Fidgeting backstage, the brightly dressed singers and dancers await their cue. The anticipation is almost palpable as they take their final places. The music swells and the performers, poised in readiness, burst onto stage, a picture of boundless energy gyrating in colorful profusion. It`s lights, music and action as the curtain rises, not on Broadway but on a Lovett production.
Since 1980, Lovett Productions in Lisle has been staging persuasive and lively business meetings, sales conferences and conventions for an
international clientele that includes AT&T; American Express Travel Related Services; Sears, Roebuck & Co.; Inland Steel; Allied-Signal; Amway; Baxter Health Care and others. Specially written lyrics, live music, dancers, actors and an ambitious, personalized script combine to tell the story of a corporation`s yearly objectives and business plans in an entertaining presentation.
Lovett meets clients` business meeting goals in a variety of palatable ways, literally producing a complete menu, from soup to nuts, when devising a corporate meeting package. To kick off the opening night of an annual sales conference, Lovett may stage elaborate production numbers such as a parody of ”Man of La Mancha.” Lovett Productions also might write speeches for executives, plan appropriate workshops and seminars, develop theme parties, provide name entertainment and organize excursions or tours to fill in free time participants may have.
Shows may cost from $100,000 to $750,000 to produce, with attendance ranging from 200 to 12,000. Lovett Productions does six to ten major shows a year, along with other film work and written collateral materials, such as brochures.
In the early `70s, when partner Linda Lovett`s five children were small, she wrote children`s books and musicals, accepting a variety of part-time, freelance writing or directing assignments. In 1978, she took the plunge, launching Linda Lovett Creative Services from a small, two-person office in Glen Ellyn. She soon found herself writing audio-visual sales support materials and sales training films, even working with the original Ronald McDonald for an assignment from McDonald`s.
”I billed myself as someone who could write anything,” Lovett, 51, recalled with an amused smile. ”I did whatever came up.”
Her double major from the University of Illinois in theater and English served her well. With her small business she had to change hats frequently, from writing lyrics and rhymes to scripting executives` presentations and speeches.
As Linda Lovett enjoyed business growth and its various challenges, her husband, Marc, was freelancing as a business consultant. But as Linda got busier, Marc realized his corporate business skills could assist her.
”We`re both communicators,” Marc, also 51, said. ”Linda is gifted with salable writing and theatrical skills, and I knew that I could provide business insights for her clients. So, in 1980 we formed a partnership, changing the name to Lovett Productions. I`ve had a lot of corporate experience and over the years have developed a clear understanding of the demands placed on the sales force within a corporation.”
Indeed, Marc adds an accumulation of 16 years` experience in sales, marketing and corporate expertise to their joint enterprise, which grew to a dozen employees by the late `80s. They then moved to their present location in the Arboretum Lakes office complex on Warrenville Road in Lisle.
Although executing creativity is important, Marc noted that it is the client`s business objectives that are the driving force of any meeting they produce.
”The creative side is only a vehicle. We focus on the business goals using various communication techniques to further the business cause of the organization,” he said.
The Lovetts approach meeting design with a scientific thoroughness that includes interviews and extensive use of surveys. Before the meeting, the firm measures the knowledge base, concerns and attitudes of the audience. At the conclusion of the meeting, these positions are re-evaluated from surveys to measure the impact of the materials presented along with any growth or attitude change occurring among meeting participants.
Researching a business before designing its meeting can take from three to six months. Once the information has been gathered, Lovett Productions helps clients formulate a specific set of meeting objectives and then designs and produces every aspect of the meeting or convention.
In writing the show, they may present 15 key corporate issues in just one song. Humor is frequently employed to address significant problems the corporation may be experiencing, to defuse a potentially hot situation.
The finished product is a polished blend of show biz and key corporate messages.
”We always use live musicians and microphones for the talent,” Linda said, ”nothing is taped or canned. We may have a 35-piece orchestra playing in the background. It makes the show that much more exciting.”
Since the program is message-heavy, Lovett Productions prefers to audition singers who can also dance and act.
”There`s a core group of talent, about 40, in the Chicago area, that we use repeatedly,” Linda said. ”We`ve actually chosen 11 talented people who went on to appear in Broadway shows.”
The Lovetts have a heart for show biz that extends right into their own family, with two sons enjoying successful stage careers. Their eldest son, Marcus, 26, was the lead in Andrew Lloyd Webber`s ”Aspects of Love” in New York and was a recent guest on ”The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson. Another son, Cary, 24, is in the road company of ”Les Miserables.” They also have three daughters. The oldest is a social worker in Dallas and the other two are still students.
Marc Lovett said that producing a show depends on the talents of many people, not just the performers seen on stage.
”The behind-the-scenes, technical talent is crucial to making the shows work,” he said. ”The vocalists sing live and since the lyrics carry the corporate message, it`s crucial that the sound is perfect. Good audio engineering is vital as well as extremely complex, with demanding live-mike mixing.”
Since sound engineering is critical to the performance, the Lovetts have utilized the same sound designer used for the Broadway production of ”The Grand Hotel.”
”Most of our competition would never think of doing a live show because it must be flawless,” Marc said. ”But using canned music or taped performances loses energy and doesn`t grab the audience nearly as
effectively.”
After researching, developing and writing the messages for the show, the next step is casting. An open audition call goes out through the Actor`s Equity Association hotline in Chicago.
”In 1989, we hired more talent for industrial productions than any other production company,” Linda said. ”We may have 150 to 200 persons show up for auditions. They have three to six weeks to learn the show, then we fly them off to a great location, usually Hawaii or some other resort area, for the actual performances.”
Marla Lampert, a freelance choreographer, has worked with Lovett Productions since 1983.
”I assist with casting the show, along with the music director and Linda, who functions as the producer-director. The shows are heavily music and dance along with the script. Most shows have 8 to 10 dancers, although when we produced a show in Japan for Amway we used a cast of 13.”
Lampert choreographs by working closely with the writers for the concept of the show, then develops opening and closing production numbers. Depending on the location of the corporate meetings, the rooms used for the shows can cause terrific logistical problems. Lampert said that they usually are appearing in a hotel ballroom, where they have to construct a stage, complete with curtains, from scratch.
”Lovett is very ambitious with big scripts and lots of material for the performers,” Lampert said. In a two-week span, ”I may have our talent learning 20 musical numbers that include intricate harmonies, along with movement and choreography.”
For the sales conference of Allied-Signal Aftermarket, an automotive part manufacturer, Lampert blended creativity with humor by integrating the client`s products into the performers` costumes.
”We used air filters as tambourines, oil filters for maracas, spark plugs as earrings and put mock brake shoes in the performers` hair. The real ones, it turned out, were too heavy to put on their heads. The audience roared with laughter when they saw the performers outfitted in colorful calypso costumes with these auto parts as their accessories. The lyrics they sang were cute, and visually it tied the whole concept together.”
Another Lovett trademark is putting the executives themselves into the show.
”Lovett likes to get the clients into the act,” Lampert said. ”The audience loves to see their bosses or co-workers on stage. It adds to the excitement and fun of the evening. We have to rehearse with them, though, which means going to their offices and having them schedule rehearsal times into their days.”
Karen Borger, marketing communications manager for Allied-Signal Aftermarket Filter Division, a Lovett client headquartered in East Providence, R.I., described the company business: ”We manufacture Fram filter products and other automotive replacement parts. Our annual sales conference is for all three corporate divisions of our company and numbers in attendance around 500. The reason for the meeting is to inform, motivate and educate the sales force, which is spread out all over the country. It is an important tool for enhancing the esprit de corps and staying in touch with employees.”
Borger inherited handling the annual meeting from her predecessor.
”We were in need of a new production company. Our meetings had grown stale over the years. Lovett was one of three production companies to bid for our business and their proposals just blew our socks off. They were heads above the others. We`ve used them now for five years, which is unprecedented. We`ve never worked that long with any production company.”
Lovett helps design their entire sales conference: clinics, theme parties and speeches. Borger said that Lovett does an incredible amount of research and interviews prior to producing their meetings. They manage to get inside the heads of the organization and learn the uppermost thoughts and concerns of employees.
”Linda is unbelievably creative,” Borger said. ”She takes all the business information that`s been gathered and what she does with it is sheer genius. Her husband, Marc, is an astute businessman, making them the kind of team everyone dreams of working with. They`re extremely honest and fiscally responsible, always staying within the bid they present without nickel and diming you like lots of other companies. They deliver incredible customer service. The contrast between them and other production companies is like night and day.”
Frank King, vice president of business travel operations with American Express Travel Related Services in Rolling Meadows, met with Marc Lovett recently as a followup on a business meeting the Lovetts produced for American Express. It was the Lovetts` first production for American Express Travel Management Services.
”Unlike other production companies who put on a show and leave,” King said, ”the Lovetts meet with the organization following a sales meeting. They come back to show you what you managed to accomplish with your meeting.”
Through the use of surveys, the Lovetts were able to show King a measurable difference in attitude, training and communication between management and the organization.
”I`ve been with American Express for 16 years, but after attending the meeting the Lovetts produced, I felt like I had been shot out of a cannon,”
King said. ”I couldn`t wait to get back to my job and do it well. It was a great motivator and I saw others have the same reaction.”
Big-name entertainers such as Bernadette Peters and Jay Leno may also be added to shows that the Lovetts produce. Lynne Pauly, administrative and financial manager of Lovett Productions, acts as a talent coordinator, booking whatever name entertainment clients request.
”Using surveys, we find out what talent the employees would enjoy seeing perform,” Pauly said. ”We then narrow the list down by taking clients out to see various acts. However, sometimes the stars have so many outlandish requests in order to put on a performance that it is not only ridiculous but cost prohibitive. Terms such as requesting five showers backstage or even supplying Miss Pac-Man machines for their crew are simply laughable or impossible to meet, especially when your show is limited to the physical constraints of a hotel ballroom.”
Although the Lovetts have literally put on shows around the world from Hawaii to Miami to Japan, they have noticed distinct advantages to being a business based in Du Page County.
During their fledgling years, they quickly discovered the importance of developing a relationship with a banker to avoid a cash flow crunch.
”That`s where we had our first taste of the benefits of basing our business in Du Page,” Linda said. ”We found a banker who listened to us differently because we`ve lived here 18 years. He was interested in the community and interested in us as individuals.”
Don Fischer, former president of Center Bank in Glen Ellyn and now studying for a master`s in business administration, was one of Lovett Productions` early supporters, watching them grow for the last 10 years.
”They are the finest husband-wife team of business people I have ever seen,” Fischer said. ”They are incredibly articulate, very talented and extremely enthusiastic about what they do. Each is multitalented, Linda as a gifted writer and lyricist, Marc as an exceptional administrator and businessman. Not only do they work together well as a team but they have a fantastic bunch of kids. They`ve managed their family and business life very well. I`ve watched them blossom from a young business to a dynamite company.” Their business growth has not gone unnoticed. In February, Lovett Productions was a finalist for an award given by the Du Page Area Association of Business and Industry. Their nomination was entered by Fischer, a member of the awards committee.
Lee Crumbaugh, president of the Du Page Area Association of Business and Industry, was one of the founders of the association in 1988. Membership of the organization consists of 120 companies dedicated to promoting Du Page as an outstanding place to live and work.
The awards program highlights Du Page companies with exemplary accomplishments and whose business development adds positive impact to the community. Lovett Productions was one of three finalists in the Emerging Entrepreneur Award category, narrowed from a list of about 20 Du Page businesses.
