Smart Business Magazine, February 2016
FEATURE UNIQUELY COLUMBUS S hadowbox Live isnt your typical theater As the largest resident theater company in America it not only employs 45 full time performers but also produces mostly original work When we got started we realized that the vast majority of actors in America and certainly actors in our region only have an opportunity to work on a very occasional basis says Stev Guyer CEO and executive producer who co founded the company more than 25 years ago In order to allow performers to constantly work on their craft and employ them year round he says Shadowbox offers food and beverage at the shows to bring in more money But the bigger leap was producing original work Weve essentially convinced 90000 people in Columbus that if they come and see a show it will be a reliably good show in spite of the fact that theyve never heard of it before and never heard of the author Guyer says Producing original material helps satisfy their creative craving Guyer says but it also means the company has to set a high standard Critics come to sketch or stand up comedy shows on the first night even though comedy takes time in front of an audience to develop into its best version The show you see on an opening night is not the same show youll see on closing night he says But with a resident company everybody has time to rehearse and work on the details We dont really believe anything is done until the run is over Guyer says The companys leaders didnt have a strong idea of what the business model ought to be Guyer says The result has been very organic due to their ignorance and passion Those two things combined over all of the years and a million discussions to give us the company as it exists today he says S H A D O W B O X L I V E one of a kind 12 Smart Business Columbus February 2016 www facebook com ShadowboxLive @ ShadowboxLive www shadowboxlive org Shadowbox Live develops its own style through ignorance and passion www youtube com user ShadowboxLiveVideo
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