age Comedy
have on a show’s success? Unfortunately,
sometimes a producer will not get noticed unless
something goes wrong. For Flanagan she has been
part of core decision making and has worked with
artists that have met her with appreciation for what
she does. She says that “if you are working well
with your artist you should be able to have dialogue
about how to improve their show” in all sorts of
logistical ways. Many of the necessary components
for a good successful show have happened because
of the hard work, skills and vision of the producer.
venues (city-central during the MICF) is also a very
expensive option when you are starting out”.
Flanagan encourages you to consider less conventional
venues and to think about partnering with other
comedians. It requires you to think outside the square.
It might be that you use non-festival managed venues.
In 2014 MICF, there were teams that ran comedy
at the Duke and the Provincial. It might be that you
perform outside of the inner city. As Flanagan points
out, thi year’s Best Newcomer, Stella Young, was at
Northcote Town Hall and she had sell out shows nearly
every night. “It may be that by doing this you might
So how do you know that a show you’re producing
is successful? The signs of a great show according
to Flanagan are a “high level engagement from the
audience, audience numbers, social media shares
and new followers on twitter”. And then there are
the “simple things… covering costs, being able to
perform the following year and increasing your
numbers”. Flanagan understands that some people
would say that reviews are really important and she
thinks “they are to a certain degree” but she believes
“word of mouth is a lot better”.
Despite all the challenges, what are the highlights?
For Flanagan some of her favourite experiences
have included going to Perth this year producing a
show for Bart Freebairn at Fringe World Festival. For
Flanagan “networking interstate was an amazing
experience”. Having “to produce a show interstate
and not have connections to the community and the
be a little better, or you might get a bigger room with network to draw upon in order to get people in the
potentially bigger audiences”. Performing in outer hubs door” was a challenge.
local community”. Flanagan assures us that “if you’ve Ultimately one of the best parts of producing is that
got a good show, and a good timeslot performers will it is “so different every day, it’s a really diverse job
make the trek…”
and it can be stressful but it’s a lot of fun. You get
to work with really creative people. You get to help
Another element of choosing a venue is accessibility. people put on their shows that they have sometimes
As Flanagan reminds us “1 in 5 Victorians have a
disability”. Not only does she strongly support the rights you are that person that helps them facilitate getting
of those with disability but as a producer she knows that out to people and getting them an audience”.
it’s good for business because you are widening your For Flanagan it’s a “really good feeling when you
audience and the necessary considerations are a lot do get a show up and running and you can hear
less expensive than people think for instance getting the audience laughing”. There is a real “sense of
an AUSLAN interpreter for hearing impaired.
accomplishment and pride in the artist that you are
working with”.