Interview with Theatre Producer Katy Lipson.
One creative individual who is definitely not allowing the pandemic to stop her from pursuing making work is Theatre Producer, Katy Lipson. Hands down one of the most influential and inspiring women within the industry right now, with her eye always firmly fixed on creating exciting productions for British and global audiences to enjoy.
Lipson started her journey whilst studying, she wrote a show and wanted to put it on and then musically directed all of the shows with her first company. “I created a small company with a friend and we’d write new musicals”. Although not necessarily experienced as a producer, Katy Lipson was always a composer or a musician so she’d sit and play all of the music for the shows. “I did it for a 5 year period and whilst doing my degree, I attended a drama school, worked as a musical director, vocal coach and was an actor.” This period gave her all of the tools required to absolutely take it to the next level professionally. “It wasn’t until I was 23 that I questioned all of this experience, what do I enjoy the most? It was then I started thinking about producing and what it is. I knew then it was the time to step away from the smaller company with my friend. I think it’s important to mention this part of my journey because you don’t just start producing, something takes you there.” After taking a backseat from this company, Katy went on to form her company and the Aria Entertainment. The idea came in 2010 but it wasn’t until two years later in 2012 it was actively producing. “I had lots of different experiences but not in producing but when I started Aria I knew one thing. It would be run by me, it would be a company that produced musical theatre and that I would try and do as much content as possible. I like working at this pace and having my toes in different models at the same time. 8 years later, I’m now producing shows in fantastic venues up and down the country but also touring productions too. We were at a very exciting time in our journey until recently where everything has now taken a backseat.”
The pandemic has presented producers up and down the country with multiple problems over the month as Katy explains, “there’s always 3 issues as a producer; how do you cover your weekly operating costs as a company? How do you plan for the future when the theatres are closed and how do you start to raise money for new projects?” Obviously those three things aren’t happening at the moment as the pandemic has put a hold on that. “For me two shows closed in the middle of the coronavirus so I’ve had to deal with the huge losses of those shows, shutting the shows down, treating the companies as well as doing as much for them financially as I can without bankrupting myself. Treating investors well, communicating with investors, dealing with sets”. Two of Katy’s show sets are still in their theatres.
“I’ve had to cancel so many future shows that were coming and tours. I hadn’t announced other shows that were coming this year that won’t happen. Every day I’m talking to theatres about when they might open, will they still keep me in mind.” Katy Lipson had to rebook a 26 week tour during a pandemic when “every other show is trying to rebook their tour and nobody knows when the pandemic will be over and theatres can open again. Everything keeps changing and you have to think about trying to keep your cast and creatives free, it’s so hard.” It’s challenged Katy to use this time to see how she could make something, whether it was digital, an audio project or outdoors. “In this respect it’s been good to know my strengths are that I can process this all at once. My strengths have allowed me to process so many conversations about other ideas which is how I got hold of C-O-N-T-A-C-T from Paris.”
Katy believes that the industry is starting to think outside the box about how to make content and make money during this time. “Nothing is ever going to replace theatre as we know it, nothings ever going to replace going inside the theatre and watching a beautiful show in these fantastic buildings. Nothing can ever replace that it’s just we’re trying to do what we can at a time where those places can’t be open because they’re not safe or can’t economically run Dear Evan Hansen on 300 people. That’s the issue presented to the theatres at the moment”.
Katy Lipson’s work quick handed approach to bringing new and exciting productions at the forefront of the stage makes her a force to be reckoned with in the industry. Over the years she’s taken on bringing the stories such as Pippin, Hair, Little Women The Musical and Spring Awakening to audiences nationally and globally. But what’s her secret to delivering so many shows at once? “I plan a lot in advance so I have a list of shows that I’m probably going to do over the next 3-5 years, some might change or some I might add but really I can put a show on sale in January ready to go on stage in May, maybe, or sometimes quicker”. An example of her quick process is with the show The Last Five Years that went on sale in December and was on stage in February. She’s already thinking ahead to what shows she can probably tour in 2023 but “how do I book it now when half of the theatres are still not there and they may not survive”.
Katy’s artistic growth is something that she is really inspired by as a producer, “I grew artistically in a way that I really admire and liked but I didn’t really think about growth finanically”. She’s also learnt about loyalty, “if you have great creative people in your team then stick with them. I am passionate about working with new talent and have brought in 30 new directors that I’ve never worked with before”.
When it comes to representation of Katy as a young woman as a producer she believes this hasn’t affected her place within the industry, “I would say it harder being younger”. At the start of her career she felt it was hard to be taken seriously because she was younger and hadn’t done larger scale productions “so nobody would take my touring product”. Katy Lipson believes that it’s more about experience, and that takes “years of investment for people to take you seriously”. She would like to see more females within her role in the industry, particularly musical theatre producers. “I want to see more people passionate about musical theatre and seeing more of it on the stage because if we don’t see more of it, we’re not going to see change happen”.
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| promotional image for C-O-N-T-A-C-T coming to London in August 2020. |
Katy Lipson is part of the wider initiative amongst the industry to get theatre back on its feet and recently launched the news of C-O-N-T-A-C-T. In partnership with producer Mathilde Moulin and French theatremakers Musidrama, this UK premiere will invite audiences to experience a socially distanced outdoor experience like no other. “I wanted to make it bigger, 3 locations, 3 different times of the day in London”. The exciting thing about this show alone is that they want to expand it globally too! “I like the creative, you put your headphones on and watch the show in front of you. The actors are acting but you’re hearing their inner monologues inside your headphones, it’s really cool!” In the 3 various locations around the city with 3 casts.
C-O-N-T-A-C-T ‘explores the themes of mental health and anxiety through the eyes of Sarah as she is approached by someone she believes to be a stranger’ (source). The show is a 50 minute piece without an interval and audiences of no more than 15 per show. To access the audio audiences will download it from an app.
You can find out more about C-O-N-T-A-C-T by visiting the Aria Entertainment website here.
When Katy thinks towards the future of theatre she says she is “worried”. “How are theatres going to continue? With the Addams Family for example, how can I market my new tour when half of the staff aren’t even in those roles. How do we get things out there?” Katy Lipson does believe that the industry will survive the pandemic but “there will be less of us. There will be less theatres and less investment but we will get through. If we do have less shows maybe they will be supported more because there will still be audiences. It’s changed everything and it will take time to recover”.