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Leisa Way in business – music, integirty and people are her bottom line

February 28, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Leisa Way may be one of the most talented acts on the Theatre Orangeville main stage but she is also the founder and owner of Way-to-go Productions, through which she creates and produces her concert show series about specifics of musical history: individual stars and strong periods of musical influences, like her Across the Pond, the British Invasion.

“Way-to-go Productions –I started it 11 years ago,” she told the Citizen. “Bruce [Ley] has been with me since 2007, when I did my first Patsy Cline show, I did it at the Opera House but it was a different production with no story, just song, song, song.” 

Inspired to do something more interesting, “I created, researched, gathered together a story that tells the history of Patsy. I did it the first night at the Opera House.

“In the first year, I booked five theatres, including the Living Arts Centre. I had to do all the promotions myself,  $5,000 worth of newspaper ads.”

She added, “In the beginning, with those five shows, I had to book the radio ads, [costing] $3,000, for the show and, then, spent $3,000 on media ads. I was prepared to lose money in order to build my reputation and after that, they all say yes to promoting my shows.”

“I don’t book a show any  more until the theatre agrees to promote it. When you book yourself into a theatre [in a city you don’t know], how are you going to know who to go to to publicize your program?”

Ms Way explained how she has turned that around, “Now, every theatre gets a full press package from me – show logos, media clips, mp3’s trailers, videos. And, every theatre – they have a media list.  I’m available for interviews, whatever they need. They have lists of patrons and media. They have all the information. Now, they use social media, especially the smaller theatres.”

A theatre person, it is the magic that enthralls Ms. Way.

“What is so magical about theatre is the shared audience experience with someone sitting next to you, who you might not know. In the theatre, people will talk to each other; in the movies, you just get up and leave;  you don’t talk to each other.”

And on stage- “Two days before opening, you think, we’ll never remember, our lines, the blocking, all of it. Then, opening night, it all happens and there’s magic in that too.”

She took her concert show, Oh Canada, we sing for thee! across the country in 2017, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canada. Financially and in many other ways, it was also a learning time.

“The trans Canada tour, going to all those theatres and sharing the Canada stories. In the Prairies, there was a concert series that may have run for 30 years and some of the same people are still coming. The meals were amazing because they’re all home made and part of the contracts included dinner,” she related. “We’re going back to Maritimes and we’ve started remembering people we’ve met before.” 

In the theatre, for Leisa Way at least, getting to know people influences her business methods. “One presenter in the Maritimes, he’s the first presenter to respond, to say anything you have a date for, we’ll want to have your show. Those relationships mean a lot to me. That’s why I’m still in this business. You can go and on and argue about fees -it’s’ very individual. I want them to succeed so they can have us and other acts back.”

Defining her business philosophy, “It’s not about the bottom line with me  For me, it’s personal. I have tours knowing I lose money but I did because I want to do that tour.” 

Here is how she sees it: “I go to a small theatre that cannot afford our fee. So, I’ve gone to that theatre anyway because I want to do that venue and I ‘ll do another theatre that can make more money for us and I balance it off with the smaller theatres, so we can do them.

“Every business has its weakness,” she admitted, “but I am in there and I love what I do and its personal.  I just wanted to pay the band. I do all the bookings myself. By not paying an agent, who would take 15 percent, I can save the money to go into a new show,” adding, “If I didn’t put on so many new shows, I ‘d make more money.”

In Saskatchewan, she told us, “These theatres have receptions. They want to engage with the artists and have the dinner together. So many performances, we didn’t get to meet the audiences who laughed at you and clapped for you. When I wrote these concerts, I said I want to go down and meet the audiences [after the show]. It’s a chance to meet the people you’ve entertained – it’s personal.

“This upcoming season,” she outlined, “we ‘re doing two weeks out west and two weeks in the Maritimes. It’ll be better weather out East.”

While the theatres pay for the hotels,  “touring is expensive: $30 per diem,  rent all the equipment and the vehicles. It’s still cheaper to fly. You gotta pay people what they’re worth;  I do everything by union contacts. I like to pay more, to pay up the scale; I could pay less but I refuse to.”

When her drummer fell sick, she had to pay another drummer to do the shows. However, she still paid her own drummer, his wages and his per diem. 

“Maybe, I’m not a very good business woman but that’s my integrity. That’s my philosophy. When you’re kind and caring, that has always come back to me.” 

She said, “When I started doing this, it was just to make work for myself and, then, it was to make work for people I adore. On the business side of it, my sister was a producer for 30 years and, now, with Theatre Orangeville, Beckie has made this beautiful set. I surround myself with the best people who are so talented and kind.

“The people in this business are so helpful. Over the years of touring, people do the tech and sets. Vandy helped with costumes in Orangeville;  I am a home grown Orangeville business. Every one of my shows has a different set. They have to be made to fold and they’re built to travel. Beckie made sets to fly. The cost is $800 excess baggage when we fly. I pay Beckie to make them. She doesn’t do it on Theatre Orangeville’s time.

“Last year’s tour, we did 160 performances in 44 cities. That was fun! Oh my god,” she exclaimed. “I thought, I can’t believe we’re doing this. It’s not for the faint of heart, touring.”

Yet, her ambition: “I just want to keep producing work, just work that keeps you happy. I’d love to write a play. Number 12 of the concerts coming up. I think, how did that happen? I love the research; I love the rehearsals with the band; working with these talented people and all their brilliant ideas.”

She told us, “I love writing.”


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