Ken Davenport
Encyclopedia
Ken Davenport, born Kenneth A. Hasija is a New York-based Broadway
and Off-Broadway
theatre producer.
, Speed the Plow, You're Welcome America
, Blithe Spirit
, 13
, Altar Boyz
, The Awesome 80s Prom
and My First Time
. Altar Boyz was the winner of the 2005 Outer Critics Circle Award
for Best Off-Broadway Musical and the winner of the Broadway.com Audience Favorite Award for Long Running Off-Broadway Musical for two years in a row. The Awesome 80s Prom won the Improvisational Theater Association’s Award for Best Interactive Show in 2006.
app
called "At The Booth"; its accuracy was called into question by the Theatre Development Fund
, the operators of the TKTS
Booth. Victoria Bailey, executive director of the fund, reported, “While we always appreciate efforts to disseminate information about what is available at the TKTS Booths, we are concerned that this recently released app may not provide an accurate picture of ticket availability and line lengths considering the fluidity of both.” Davenport responded to the veracity of the "At The Booth" app saying, "We have a lot of ways that we do it, and a lot of ways that we double-check." When asked to provide the source of his data Davenport declined to answer.
In 2010 Davenport received the Award of Distinction from the Musical Theatre Society of Emerson College. He won the 2008 Spirit of Theatre Award from Theatre Resources Unlimited, and the 2003 Acclaim Screenwriting Award for his television pilot
, I.C.A.
Davenport is a member of the BMI Librettist Workshop and is a founding member of the Independent Theater Bloggers Association.
He is also a senior member of The Off-Broadway Alliance, a town hall-like forum for dialogue among the Off-Broadway community.
Davenport is a member of The Broadway League
and the League of Off-Broadway Theaters and Producers.
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
theatre producer.
Shows
Davenport has produced several Broadway and Off-Broadway plays including the current Broadway revival of Godspell, Chinglish, OleannaOleanna (play)
Oleanna is a two-character play by David Mamet, about the power struggle between a university professor and one of his female students, who accuses him of sexual exploitation and, by doing so, spoils his chances of being accorded tenure...
, Speed the Plow, You're Welcome America
You're Welcome America
You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush is a comedic Broadway play starring Will Ferrell as George W. Bush. It was broadcast live on the HBO cable channel, as well as in Canada, on March 14, 2009, at 9:00PM EST. Ferrell, who has famously depicted Bush on Saturday Night Live, also...
, Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit (play)
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
, 13
13 (musical)
13 is a musical with lyrics and music by Jason Robert Brown and a book by Dan Elish, with Robert Horn newly joining as co-librettist. The story concerns the life of 13-year-old Evan Goldman as he moves from New York City to Appleton, Indiana, and his dilemma when the move conflicts with the...
, Altar Boyz
Altar Boyz
Altar Boyz is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker and book by Kevin Del Aguila . Centering on a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio, the show satirizes, among other things, the phenomenon of boy bands and the popularity of Christian-themed music in...
, The Awesome 80s Prom
Awesome 80s prom
The Awesome 80s Prom is an interactive off-Broadway show at Webster Hall described as a "blast-from-the-past party in the style of Tony n' Tina's Wedding and The Donkey Show set at Wanaget High's Senior Prom.....
and My First Time
My First Time (play)
My First Time is an off-Broadway play that opened on July 12, 2007 and is currently playing every Friday night at New World Stages. The show is based on a website that grew in popularity in 1998 "that allowed people to anonymously share their own true stories about their First Times" and "features...
. Altar Boyz was the winner of the 2005 Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
for Best Off-Broadway Musical and the winner of the Broadway.com Audience Favorite Award for Long Running Off-Broadway Musical for two years in a row. The Awesome 80s Prom won the Improvisational Theater Association’s Award for Best Interactive Show in 2006.
Davenport Theatrical Enterprises
Ken founded Davenport Theatrical Enterprises in 2004. In addition to creating, producing, and managing shows, DTE maintains three theatre industry-related websites.Controversy
On June 23, 2010, Davenport released an iPhoneIPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
app
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
called "At The Booth"; its accuracy was called into question by the Theatre Development Fund
Theatre Development Fund
The Theater Development Fund is a non-profit corporation dedicated to assisting the theatre industry in New York City. Created in 1968 to help an ailing New York theatre industry, TDF has grown into the nation's largest performing arts nonprofit, providing support to more than 900 plays and...
, the operators of the TKTS
TKTS
The TKTS ticket booths in New York and London sell Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, music and dance events and West End theatre tickets, respectively, at discounts of 25–50% off the face value.-New York:...
Booth. Victoria Bailey, executive director of the fund, reported, “While we always appreciate efforts to disseminate information about what is available at the TKTS Booths, we are concerned that this recently released app may not provide an accurate picture of ticket availability and line lengths considering the fluidity of both.” Davenport responded to the veracity of the "At The Booth" app saying, "We have a lot of ways that we do it, and a lot of ways that we double-check." When asked to provide the source of his data Davenport declined to answer.
Other activities
Davenport has been a guest lecturer at universities the New York City metropolitan area. He hast taught “Acting As A Business” for America Online and was profiled in the premiere issue of Experience magazine as a Broadway “up-and-comer.” His marketing techniques have been profiled in the New York Times and in marketing guru’s Andy Sernovitz’s book Word of Mouth Marketing.In 2010 Davenport received the Award of Distinction from the Musical Theatre Society of Emerson College. He won the 2008 Spirit of Theatre Award from Theatre Resources Unlimited, and the 2003 Acclaim Screenwriting Award for his television pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
, I.C.A.
Davenport is a member of the BMI Librettist Workshop and is a founding member of the Independent Theater Bloggers Association.
He is also a senior member of The Off-Broadway Alliance, a town hall-like forum for dialogue among the Off-Broadway community.
Davenport is a member of The Broadway League
The Broadway League
The Broadway League, formerly the League of American Theatres and Producers and League of New York Theatres and Producers, is the national trade association for the Broadway theatre industry...
and the League of Off-Broadway Theaters and Producers.