On the Road Again: Touring Companies Cross Canada and the USA
Bill Miller is Vice President of Press and Marketing at AWA Touring Services, which does theatrical tour booking and marketing. So Bill Miller is the person you would want to talk to if, as a participant or an interested party, the subject of touring captures your attention.
Consider what follows and it surely will.
This writer had many questions for Miller about the copious aspects of getting a show on the road. For example: At what stage of a Broadway show are plans for a tour included? Says Miller, “Touring situations develop shortly after the show opens on Broadway [depending] on the success it had and the producers can get a barometer as to the response, what longevity is predicted and what the appeal will be on the road.
“A successful show would probably get two to five years on the road.. A wildly successful one will get five to 15 years on tour. ‘My Fair Lady,’ ’ Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘The Lion King’ would fall into this category.” The VP further clarifies, “However, there are many shows that are chosen to play just one season….from September through June.”
One would like to know if performers auditioning for shows are selected for Broadway productions and touring companies at the same time. Explains Miller, “The primary force would be to cast for Broadway. However, if a production is running on Broadway and is touring the country at the same time, a number of actors do interchange between the two.” Is that answer almost a “yes”? He continues, “For instance, the character of our Ballet Mistress in ‘Phantom’ on the road is going back to Broadway for a few months to cover for an actress who is leaving. The number of cast members on tour can range from 20 to 25 which is a moderate size cast. ‘Phantom’ and ‘Les Miserables’ have 36.
Richard Winsor (left) and Kerry Biggin in "Edward Scissorhands"
Photo: Bill Cooper
“Triple threaters [sing, dance, act] are the talent of choice. In the past, there was a separate dance ensemble and separate singing chorus that literally did not talk. Of course there were lead actors. That’s pretty much what the basis of ‘A Chorus Line’ is. (His favorite show, by the way.) The way it’s written, some of the dancers are very awkward when it comes to being able to talk. Triple threaters also figure into the economic situation. A show doesn’t have to hire as many performers. To have a huge cast is difficult. The cost is prohibitive.”
Regarding audiences’ responses in cities across the country, Miller concedes there are differences. “In a big market like San Francisco or Boston, audiences have many options from which to choose. In a smaller market - there may be only four shows coming to town during the year - it’s something special. In this era of electronics, it’s one of the last, live experiences an audience can really have. It’s a special event in the smaller markets like Louisville. People get dressed up, they go out to dinner before the show. It’s a big deal. You can see it in their excitement. And the actors feel their love.”
As the Vice President of Press and Marketing, Bill Miller describes his participation in the job of getting a show on the road. “You get a tour schedule and start developing marketing materials….everything from press kits to ad slicks….working with the ad agencies and with the local staff . Company managers are hired. They travel with the production and start contracting. They issue what needs to be done for the actors, and for the production staff. It’s like putting a small city together that travels in trucks and trailers from one city to another across the country.
“One of the primary aspects of my job is to go to all the cities that a show will eventually play in and work with the local marketing staff and with the theatre.” Miller admits that he neither sings nor acts but if he could choose to be in a show, it would be “A Chorus Line.” Says he, “It's the show that made me want to get in this business and now it’s the 30th Anniversary production on Broadway. The tour is scheduled to open in May, and I personally feel that my career has come full circle because I am lucky enough to have been hired to handle the upcoming tour.”
Thus, it’s On the Road Again*. And vice President Bill Miller seems to love every minute and every mile of it.
*Words and Music by Willie Nelson