Perhaps since, well not the dawn but a few days after the dawn of theatre, its practitioners have bemoaned the loss of power and stature in which their particular area of the business came to be regarded. Once the kings of the musical theatre, musical directors were considered Moses to the composer as God - now reduced in stature and billing. I'd be willing to bet Elizabethan actors mourned their fall from star status after the upstart Shakespeare came along and stole the glory. And now someone comes along to lament the loss of the "star producer." But this woe-teller has plans to remedy the loss.
Producers are the courageous artists and entrepreneurs of the entertainment industry. They are the men and women who have the first vision of a production and collaborate and incorporate the visions and talents of other artists to make their vision a reality.
This strong statement is the first text we find at the Broadway University web site. Talk about "vision," Entertainment Attorney/Producer/Site Editor Bruce J. Lazarus has created the Broadway University to resurrect the idea of the producer "as the boss and creative motive force that makes theatre happen." He oversees the maintenance of the site, designed as an adjunct to the "actual" Broadway University -- a school which, in fact, is labelled by its creator a "virtual University." In addition, Mr. Lazarus maintains a mailing list, the Broadway University News, to support and promote the University. According the descriptions from the site, Broadway University is compromised of three distinct media, two of which are offered free of charge. In one seminars are given by phone through TeleCourses (the participants incur any long distance or other phone charges - note, however, that although the web site promises that the TeleCourses are free of charge, the newsletter is currently advertising a $99 registration fee). Second is the web site, which (according to the site) "functions as a virtual campus and library." Finally, the only area for which there is a charge, are live classes in using the "Producing Operating System (TM)," a Lazarus invention described as "a way of living and doing business that makes a producer more attractive to others, themselves and opportunities." Since the University per se (live classes and TeleCourses) falls outside of the scope of our Web- and Internet-based topic, we'll be focussing on these adjunct areas.
The Broadway University News
This nearly-weekly newsletter is (currently) divided into four basic parts. The first, "What's the Buzz?" is a quick news tidbit of some industry related material (Wit's petition for Tony eligibility, or notes about a meeting of the "Producers Network," for instance).
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