 We're back for a live. I'm Jay Fidel. This is Think Tech and more specifically, this is Think Tech Talks. Think Tech Talks on a given Monday. And today we're going to visit with Victor Gully. And he's the CEO of a company called A Taste of Theatre. And he joins us by Skype from Chicago, Illinois. Welcome to the show, Victor. Hello, and thank you for having me on, Jay. Yeah, it's great. So, you know, here we are in the 21st century. And, you know, stage performances are different now, because there's a huge stage industry, a theater industry. And for that matter, I include opera, by the way, in this country. And we have more stars, more talent, more going on than before. It's really great to see the country, you know, get behind this. It's not in every city, and I wish there were more than here in Honolulu, but we have some pretty classy theater here. And I expect there's pretty classy theater in many cities around the country. The problem is, we have got to use the national talent. We've got to bring it together. We've got to have an exchange for that. So if I'm in one city, I have to be able to connect up with the theater in another city. I know that happens in the opera, because I served with the opera. But now I find that it happens in theater in general. And P.S. Victor Galli is actually doing it. He's got this program, this web program that lets people connect up from one side of the country to another to get, you know, positions in theater, on plays, and I guess in other kinds of professional staffing situations. So Victor, tell us what you got. How is this, how does it work, how did you come by it, and what is it doing? That's a multiple compound question. Oh, yes. I'll start with how it all came about. The first is the obvious. I was doing plays of my own, and I was running into, as a self-producing playwright, several issues. The first being finding staff or a cast, finding a place to have my show at, finding the props that I needed to have for the show, and then, of course, marketing the show. And as I started down this path, I said, well, man, I should create an app for this. And I started interviewing other playwrights about this same phenomenon, and I came up with this app that there's currently nothing out there that would connect a playwright with their self-producing or regular theater company to actors who want to act and then places where they can have their show at. And so I said, well, once we create that and get everybody connected, then we need to have another component that would allow the public to be able to find the plays. So once the theater company finds the actors and the show that they want to have their show at, or the theater that they want their show to be at, then the public can find, using our app, any play that's within 50 miles of that phone. That's great. So it's all sides win. It's a win, win, win, win, win kind of thing. The producer and the theater, I suppose, who wants to populate this cast, to the people who might be on his cast. And then to me, I want to find out if a player is playing somewhere. At least within 50 miles, I'll find out everything is playing within 50 miles, and I can go see it. So this probably jins up more activity for theaters and plays, doesn't it? Yes, it would definitely do that. And the way that it works is each theater company has to put in their own data. Each actor has to register so that he can be found. Each venue has to put in their information so that they can also be found by people who are looking to rent their facilities. That's terrific. So what's the business model on this? How do you make money with it? Do you charge them for the registration? It's a subscription based. Each person that registers pays a nominal fee. Because it is theater, we're not looking to gouge at all. So it's a nominal fee that people pay. And once they pay their subscription, then they can put their name in the database. Completely free until our next release comes out. So people can go to the website, use every feature that is available to them. I don't think they do just sign up using the free account. Oh, that's pretty good. Yes. So am I right to assume that actors are always looking for gigs and they're only looking for gigs in plays in which they have appeared before since they know the lines and the moves for those plays? That's correct. But also, where I think it is even more essential is oftentimes when you're doing a production, someone will drop out. And then you're scrambling looking for someone to fill that position. Now there's a database that you can go to and say I'm looking for a, in this case, let's say I'm looking for a white male that's in Honolulu. I can put in those categories or those parameters and find someone that is available and reach out to them and say, hey, I've got a show. Would you like to be a part of it? It serves that purpose. And also it's this whole site will serve a second purpose, which I think is essential. And that is, it serves us as IMDB for the eater. So if that means once you're in a show, anyone else can type in your name and they can see your work history, just like you can with internet movie database or IMDB.com. Like my favorite movie happens to be Purple Rain. So type that in, you can see everybody that's in that movie. And the same thing will happen with our site. Once you put in a person's, an actor's name, you'll see all the shows they were in, or if you put in the playwright's show, you'll see all the plays they've written. Yeah, this is so interesting. I mean, I think in the past, we all imagine this to be a lot of interviews and where the producer would sit in the theater and the potential actor would walk across the stage and do something. Now he can find people, not by word of mouth, but right there, a hard copy with his profile. So my question is, does the profile have the addition video? If it doesn't, it should. I mean, for example, I want to see this guy acting. I want to see him in another play. I want to see him talk to me. I want to see his moves. I want to see his style. Is that on your website? Is that a building? That's coming in the next release, that you will be able to add your audition reel. And we've also found that that right there is essential for each actor so that people can see them. So that way there is something that will be added in the next release. And that's why it's free until we put out this next release. What about reviews? I'm always interested in reading reviews and seeing what the reviewer has to say. I may not agree with him. I may not accept his advice, but I'd like to hear what he has to say. So do you have reviews on a given actor who appeared in a given play? Well, we don't necessarily do reviews on the actors for the public to see, but there's reviews that will be available to other playwrights to see or theater companies to see. So each theater company will review that actor and say, hey, they were great or they were horrible. They work with and the actor will be able to issue a review. Now the general public will be able to review the play that they've seen and that's about it. That's fair. And what about the theaters? I mean, if I'm an actor and I'm looking around for a theater and somebody contacts me from a theater in a small town of no consequence that's not going to advance my career and that's going to be hard to get to and is not going to have a high level of production values, I need to know that too. Are the theaters reviewed? Are the producers reviewed? If I'm an actor, how much can I find out about the guy who's asking me to come down? That's correct. And that's one of the things that you will be able to see. Like I said, actors will leave reviews for the people that they've worked for and the theater company can leave reviews on the actors that have been in their show. And those things can be seen again when you use the IMDb portion of the app. And to me, I think that's critical because oftentimes an actor will get a call from someone saying, hey, I want you to be in such and such play and then you get there and you find out the content is not what you believe in or you would like to work with. So you end up wasting time. Whereas if you could just looked it up on the computer, you would have seen that this is the type of show this guy or this producer generally does. And you could have declined it before making the trip. And that's one of the things we're looking to do is to match people up who want to actually work together. Yeah, sure. Because it is a commitment by both sides, but the actors could get hurt. And I wonder about four flushers. Sometimes the theaters or producers won't pay people or they'll be slow paying. Sometimes they'll fold in the middle and the actor will be out of luck. Sometimes the actor will be an actor who drops out in the middle of the performance, God forbid, and disappoints the producer. This kind of employment history or contract history is this available? Can I find out negative things that I need to know before I commit to the engagement? Well, they'll be in the reviews. That kind of information would be in the reviews. And I'm figuring the producers will leave that kind of information if the person dropped out of the show or not. That's what we're expecting them to do. Yeah, good. Okay, fair. It's fair. Do you cover people other than actors? Do you cover stage managers? Do you cover props specialists? Do you cover lighting? Do you cover scenery? Or is it mostly actors? Right. We also want to include the behind the scenes staff because they are the ones that also make the show. And that's, of course, one of which is part of our tagline, where everyone is a star. Because without the lights and sound, you can't see the actors. Without the costume person doing their job, they won't be wearing the right clothes or the proper clothing. So we believe that everyone is a star, not just the lead singer or the lead actor in the production. So we include all of these roles in this production, in our app. So if you are a director and you want to just direct plays, you can register in our app and then people can find you and ask you to come direct their show. And you just put up your price and, of course, your rule and they can find you. That's pretty good. I mentioned before that I had been associated with the Hawaii Opera Theater for a while. I'm still interested in opera. But I wonder if you include opera singers. I expect you will include musical singers from musical theater, but will you include opera singers as well? Opera singers can always register. They just have to put up their picture or their headshot along with their bio and explain to their bio that that is exactly what they do. And they would definitely work within our system. Yeah. What about ballet? What about ballet dancers? I'm sure there are companies around the country that could use a ballet dancer if they have anything missing. Any form of dance would be available in there. Any form of dance, whether it's modern jazz, tap, whatever, all those would also be available. And what about directors and producers? If I want to direct a show, a produce one, should I register? Can I get a job that way? Oh, yes. You register as is, on the side of say producers, stage crew. You register in that area and you'll select yourself as a director, lead, put in your reel. And then you can, of course, put in your prize, whatever you're charging to direct. And people can find you that are looking for someone to just direct their show. What about investors actually, Victor? Suppose I'm, I like to be an angel and I love theater and I love what you're doing, what theaters are doing around the country. I love this new wave of theatrical activity. And I want to invest some money. Will you place my investment or help me reach out to find somebody who will take it? Actually, that right there is one of the things that I'm adding in the next release, because we've interviewed over a couple hundred people in this field and from playwrights to theater companies. And that was one thing that kept coming up that they wanted to help with financing. So in our next module that we're going to release, that would be another area. If you are a person who wants to invest in plays or sponsor a play, there will be a section in there where investors can or sponsors can actually register and say, I sponsored these types of plays in this area and this is generally what I offer. So those will be, that's coming in the next release. And that's primarily because of the interviews that we did with theater companies, playwrights and so forth. Now, I do want to specify that we only work with community or non-union theater because the union theater side is already, already has a system in place. So we only work with non-union and community theater. Okay, well, we'll pick up on that right after this break. That's Victor Gully, Taste of Theater in Chicago. He joins us by Skype. We are so interested in his project and the effect of that on the theater industry in the country. We'll be right back after this short break. This is Think Tech Hawaii, raising public awareness. Aloha, I'm Caroline Lee, Think Tech Hawaii's Volunteer Chief Operating Officer and occasional host and this is Minky. For the first time, Think Tech Hawaii is participating in an online, web-based fundraising campaign to raise $40,000. Dear thanks, Think Tech will run only during the month of November and you can help. 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Let's go. We all play a role in keeping our community safe. Every day we move in and out of each other's busy lives. It's easy to take for granted all the little moments that make up our every day. Some are good, others not so much. But that's life. It's when something doesn't seem quite right that it's time to pay attention. Because only you know what's not supposed to be in your every day. So protect your every day. If you see something suspicious, say something to local authorities. Okay, we're back alive with Victor Gully. He joins us by Skype from Chicago, Illinois, and he's the CEO of A Taste of Theater, which is a website program that allows actors and other stage professionals who get placed on theaters and allows theaters to find them. And this is a whole new thing, except that we mentioned before the break, Victor, that the unions had already developed some kind of system along these lines. Can we talk about what that is, how that works? Okay, the way that works is whenever a union theater is looking for someone, they go directly to actors' equity union, and they get their actors that way. Everything else is then done in-house by the actual theater company, the play bill, and so forth. So that's a system that has been in place now for probably 50, 60 years. Yeah, okay. And so that means that kind of cuts you out of Broadway, doesn't it? Because Broadway is all actors' equity. That's correct. So you're in the hinterland of the smaller cities, the smaller theaters, am I right? That's correct. And oftentimes, as you know, there are more community and non-union theaters than there are union theaters. Yeah, and I want to get that to that. So one other thing about the nature of the program and the engagement that it's created, obviously, and you mentioned that there are economic terms here, and the theater wants to, the producer wants to offer a certain amount of money to the actor, the actor wants to accept or counter offer. There has to be a deal. How is that made? Is that made online through your website, or is it made outside of your website? That part is made outside of the website. The first part is the initial offer that is on the site, which is the theater company says, I'm going to have a show, and I'm looking for this particular role. This is the audition part. So when they're putting out the audition, they say how much the role is paying. And then the actor can audition, and then of course, negotiate from that point on. Or they can accept the terms which is laid out in the notice of the audition. You know, it strikes me also that although the big Broadway operators are probably not going to do this because they have the union arrangement, people in Europe and outside the country are probably interested and they'd like to appear in American theater as soon as they can get the necessary immigration papers, I suppose, in some places. But I wonder, do you have traffic like that? Do you have traffic coming from Europe, from Asia, South America? We've had some traffic from outside of the country, yes. I went to Nigeria in February and several people from Nigeria have registered for our site. And then we've got people from Spain registered for our site as well. Oh, that is so cool. So they make deals and come to the United States. But what about the other way around? I mean, suppose somebody's putting on, say, a play in Barcelona or Madrid, and there are plenty of Spanish speakers in this country who could participate, who'd like to participate in a play in Europe, or some other kind of performance arrangement in Europe. Do you have situations where you're placing American talent in European theaters? Well, that right there is a great question. I've not thought about placing American theater in European countries, but what I am hoping is that they will all utilize the service, and maybe that can help facilitate that conversation at least starting. Okay, so we're showing some photos of pages on your website, which looks very interesting with the names of the actors and so forth. But we have a video too. Can we play the video now? To have her show. Now, Cinda can use a TASA Theater app to find any play in the entire country to attend with her friends on Girls Night Out, a TASA Theater, the app that makes you the star of the show. That's great, Victor. I mean, I'm really touched by that because it reaches down, you know, to everybody. It's an everybody thing. Yes. And I wonder if I want to get into theater, if I have virtually no professional experience in theater, but I was in the play, I was in some character in the play in high school, is this going to be something I should look at? There's a couple of things you should look at, because also on the site, the existing site that we have up is opportunities for training. So if you are a person who wants to train actors on your particular mode of acting or the way acting should be done, once you list that seminar, an email will go out to every actor in the database that you're having this seminar. So that right there is something that I think would be helpful to up and coming actors like the one you just mentioned. If you're brand new into the business and you want to enhance your craft, that's one avenue that you can actually utilize. Another avenue is by the sheer fact of time, saving time, is whenever you're starting out, you have to give your headshot to every theater company you're working for so they can put it in their playbill. Sure. Now once you put it on our site and you get added to that play, your bio, plus that headshot gets added automatically and we create the playbill for you. Oh, that's great. Save everybody a lot of trouble. Yeah, and the people who are watching the plays and download that digital playbill and there's no paper. Very cool, very cool. So are you making money? Yes, we're in beta format, so we're not making any money right now, which is why we're offering it free to everyone because we have to we have to make our next release first and then that's the one that we will actually make money on. So what do you see for the future? Not just for you, Victor, but for this industry. You know, I'm very excited about the Diamondhead Theater that we have here in Hollywood that done some wonderful shows and musicals, complex musicals, and I'm encouraged by the fact that their arc is on the way up. I wonder how the industry is doing in general and how you see, you know, your product, your website in the next version and thereafter, you know, engaging with the development of the industry around the country. And I guess I mean the community theaters, the amateur theaters, not Broadway. Yes, I actually see it changing the way people view theater in general because right now the way that the public finds out about a play is through a card or a postcard or a flyer or they happen to know someone who's in the show. When people come to our platform, not only would they see that, that same card, but they'll also see a preview of the production. They'll know if the venue is handicap accessible or not because that's a huge issue now if you can even get in to see the show. And to me, something that's key is a rating just like movies have a rating as to is as appropriate for kids, is as appropriate for co-workers. Every play that comes through our system will have a rating. So you'll know if it contains nudity, if it contains other things that might not be suitable. And you'll know that before you even buy a ticket because sometimes you can buy a ticket to a production and then there's just things that are totally inappropriate for your mother who's sitting right next to you. Are you going to send me a newsletter? If I signed up as an audience member, somebody who's interested in attending theater, are you going to send me a newsletter, tell me what's going on in my community or other places I may designate so that I can see what's going, I can see the plays, I can even travel to other cities for the plays. Are you going to reach out to me? Actually, eventually that is coming because once you download the app, the app is free for people to find plays. And then what you have to do is add your name to our email list. And then what types of plays you would like to see and in what cities. And then you'll get that information. This is great. This is great, Victor. It sounds terrific. It sounds like it's, it'll go hand in glove with the development of the industry and hopefully development at a greater appreciation for performing arts in our country and outside. Thank you so much for appearing on our show and telling us about your product. Let me say we wish you well in every way and I hope we can do this again when your next version comes out and we can discuss your progress at that time. Oh, thank you. And the next version will include professional playwrights in it. So I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, Victor. It's a rally, a taste of theater and guess what? It tastes good. Thank you. Thank you. Aloha.