During “The Broadway Box Office” panel this week at Ticket Summit, attendees will get an education in the ways that the theater and secondary ticketing industries intersect, and also hear what’s to come in 2010.
The panel’s discussion will focus broadly on the status of business on Broadway and in theater in general, as well as on trends and forecasts for the coming year, but presenter Ken Davenport, producer and head of Davenport Theatrical Enterprises, plans to focus more specifically on the interface between the theater and secondary ticketing industries.
“There is a lot that Broadway producers have that the secondary sellers want, and there is a lot that the secondary sellers have that the producers want…and we’re getting closer and closer to a day when more and more arrangements can be made to keep both parties very happy. Sometimes when people seem so far apart, they’re actually much closer together. Producers and brokers have never had direct communication, and the conference is finally a way to do that. We’ve always sort of been unseen enemies at times, and we have more in common than people thought before.”
Davenport brings years of experience in theatre management and production to this week’s discussion panel. His production company, Davenport Theatrical, is known for putting on blockbuster hits both on and off-Broadway, including “Speed the Plow,” “13,” “Oleanna,” “Altar Boyz” and My First Time.
Also presenting at this week’s panel are Amanda Pekoe, President of the Pekoe Group, and Gretchen Shugart, CEO of TheaterMania.com, Inc..
Working in arts management and marketing for years, Pekoe started the Pekoe Group less than a year ago and now offers her own brand of theatrical marketing and advertising services. Shugart joined TheaterMania as CEO in 2001, following an 18-year career in the worlds of finance and investment banking. Founded in 1999, TheaterMania provides theater listings, reviews and news of the New York theater scene and beyond, as well as ticketing for national theater events through OvationTix, its online ticket sales platform.
“The Broadway Box Office” will be held on Thursday, January 14, from 2:30 PM to 4 PM in the Waldorf=Astoria’s North Foyer. Ticket Summit runs from January 13-15 at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City.