go willy nilly to panels (and dance classes-lots of dance classes). I just don't have time like that anymore.

Updated On: 1/29/16 at 06:51 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/30/16 at 10:22am

https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2016/howard-sherman-does-the-west-end-need-its-own-broadwaycon-spin-off/?platform=hootsuite

 

Like Broadway itself, access to BroadwayCon wasn’t cheap, and presumably there were countless fans who couldn’t attend because of the added expense of a flight and hotel tickets. But this first year should prove that there’s an enormous appetite among theatre fans to gather both with those they admire, and others who share their passions, getting out of social media and chat rooms and into real life interactions. As someone who began the weekend by adopting a slight distance and harbouring even a bit of cynicism, I was drawn back through heavy snow and puddles of icy slush because BroadwayCon successfully tapped into my inner fanboy, and because I was having a good time watching others have a good time. It gave them access to the world I’ve long been in. The theatre must do more of that.

[jasonf]

Posted: 1/30/16 at 10:39am

It seems that the people who went, for the most part, had positive experiences. The negativity seems to be coming from people who didn't go/see the event as beneath them.

 

Interesting.

[Vectorbabe]

Posted: 1/30/16 at 10:59am

Kad,

OK, so if YOU don't know any "locals" who went to the event, that doesn't mean there were none.

My wife and I are locals who live 45 blocks away. But being over 65, we couldn't risk broken limbs trying to get their Saturday. So we went Sunday.

Our disappointment was that the Sunday content was very sparse compared to the Saturday that we had originally scheduled for. They should not have charged the same amount for Sunday as Saturday since the show ended at 4PM, not 10.

But please, don't judge the attendance based on your limited knowledge of the attendees.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/30/16 at 11:46am

There were quite a few people here that were in attendance that had negative things to say, so lets not make this an attitude thing.

 

[Pootie2]

Posted: 1/30/16 at 12:10pm

dramamama611 said: "There were quite a few people here that were in attendance that had negative things to say, so lets not make this an attitude thing."

 

Two or three actual attendees in this thread had overall negative experiences. Several others were mixed, like Seperite, who somehow couldn't seem to find any adult-content panels or workshops to attend, and others were mixed-positive. Of the negative comments from actual attendees, the majority had to do with crowd control, which should be fixable. Panel content was not an issue; no one on this particular board was interested in mixing with the touristy youth crowd that was engaged by other entertainment content, otherwise. The marketplace really depends on vendor participation, so that's not really in the convention's control.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/30/16 at 12:22pm

However, your previous post tried to make it sound like the only people with issues were haters that didn't care to go....and that isn't the case.

 

I have no opinion of the con, I had little interest.  I only read the thread to hear what it was like, to see if it would change my mind about attending in the future. 

[Vectorbabe]

Posted: 1/31/16 at 10:57am

Pootie2 said: "...Of the negative comments from actual attendees, the majority had to do with crowd control, which should be fixable. Panel content was not an issue; no one on this particular board was interested in mixing with the touristy youth crowd that was engaged by other entertainment content, otherwise. ..."

Dear Pootie2,

Let me make this very clear.

I was an attendee. An actual attendee. I am a local. I do not work in the theatre industry. I am probably someone the theatre community wants to see go to Broadway more often—a person who pays full price for shows. No student rush, no lotteries, and not even TKTS or TDF that often.

I would hope Broadway Con would want people like me to go to their even next year.

I was supposed to go Saturday but because of the storm, I had to change the ticket to Sunday.

My gripes have to do with content, which I have posted several times in this thread. But content for me wasn't even the actual topics of the sessions. It was how much content, in any form, there was.

• We paid $190 for Saturday. There was much more content available for Saturday. This was both the number of sessions each hour as well as that the sessions went until 10 PM.
• The content for Sunday was more limited. There weren't as many sessions in each slot. And the show ended at 4 PM.
• We were charged the same for Sunday as Saturday. Same amount of money for less content!
• Also, I found the content to be too focused on the "Rent/Hamilton" crowd.
• I had no problems with any "touristy" crowd. They seemed just as interested in the content of the panels I went to.
• I have no problems with the "youth" crowd except to the fact that when a single person from "Hamilton" was on a panel, there were too many kids queueing up for someone towards the back of the queue to get in. That has nothing to do with crowd control. It was the room was too small. But I liked the content of the panel, but didn't get in.

So, please do not say "panel content was not an issue." It was.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 1/31/16 at 12:04pm

I get being disappointed by having to go to a shorter day for the convention, but that's how most of these conventions work. Most people had to go back to work or school the next day, so that's probably why it didn't run as late as the other days. Actually, it looks to me like they did have less options for activities after 5pm on Friday and Saturday. I'm not saying you don't have the right to be upset, but I'm not really sure what you are looking for. And at least they were nice enough to let Saturday attendees come on Sunday. They easily could have just refunded all of your money and not let you go at all. 

[Marianne2]

Posted: 2/8/16 at 5:14pm

They sent out a feedback survey today. Check your emails. Here is your chance to let them know what you did and did not like. Otherwise, they will never know. 

[UnwoundFantasies]

Posted: 2/8/16 at 8:20pm

Do you mind sharing what it asks? I guess they decided the volunteers feedback was unimportant..

[Pootie2]

Posted: 2/8/16 at 8:24pm

UnwoundFantasies said: "Do you mind sharing what it asks? I guess they decided the volunteers feedback was unimportant.."

 

They must have blast it to the registered attendee database; if you received a free pass via volunteering, I'm guessing your email would not have been counted among the pass-holding attendees. I'm curious what the questions are as well.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 2/8/16 at 9:57pm

Wow, how rude of them!

 

From what I recall, they asked you to rank 1-5 your opinion on the price, quality of panels, the Hilton, marketplace, and a couple other things. They also asked how likely you were to go back in 2017 and how likely you were to recommend it to a friend. On another page, you ranked in importance what you went there for (panels, workshops, marketplace, etc). Then there were the usual demographic questions. It ended with a 400-character-limit box for you to type in whatever you like, but you could also email them.

 

That's not everything, but I think that's the bulk of it. Now I wish I'd screencapped it. Sorry. I wish I could be of more help!

[UnwoundFantasies]

Posted: 2/9/16 at 10:46am

Thanks Lizzy for the input! Pootie, I figured that's what they did but they had all the volunteers emails as well.