Exploring the Creative Pulse of The Lincoln Theatre's Programming

How Do You Book Shows/Entertainment Talent At The Lincoln Theatre?

How do you turn a historic venue into a modern-day cultural hub? Discover the secrets behind The Lincoln Theatre's eclectic lineup with Bob Watkins, the theatre's executive director, who shares insights on curating a perfect mix of popular acts and fresh talent. Bob and Skip Mauney pull back the curtain to explore the theatre's strategic location benefits, the role of booking agents, and the creative methods employed to attract top-tier performances during tour breaks. Whether you're a fan of legendary acts or eager to discover the next big thing, this episode promises a fascinating look at how The Lincoln Theatre continues to captivate its audience.

Join us as we chat with Bob about the balancing act of meeting audience demand while keeping the lineup exciting and diverse. From patron feedback to the rising influence of platforms like YouTube, Bob reveals how he and his team navigate the challenges of introducing lesser-known artists to the audience. Learn how a combination of seasoned favorites and up-and-coming talent keeps the spirit of The Lincoln Theatre alive and thriving, and why innovation and community input are at the heart of its success. This episode offers a vibrant narrative on the art of performance booking, ensuring every show is an unforgettable experience.

To learn more about The Lincoln Theatre visit:
https://www.TheLincoln.org/
The Lincoln Theatre
117 E. Main Street
Marion, Virginia 24354
276-783-6092

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to On Stage with the Lincoln Theater, where
history and entertainment stealthe show Dive into the rich
legacy of this iconic Mayanrevival theater, from its 1929
debut to its starring role inMarion, Virginia's entertainment
scene.
Guiding us through this journeyis the man in the spotlight,
our executive director, BobWatkins.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Ever wonder how the magic gets on stage.
Bob Watkins reveals the secretsbehind curating the
show-stopping acts at theLincoln Theater.
Welcome back everybody.
Skip Monty here, co-host slashproducer, back in the studio
with Bob Watkins.
Bob, how are you doing today?
I'm doing great.
It's good to be here, good tohave you.
Hopefully this will be ahighlight for you and for our

(00:57):
listeners.
So the question on everybody'smind how do you guys have a lot
of variety of shows at theLincoln?
And so a question I wanted toask was how do you book shows
and entertainment talent at theLincoln Theater?

Speaker 3 (01:12):
It's a good question.
I mean, there's a lot ofdifferent opportunities out
there to pursue differentperformances.
One thing that we are fortunatewith is our location, where we
are, to the interstate makes ita very good option for people to
go ahead and stop in whenthey're on their way to another
large performance.
So there's a lot of times I getemails and phone calls from
different booking agents for thedifferent performers that are

(01:35):
asking to rent the theater.
So we have a lot of theperformances come through as
rentals.
I don't have to really bookthose.
We just go ahead and set it up,provide the back support for
them and everything like that,and they go ahead and do their
show, make some money whilethey're in a break between stops
, and that's one thing that weuse to book performances.
Another thing is just mesearching and trying to look for

(01:57):
some of the performances thatwe would like to have here,
listening to a lot of ourpatrons.
They'll send emails andrequests for different types of
performances.
So I'll reach out to some ofthose booking agents and buy
those performances and then setup the programs and everything
like that.
I also have a buyer that helpsme with some of the larger
performances that we have Someof the bigger names and higher

(02:19):
cost performances.
I have a buying agent that'llreach out to those other agents
and secure those purchases forme as well, to help me with some
of the pricing and get possiblya discount on the purchase
there.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
So those are some of the things that we do Very good.
You mentioned that sometimesyou have patrons that say, hey,
I'd like to see so-and-soperform, or this happen how do
you balance popular demand withintroducing new or lesser known
up and coming talent?

Speaker 3 (02:49):
Usually that's.
I try to sprinkle in a littlebit of all of that.
So we have some performancesthat have been here multiple
times that become patronfavorites.
So groups of people will say,oh, when are you going to get
this group back?
When are you going to get thisgroup back?
So those that have beenpositive performances for us in

(03:09):
the past.
I usually try to throw a coupleof those in every calendar
season so we can have the normalreturn for the patrons that
really enjoy those.
And then I've also reached outto see some of the new
up-and-comers, to try to get anew name here.
That might spark a little bitof interest as well.
So it is a little difficult attimes to see okay, are you going

(03:30):
to go ahead and bring back someof the original performers or
are you going to bring back someof the new ones that people are
asking about?
And hopefully there's morepeople than just the five or ten
that reach out to me and askfor it.
It is a little bit tricky andthat's always the scare when you
make a purchase, because thepurchases are not cheap.
It's a big concern to see ifyou're going to get that draw

(03:51):
that you want to have for them.

Speaker 2 (03:54):
Well, you know, you never know, with lesser known
talent you could have an unknownTaylor Swift show up.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
you know, I will say that it's really been beneficial
as things get a little bit morepopular with YouTube so you can
reach out and you can researchthem quite a bit, so you can
share what they've done in thepast with some of our patrons
that are on our webpage,facebook, things like that.
So those different avenues havehelped a lot with securing some

(04:21):
lesser known talent.
That's really strongperformances.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
Gotcha lesser known talent.
That's really strongperformances, gotcha.
Are there factors that youconsider when you're selecting
acts, particularly when you wantthem to align with the Lincoln
Theater's vision for what thetheater is all about?
Are there some factors that youconsider when you're choosing
talent?

Speaker 3 (04:41):
Absolutely.
I mean, first and foremost wewant to have a clean, tasteful
type of performance here,because we don't want to have
something that's going to reallycause any issues with offending
any of our patrons or themcoming in and seeing a
performance that just wasn'ttasteful to them and their
family.
So I do reach out and look atthe different types of
performances that they've donein the past to make sure that it

(05:03):
fits with the focus that wewant to have with our patrons
experience here.
Some other areas that I look atare additional costs, because
once you make the performancepurchase, there's a lot of
behind the scenes costs that youhave.
Like if we don't have enoughbackline, that they need X
number of microphones oranything like that, we would

(05:23):
then have to rent.
That's another expense thatcomes into play.
And then a lot of theperformers have large wish lists
of the hospitality that theyrequire.
So we need to juggle all ofthose expenses and add it in to
see what type of return we canhave on that performance with
the guesstimated ticket sales.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
So does that mean that if performers ever insist
on you know, green only M&Ms orbrown only M&Ms?

Speaker 3 (05:52):
Actually, yes, there was a performance in here that
they asked for all the brownM&Ms to be removed from the
package of M&Ms.
So yeah, there's a lot ofdifferent types of requests and
some off the wall requests aswell.

Speaker 2 (06:09):
Wow, I've heard that about Van Halen.

Speaker 3 (06:10):
Actually, it was a tribute to Van Halen, that
required the the Brown M&Ms tobe removed, so I think they were
carrying the hospitality demandfrom the original band over and
just keeping it.

Speaker 2 (06:21):
That is crazy, crazy.
Well, bob, I think we'll.
We'll end this episode on thatgood note Brown M&Ms, so we will
catch you in the next episode,hope you have a great day.

Speaker 3 (06:35):
Thanks, you too.

Speaker 1 (06:42):
Thanks for tuning in to On Stage with the Lincoln
Theater.
Want more of Mary andVirginia's entertainment scene?
Visit us online atthelincolnorg yes, that's
thelincolnorg or drop by ourtheater at 117 East Main Street.
Let's keep the arts alive andkicking together.