Client: Lisa Haas
Project: In Heat at The 2009 LeftOut Festival, April 2009
Service: Advance publicity, ongoing client
Background:
Lisa Haas is known for her twisted queer comedies and quirky solo performances. Haas is a Brooklyn based playwright, essayist and monologist. Her plays and solo performance pieces have been seen in New York City, nationally and internationally.
In NYC Haas' works have been produced by The Toyota Comedy Festival, The Fourth Unity, HERE Arts Center, The WOW Café and the Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Some of those pieces include Rita & Inez: The True Queens of Femininity, I Sit in the Café, In Heat and Stacked: A Deviant Doctoral Dissertation. Stacked was also produced in Australia by the Vitalstatistix Theatre Company. Haas has been a storyteller with Speakeasy: Stories from the Backroom and sings a capella with the comedy group The Lesbian Overtones. She was the recipient of a Jerome Foundation Fellowship to develop her solo comedy, Crown Hill Cemetery, which was seen in the 2003 Piccolo Spoleto Festival and in the 2004 Artists of Tomorrow Festival in NYC where it was named Best of the Fest. She is currently (summer 2009) touring some Canadian Fringe Festivals (Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver) with Crown Hill Cemetery. A past teaching artist with the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s Creating Original Opera Program, she holds a BFA from Loretto Heights College, an MFA from the University of Montana and is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc. www.lisa-haas.com
Situation:
Haas’ play In Heat was chosen to be part of the 2009 LeftOut Festival, a celebration of gay performance art serving as a fundraiser for several charities. She had limited time and limited resources to publicize her play, specifically because only two performances were scheudled.
The play was scheduled to appear at Stage Left Studio, an intimate theater with about 45 seats and a raw, urban feel. The space is NYC’s only solo show repertory theater, a hidden gem with a reputation for quality and quirky performances.
Since there would be only two performances of In Heat, this meant traditional theater reviewers and print press would not attend. Pushy Broads Consulting needed to start moving to get word out about the show and land a major mention in a very popular New York City publication.
Outcome:
The show was sold out and raised the most money for the charities Bailey House and Gay Men's Health Crisis of any of the 2009 Left Out Festival productions!
Time Out New York gay section editor, Beth Greenfield, wrote up the play two weeks in advance in the magazine’s Own This City blog.
Greenfield also chose In Heat as a Critic's Pick in the print publication the week the play opened.
Client: Santiago Vega
Project: Vizcaya Hat Collection Catalog & Brochure
Service: Editorial and Copywriting, project basis - repeat client
Background:
Santiago Vega, president of Panama hat manufacturer Vizcaya Hat (now Alfonso-Eudoro) needed snappy copy to accompany existing photos of the dozen models in his debut collection of high quality genuine Panama hats. His budget was very limited, but still he needed excellent writing turned around on a dime.
Situation:
Stephanie put her mind to the task at hand and offered Santiago Pushy Broad's Get Real Pricing as he shipped to her the entire 2003 Vizcaya Hat Panama hat collection. On seeing the handsome head toppers, Stephanie wrote catalog descriptions for each hat, conjuring images of men steeped in history, taking on outlandish adventures and making modern day style statements.
She also researched and wrote an introduction to the catalog as well as accompanying information about the production and manufacture of genuine Panama hats in Ecuador, hat etiquette and how to properly care for a Panama hat. Stephanie also edited each description into a smaller blurb for a sales brochure. (*Hard copies of the catalog and brochure are available for review. Just ask.)
Outcome:
The resulting catalog was well received in both retail and wholesale fashion circles and the accompanying brochure was used as a sales tool around the globe.
The response to the collateral penned by Pushy Broads was so positive Santiago Vega came back to us to ask that we collaborate on advertorials for his company, including “The Allure of the Panama Hat” on AskMen.com.
Further, when Santiago renamed his company Alfonso-Eudoro in honor of his grandfathers, Pushy Broads created the new company's tagline, "A Legacy of Genteel Masculinity" and wrote the bulk of copy for the updated website.
Client: Elisa DeCarlo
Project: Diary of a Mad Fashionista at the NYC Frigid Festival, February-March 2008
Service: Publicity, project basis
Background:
Elisa DeCarlo delivered a two-person ‘tour-de-farce’ in her second appearance in the New York Frigid Festival.
DeCarlo also performed as the Mad Fashionista at the Broadway Comedy Club, hosting a charity benefit for Comedy Cures, along with media personality Valerie Smaldone and plus size designer/model Emme. DeCarlo’s 2007 solo show, Pointless Rebellion, premiered at the debut New York Frigid Festival. Elisa has performed in several San Francisco Fringe Festivals from 1995-2005, DIVAfest at the Exit in 2003, The New York Fringe Festival in 1997 and Solopalooza in Chicago in 1997. Her solo show Toasted, a true-crime story, has won awards across the country (including Best of the Fest in the 2004 Midtown Theater Festival and Best Female Solo Performance at the 2001 SF Fringe). Other solo shows include Cervix With A Smile (2005 Bay Guardian Critic’s Choice Award), and Size Matters (Westbeth Theater Center). DeCarlo and Austin Pendleton read her two-character drama Buddy n’ Janice at HBO. “Diary of A Mad Fashionista” is based on her comic blog, which has been quoted in The New York Times. (http://diaryofamadfashionista.blogspot.com)
Situation:
Elisa’s play, Diary of a Mad Fashionista, was chosen to be part of the 2008 Frigid Festival. Elisa had limited time and limited resources to garner publicity for her play, specifically because the show's run was only five performances.
The play was scheduled to appear at The Red Room, a tiny, divey (in a good way) theater that is a New York City institution. Up two flights of treacherous stairs and with performances scheduled for random days and even more random hours, Diary of a Mad Fashionista, the reception of and audience for the play was extremely uncertain without intervention. The show was a non-traditional theater piece, more about fashion and the world of style than straight theater. The combination of a very short run and the play’s content meant traditional theater reviewers and print press would not attend. Pushy Broads Consulting needed to get word out about the show, and fast!
Outcome:
The New York Times “Style” section ran a story about the play (including a full size photo of Elisa in character), the day the play opened!
Elisa was interviewed by Women’s Wear Daily, appeared on Sirius Satellite Radio's "Judith Regan Show” and an editor from Glamour attended (and wrote a blog post about) the play.
Client: Darabin Ltd.
Project: Media Relations
Service: Publicity program, ongoing
Background:
Dara Lamb, founder and designer of Darabin Ltd., wanted to get the word out about her fine quality custom and off-the-rack business suits and matching suit sets to high level businesswomen: lawyers, judges, financial executives, etc.
Lamb needed visibility in a publication that combined fashion with business. Mademoiselle, Harper's Bazaar or even Vogue were not the designer's target audience.
Situation:
PBC used a unique pitch with which to approach the business press: clothing, in particular business suits costing four figures, are an investment in a woman’s career.
Outcome:
A major coup: a hit on the cover of the “Investor” section of BusinessWeek with the four following pages discussing Lamb’s clothing, pricing and investment philosophies accompanied by several photos of her products.
The response to the article was overwhelming. Lamb had businesswomen from all over the U.S. contacting her for more information. She even had a businesswoman fly in from Palm Springs to have an entire wardrobe handpicked and designed for her.