This Month’s Featured Article

“What exactly does a producer do?”

If I got a nickel for every time that question has been asked, I might have amassed … perhaps … close to $2.00. It’s a fair question, however, even if the financial payout would hardly be worth the effort.

Given the opportunity to describe what actors do; what a director is responsible for; or what a lighting director, an audio technician, a set designer, a make-up artist, or a camera operator do for a living, the answers would seem quite apparent. After all, the clues are in the titles.

But a producer? Guessing that they “produce” is easy enough but doesn’t quite cover the combination of intuition and luck, of expertise and sheer bravado, of imagination and common sense, of stoic patience, and the capacity to make instant, shoot-from-the-hip decisions that are woven into starting with absolutely nothing and creating a film, a concert, or an event.

Welcome to the club

Anyone who has endured the painstaking detail of organizing a wedding and reception can understand what a producer does. Anyone assembling a birthday party for a dozen highly energetic ten-year olds that includes a visit to the fire station, coordinating the convenient stop-by of an ice cream truck, and assembling “goodie bags” for everyone to take home knows what being a producer entails.

It is, in the end, simply a matter of scale. 

Ride to end hunger

When, some years ago, we brought Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Rick Hendrick, and Alan Gustafson to Lime Rock Park on the cordial invitation of Skip Barber and his dedicated track staff, our effort was focused on raising contributions for “Drive to End Hunger,” the years-long effort by the AARP Foundation to stem hunger for older Americans.

The event had three components. A question and answer session with the drivers, crew chief, and racing legends was the first act in a program that fed into the opportunity to ride along with NASCAR legends Jeff and Kasey driving the newest Chevrolet-supplied Z-28 Camaros around Lime Rock’s legendary track. 

Act three was a reception, dinner, and auction at the Falls Village Inn under the guidance of Colin Chambers and Susan Sweetapple. When all was said and done, over $150,000 went to local food pantries and feeding programs. Quite a production.

What the eager participants did not see were the negotiations to land two helicopters on the athletic fields of Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village so that Rick Hendrick, his drivers and entourage could add a stop on their trip from North Carolina to a New Hampshire race. Lakeville ordinance prohibited landing helicopters at the track unless it was a medical emergency. So, with the much appreciated cooperation of the school and the excellent support of the Falls Village Fire Department, whose members patiently not only welcomed the in-coming flight but stayed in place until our VIP guests took their “carry out” dinners and lifted off in the September darkness, the idea sparked in a casual conversation months before at a NASCAR race became reality.

There were, of course, a few more details to iron out. Rick Hendrick, a giant in the automotive world, had to cajole Chevrolet into providing the cars and then, had to get them to Northwest Connecticut. A stage had to be built. There needed to be microphones and speakers for the question and answer period. We needed a small cohort of volunteers to manage the ridealong participants and a pit crew of sorts to keep the cars running. And fuel. And tires. And insurance. And permission from the neighbors to extend beyond a 6pm curfew.

The devil is in the details

Hosting 24 for a New Year’s Eve or SuperBowl party at your house? No small accomplishment. Food, drinks, table settings, perhaps some decorations, parking, funny hats, noise makers … the list quickly gets long.

Take the next step and gather 15,000 people on the National Mall to hear Buzz Aldrin commemorate the moon landing, listen to Patti Austen and Wynonna Judd sing with a live band, hear from Sally Fields, and then get the crowd to their feet to engage in a “Stand Up to Cancer” promotion video, and what starts out as a simple idea becomes a leap of faith … or maybe insanity.

There were extensive National Park Service permits, Architect of the Capitol approvals, construction crews to build (and quickly remove) a stage on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, thousands of folding chairs to set up and take down, a sound system staffed by expert technicians that could project across the reflecting pool, five camera positions to record the event all cabled into a fully staffed video tent, a fleet of buses to transport attendees to and from hotels, construction and staffing of a hospitality tent with four make-up stations and ample refreshments for the featured guests, ten private cars with drivers to make sure our stars arrived on time and left with minimal hassle, a small army of private security, and a dedicated team of “production assistants” who made sure everything ran like clockwork.

True, there were no “goodie bags” to bother about, even though it was a birthday party of sorts.

Where’s Santa Claus?

The Christmas season is soon upon us, and it’s not too early to start planning to produce the party for neighborhood parents and their children, complete with a visit from Santa Claus. What if the old gentleman doesn’t arrive on time? What if he doesn’t arrive at all? You’ve got the cookies and the punch. There’s wine for the adults. You’ve prewrapped some generic gifts and stuffed them in a pillowcase for Kris Kringle to hand out amid “Ho-ho-hos” and “Merry Christmas.” 

But where’s the guy from the office for whom you bought the Amazon Santa Suit? What if that text you just got was a bumbling attempt at an apology for not showing up? Is there a “Plan B?” 

Fortunately, a back-up suit was only $30 and the guy across the cul-de-sac owes you since he borrowed your lawn mower and didn’t return it for three weeks. Get him into the bedroom where the costume is in the closet. His kids will never suspect it’s him. See you in ten minutes.

You just became a producer.

Shyness is not a virtue

We’ve walked convention center back halls with nervous performers – not unknowns trying to get their big break, but chart-topping mega-stars who command huge performance fees and seem to enjoy trying to back out of a concert one hour before showtime. 

We’ve argued with agents and managers about whether the exit signs could be turned off so as not to distract their star during a show. (The answer, by the way, is “no.” Fire marshalls don’t care how many are in the audience or how much they paid for a ticket or how big the star is. No exit signs, no concert. End of story.)

We’ve made a detour to WalMart to buy some underwear and socks for the forgetful performer we just picked up at the airport … and tried to sneak him in and out of the store without causing an unscheduled riot.

Wondering who? Indulge in a moment of “pick the celebrity” matching. No hints. No accusations. Just three names. Michael Bublé, Paul Simon, John Cougar Mellencamp.

The art of the event

Is there an art to all of this? It’s certainly not like painting or sculpture. It’s not like researching and writing a novel. Those are artistic endeavors that live inside the mind of the artist and can only be shared once they become tangible. 

Events happen in real time. It may seem like it takes years for the planning and preparation to inch forward, but if the program is scheduled to start at 9am on Tuesday … the audience will likely be less than thrilled if they’re still waiting at 10:45. 

A mantra over the years, spoken in a level tone through the headsets of the entire crew was “go means go.” 

Enough said.