A number of recaps have been published and are worth a read. I saw a recent article stating that nearly 6000 attended in total, and the New York Hilton Midtown is probably not big enough if a similar or larger number will attend next year. The whole space, line, food situation may thus be quite different.
ssf362 said: "A somewhat lengthy/selective recap of my experience: http://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/news/nytg16/broadwaycon558005.htm"
Thanks for that. What I find most interesting is the detail from the How to Market a Show panel, where a huge majority don't buy full price show tickets. Does that mean mainly locals attended panels like that? Maybe the out-of-town tourists simply wanted to be entertained or were interested in the performing aspects but largely had no interest in getting into the back-end of business. Some people keep saying that the convention was geared to kids, but I don't see how it could be entirely true with panels like "1960’s feminism in theatre" or the popular producers panel. To be a more thorough and successful fan convention, this really must have one foot in the entertainment aspect and the other foot in education. And the people who went to these panels have been saying it had great content.
delongpre said: "What wasn't fair: the workshops that REQUIRED that you have experience to attend (vocal, dancing and acting workshops required that you have a mini-resume to take part). My daughter was heartbroken to not have the cred to get into workshops with Rapp and Jenn Colella. I guess they were trying to avoid having the workshops become gushing fan fests, but there are other ways to avoid that than to demand experience."
I don't know if a lottery system would be welcomed for the workshops, but that choice may not have been about excessive fandom. Having extreme differences in skill level in a single workshop class can produce some stress and waste time when not everyone is on the same page. But I think there should be beginner workshops. Maybe next year.
delongpre said: "Then the autograph sessions. We didn't see the info until it was too late so we got no autograph sessions. When a pass holder is told they will have the opportunity for autographs, that's not the same as saying "you have to win a lottery to be able to get autographs at all." Also, some people got 5 sessions and others got nothing. The lottery should have been to pull one for EACH person who entered and then go on to pull a second one when everybody had at least one."
I still find the whole system very odd. When it's stated as a part of the pass, there should be some kind of guarantee. Hopefully they'll polish this next year. A hybrid system with both lottery preference and line option may still work.
delongpre said: "As a person without an iPhone, I was unable to receive the updates to programming that were being sent to the BroadwayCon App all weekend. They did print out a schedule on Saturday that I saw by the elevators, but I never saw anything about Sunday programming. I was upset to learn about the WAITRESS panel AFTER it was over."
Well, any smartphone. I would recommend a cheap Android phone in general these days for those who don't want to drop a silly chunk of money on a brand name. Actually, what the BroadwayCon management should do is rent tablet kiosks and scatter them throughout the convention center, where people can look up updated information on their own and go on their merry way.
delongpre said: "The food was limited. I had been told that there were options for food in the hotel and there were not. The line was unbearably long. Next time perhaps Broadway Con could bring in some food vendors for simple things like pizza and sandwiches or burgers."
Bringing snacks or your own meals is quite common for conventions. Playbill and others with convention experience had been warning attendees with tips and such, but obviously some can only experience it firsthand. If the venue changes for next year, there may be more options, but there will always be lines.
#BoycottTrumplikePattiMurin
