Contributors

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Damian Bazadona Damian Bazadona is the founder of Situation Interactive - the leading interactive agency for premiere live entertainment clients. He oversees the strategic direction for the company which maintains offices in New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. His client experience includes over 200 live entertainment brands including Disney, Universal, Madison Square Garden, Cirque du Soleil, Blue Man Group, US Open, along with many others. Prior to forming Situation Interactive, Damian was partner and chief marketing officer of Cyber-NY Interactive where he was responsible for new business development and strategic initiatives for the firm. His work was instrumental in leading the firm to a 600 percent increase in sales, acquisition of Fortune 1000 clients, and inclusion to Ernst & Young and MIT's Internet 500. He is an active contributor and source for leading Internet and business publications including The New York Times, Variety, Associated Press, Fortune Small Business and many more. In addition, he has served as a speaker and source for University research studies relating to online marketing for Yale University, Columbia University, New York University, Brooklyn College and Fordham University's graduate level programs. Damian holds a B.S., Business Administration from University at Albany. www.SituationInteractive.com
Erik Gensler Erik Gensler is the president of Capacity Interactive Inc. an electronic marketing consulting firm that helps arts organizations employ interactive tools to engage audiences, build community, and market smarter. Clients include New York City Opera, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Carnegie Hall, Nextbook and The Children's Theatre Company. Erik has presented sessions on digital marketing at the Opera America Conference, The Arts & Business Council of New York and the Tessitura Conference. He was recently featured on the Carnegie Mellon Arts & Technology podcast series. As Senior Marketing Officer at New York City Opera, Erik oversaw electronic marketing activities including the redesign of nycOpera.com, as well as implementing a text message club, blog and podcast series. He served as Director of Sponsorship for The Marketing Group where he secured over $3 million in corporate sponsorships and strategic marketing partnerships for nonprofit arts clients including Roundabout Theatre Company. He spent four years at NBC Universal in various roles in sales, marketing, production and business development. Gensler began his career at Marakon Associates, an international strategy consulting firm. Erik holds a dual degree in Economics and Communication Studies from Northwestern University. More information at: www.CapacityInteractive.com.
Jim McCarthy Jim McCarthy, CEO, focuses on business development through strategic marketing for Goldstar. Before launching Goldstar in February 2002, Jim was Vice President of Marketing for venture-backed Kiko, Inc., and previous to that developed highly successful sales products for GeoCities until its acquisition by Yahoo! in 1999. Jim is a graduate of the Anderson School of Business at UCLA and Harvard University. Jim has penned articles on e-commerce and niche marketing for such publications as E-Commerce Times, has been a featured lecturer at such conferences as InTix and Drilling Down on Local, and was invited to participate in the TED conference in 2008, 2010 and presented at 2009 event. He also serves as Chief Editor for Live 2.0, an online initiative to build understanding and awareness of the rising prominence of the Live Entertainment segment of the entertainment economy. www.GoldStar.com
Jim Royce Jim Royce serves as Center Theatre Group’s Director of Marketing, Communications and Sales. Since 1996, he oversees a 75-member staff and all activities related to marketing, advertising, press, graphics and ticket sales for the Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center in downtown Los Angeles and for CTG’s new Kirk Douglas Theatre in nearby Culver City. Center Theatre Group is California's most popular theatre company with annual ticket revenues exceeding $35 million and 700,000 people attending its theatres and programs. CTG's combined season ticket base has over 60,000 members. Royce began his theatrical career in Seattle as an actor and co-founder of The Empty Space and worked with A Contemporary Theatre and Seattle Rep. He was the Executive Producer for the Seattle Arts Festival, more popularly known as "Bumbershoot". In the San Francisco Bay area throughout the 1980s, he was Marketing Director for Berkeley Repertory Theatre and San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T). Prior to joining Center Theatre Group, Royce’s diverse arts clientele included the celebrated opening of San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Cirque du Soleil, San Francisco Jazz Festival, Minnesota Orchestra, popular musical theatre, contemporary dance, emerging visual artists and the American Premiere of Lucasfilm's The Art of Star Wars, an exhibition of the drawings, props, costumes and models created for the original films. Mr. Royce is a graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle.
Ken Davenport Ken Davenport has produced the Broadway productions of Oleanna, Speed-the-Plow, Will Ferrell’s You’re Welcome America, Blithe Spirit with Angela Lansbury, and 13. The only independent producer to have three shows running simultaneously Off-Broadway (Altar Boyz, The Awesome 80s Prom, and My First Time), Ken was hailed as the “P.T. Barnum of Off-Broadway” by the New York Times, named one of Crain’s ‘Forty Under 40” in 2008, and featured in a national iPhone commercial. Current projects include the Broadway revivals of Godspell and Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men, Ken’s musical adaptation of Somewhere In Time, and a documentary on one of the top unsigned rock bands in the country – Red Wanting Blue. Ken also runs a number of theatrical websites including Broadway’s #1 social networking site - BroadwaySpace.com. His blog, TheProducersPerspective.com, has been featured in Vanity Fair, New York Magazine,The Gothamist and many others. He has written articles for Forbes, Mashable, Imedia and others. For more, visit DavenportTheatrical.com. www.TheProducersPerspective.com
Richard Le Cocq Richard Le Cocq is director of Laughing Buddha, the social media management & digital consultancy based in London which was initially founded in Australia. With over 13 years experience within film, theatre, television and live entertainment, he has worked with ACMN for Wicked, Jersey Boys, Rock of Ages and West Side Story, Dewynters for Ghost The Musical, Cameron Mackintosh, Royal Shakespeare Company, The Lion King and We Will Rock You, The Sydney Theatre Company for Spring Awakening and the Sydney Opera House. Richard was also marketing manager for Avalon Public Relations where he launched the multi-award-winning Jerry Springer The Opera at the National Theatre and London's West End. Richard previously developed international film campaigns for various distributors including Universal Pictures International, Working Title Films and Momentum Pictures. For more information visit laughingbuddhauk.com
Shubert Ticketing Established 30 years ago to provide event ticketing software for Shubert owned and operated theatres, Shubert Ticketing has grown to become the ticketing industry's standard for long running open engagements. Shubert Ticketing's powerful STAR System is now used by 70 venues in cities across the country. Drawing upon this wealth of experience, Shubert Ticketing is at the forefront of the ticketing industry, delivering innovative solutions for our private label clients and the many users of our Telecharge.com box office, call center, and Internet services. Shubert Ticketing is a division of The Shubert Organization, Broadway's largest theatre owner and operator. This gives Shubert Ticketing a unique perspective on the ticketing and operational needs of live entertainment venues. The Shubert Organization has been one of the leading forces in American theatre over 100 years and is well-known for extraordinary financial and operational stability.