Kenneth Feld
He was known as a true visionary in the live entertainment industry, but even Irvin Feld could not have imagined how much Feld Entertainment would have grown since its founding in 1967. The five-year-old Motor Sports Division has opened up markets in Dubai and the Middle East, Disney Live has become an incredibly effective audience development program, and the 2014 launch of Marvel Universe Live is set to be one of the most technologically advanced family shows to ever play arenas. On the eve of what would have been Irvin Feld’s 95th birthday, Venues Today caught up with son and successor Kenneth Feld to discuss his father’s legacy and the future of family entertainment.
How has Feld Entertainment changed since your father acquired the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1967?
At the time, the circus was a single railroad tour with 16 cars that played 40 cities a year. Today it’s three tours, with 123 railroad cars playing 150 cities every year. It was his dream to grow the circus and be able to cover most of the continental USA. In every town we visit, we come once a year, but we don’t overstay our visit. And we try to keep the dates aligned — people are creatures of habit and look for the same event to be held at about the same time every year.
How has the acquisition of Feld Motor Sports and the launch of new shows like Nuclear Cowboyz changed the company?
For one, it’s increased the number of people on our staff who have become experts on live entertainment, and it’s pushed us to take more risks. The good news is that we’re right more often than we’re wrong.
Marvel Universe Live is going to include a number of complex and difficult flying sequences. How have improvements in technology changed what’s possible from a production standpoint?
Projection technology has allowed us to create better illusions. In Marvel Universe Live, we’re going to be able to control the environment. When you come into the arena, we’ll have the entire lower bowl mapped with the projector. That means you can see the point of view of one of the individual characters as they fly. We will really revolutionize how people view this incredible arena spectacular.
What has it been like working with your three daughters, Alana, Nicole and Juliette?
It’s been a real delight. They have incredibly good taste and a real feel for what the audience wants to see, and they are a lot more contemporary than I am. Juliette has really revolutionized what we’ve done with Nuclear Cowboyz. We’re doing a brand new production next year – totally different from the past.
Can you give us an update on headquarters relocation plans to Central Florida?
Basically the whole company will make the move over the next three years from Vienna, Va., to our new headquarters in Ellenton. It’s a huge investment and the most extraordinary facility of its kind in the world. We have 150 employees working there, but it will grow to 450 full time employees by 2016. When we’re producing a show, we could have over 1,000 people there building and rehearsing our tours.