*buzz buzz* *buzz buzz*

The phone rings, it's the Company Manager of the show that's currently in rehearsals. The Company Manager is my eyes and ears on the ground so if they're phoning, there must be an issue.

"The leading man has been bitten by a Meerkat"...and thus starts another day of producing.

The Producer is an odd breed and is often misunderstood. Who are they? What do they do? How did they get here? Think about Dragon's Den. Entrepreneurs line up in front of the Dragons and say "I've got an idea which I'm really passionate about, I've been developing it for a long time. I'm here to raise the money so that I can bring the product to life." A Producer is basically an entrepreneur and the head of the business. They have an idea for a show that they are passionate about or are approached with a show which they fall in love with. They crunch the numbers to see if, theoretically, it can be done and if they believe they can raise the money to make it, they hire the teams and find the venues. Ultimately, they are just as passionate and creative as anyone else. They are also the ones who need to make it work legally and financially while fighting all the fires and issues that come with it. They take the gamble and therefore, either reap the rewards if it's a success or walk away without a penny when it's not. 

There's also always the unexpected issues you face along the way. 

*buzz buzz*

"We've had to do a 20 minute show stop, the lighting desk malfunctioned and turned the theatre into a disco."

Every show is a risk to a degree and no two shows are the same. Is it the right show? Is the marketing right for our audience? Is it the right venue or right time to put the show on? While performers get the adrenaline rush from performing on stage night after night, the Producer gets the adrenaline rush, both from the reaction of the crowd but also the sales of the box office. It's an odd concept, juggling the creative and artistic with the legal and financial. But trust me when I say it's a thrill like no other, when you've been working on a project for years and the curtain finally rises on what was initially just an idea in a notebook or a conversation with a colleague.

Producers have shows or ideas that they would love to do, some happen and some don't. Some aren't good ideas and some are. Some are shows or ideas they would love to do but they simply wouldn't work financially or commercially. Yet some of the best ideas are those which no one thought would work. When Cameron Mackintosh decided to produce Cats, it was almost impossible to raise the money because everyone thought it would never work. Also, Judy Craymer fought for 10 years to get the licenses to produce and develop Mamma Mia.

Like a lot of Producers, I've done several roles in the theatre before getting to this point. I trained in musical theatre and have performed in pantomimes and shows, whilst I've also stage managed musicals and Shakespeare. Often, Producers come through the theatre as Stage Managers or performers but other times, they are Business Managers or Financial advisors with a passion for storytelling. Either way, there is no set path to producing, just as there is no exact rule book. These days there are courses through Stage One New Producers and at the top of drama schools. There's also the usual way of learning it on the job or being mentored by the previous generation. Either way, the route to producing isn't easy but full of stories.

*buzz buzz*