BWW Blog: Clarissa Moon - THEatre ACCELERATOR Part 4: The Wisdom of Van Kaplan

Van Kaplan is a man of many talents. His producing credits include award-winning Broadway shows such as AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, ON YOUR FEET, EVITA, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN and MATILDA. Van is also on the board of the Broadway League and is the executive producer of Pittsburgh CLO. We had the honor of speaking with Van on day three of the THEatre ACCELERATOR. Here are some of Van's key points:

-A strong relationship between the producer, writer, and composer is important. The right mix of people make a project fun and rewarding.

-As a producer, Van has to make sure the shows he produces make sense for his core audience. For example, the audience who will go see RENT is very different from the audience that will go see MARY POPPINS (a family friendly show). So for the producer of MARY POPPINS, it makes sense to take on a show like MATILDA, since they are both family friendly.

-The best writing is from personal experience, so write what you know.

-One of the differences between producing a show locally and in New York City is that NYC has a solid audience base, but more competition.

-Small cast shows (six actors or less) do well off-Broadway. They're also easier to produce, since they're less expensive.

-When writing a show, keep in mind that you're not just writing a role for one particular actor or actress. There are swings and understudies that need to be able to do the role, too. You want your show to have a life beyond your first production.

I learned a ton from Van Kaplan! It's fascinating to hear what goes on behind the table, especially on the producing side.

Applications for the next session of THEatre ACCELERATOR are now open! For more information, visit nycoc.com/accelerator, or check out Tim Kashani on Twitter at @TimKashani or on Facebook.