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Backstage Pass: Producer
What does a producer do at a performing arts centre?
For every arts production that you see, there’s a producer involved. And just what does a producer do? Read on!
This is Nura. She’s a producer!
Nura works as a producer for both live concerts and television programmes. Today, we get a glimpse into Nura’s role as a producer for a concert. In 2022, Nura worked on FENOMENA, a concert featuring Singapore Malay music icons Jatt Ali, Hady Mirza and Sufi Rashid that was presented at Esplanade’s Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of Arts in 2022.
This is Nura with her boss, the executive producer. It’s Najip Ali, a Singapore pop icon!
For FENOMENA, Nura worked closely with the executive producer, and together they worked with Esplanade who supported the production financially. The executive producer also has a creative vision for the production—he comes up with an idea of how the show will be—and it’s Nura’s job to make sure that this creative vision comes to life.
Here’s Farah and Bada, Nura’s go-to co-workers.
Oftentimes, a production can be so big that it needs more than one producer to get the job done. And that’s where Farah and Bada come in.
For FENOMENA, a live concert at Esplanade, she worked with Bada as co-producers. Farah usually works with Nura as a co-producer, but for this show Farah is an assistant producer. Farah managed the teleprompter and helped artists with lyrics and other important information.
Together with Bada, Nura had to work with the budget—a set amount of money—that the executive producer obtained for the concert and get the right artists and crew hired. They also have to work against a production timeline that helps them to see what needs to be done and when. Basically, Nura (and Bada) has to make sure that everything to do with the concert goes smoothly!
This is what Nura does during rehearsals.
A producer's job can be fun too as you can see from this lively rehearsal at Esplanade with Singapore Malay music icons Jatt Ali, Sufi Rashid and Hady Mirza having a bit of fun while practising. Nura also has a cool view when it comes to full band rehearsals at the Esplanade Concert Hall stage!
However, a producer is busiest in the period leading up to the show as a lot of coordination needs to happen. In a large production like FENOMENA, this means handling the needs of many artists and crew members. :
Some of these include making sure different venues are available and booked for rehearsals and set-up, renting all the musical instruments for the show and making sure everyone is paid correctly for the amount of time they work on the show. Nura even has to make sure that the songs being performed have suitable musical arrangements and are in the right key for everyone involved.
But most importantly, Nura keeps everyone on the same page so that each member of the production knows what they have to do in order for everything to run smoothly!
When the show starts, this is what goes on backstage.
With everything in place, it’s time for the concert to begin.
