The Green Room - What motivates you to see a show?

Reply #10 - Mar 10^th, 2008 at 12:25pm

The Dark Knight Ex Member
www.maniccity.tv

Not a lot ofpeople give me comps to their shows, either. Most local theaters are pretty stingy with comps, and a lot of people, like me, can really only comp their immediate families. Irely on comps accrued at the theaters where I work.

http://www.maniccity.tv/

"The power is not in the mask. It's in whether we chose to wear it."
-Peter Blustrinsky

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Reply #11 - Mar 10^th, 2008 at 12:40pm

The Dark Knight Ex Member
www.maniccity.tv

kitchensinger wrote on Mar 10^th, 2008 at 12:39pm:

Quote:

Not a lot ofpeople give me comps to their shows, either. Most local theaters are pretty stingy with comps, and a lot of people, like me, can really only comp their immediate families. Irely on comps accrued at the theaters where I work.

Well then let me offer some SHREWD tips....

1) �Get to know rich arts donors or friends of them. �They have season tickets everywhere but not enough time to see all the shows. �They'll pan the tickets off to ANY willing taker...and the seats are usually AWESOME ones.

2) �Work in a show opposite someone who owns his/her own theatre. �They like their colleagues to come see shows at their own theatre.

She moved to Minnesota.

Done, over and over again.

http://www.maniccity.tv/

"The power is not in the mask. It's in whether we chose to wear it."
-Peter Blustrinsky

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Reply #12 - Mar 10^th, 2008 at 12:44pm

Wc365 Offline
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The Random Element
West Punkt

Posts: 11610

kitchensinger wrote on Mar 10^th, 2008 at 12:39pm:

Quote:

Not a lot ofpeople give me comps to their shows, either. Most local theaters are pretty stingy with comps, and a lot of people, like me, can really only comp their immediate families. Irely on comps accrued at the theaters where I work.

Well then let me offer some SHREWD tips....

1) �Get to know rich arts donors or friends of them. �They have season tickets everywhere but not enough time to see all the shows. �They'll pan the tickets off to ANY willing taker...and the seats are usually AWESOME ones.

2) �Work in a show opposite someone who owns his/her own theatre. �They like their colleagues to come see shows at their own theatre.

A wise person knows things. A shrewd person knows people. Wink

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Reply #13 - Mar 10^th, 2008 at 8:57pm

Rosie Poppins Offline
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Still I'm incandescent
Salt Lake City

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I think supporting a show doesn't always have to be about money. If I talk about the show with friends, even if my review of the show is negative, I'm supporting the theatre here in our community. With all the bad theatre here in Utah, I think it's really important for us (as actors, directors, stage crew, etc.) to support the good. There are fine shows and fine theatre companies and wonderful opportunities all around us. The more we talk up the good, the more awareness is increased and the more good theatre will expand and grow.

I tire of seeing the same old shows on the marqees, so when a new one comes along, I really try to make it out to see it. If I can't, I sure try my hardest to pass along reviews from friends who have. I'm also not shy about broadcasting that I'm involved in theatre. People at work and in my non-theatre social life come to me to ask me for a good show to go see, and I try to recommend the shows that aren't common. I believe that's supporting the theatre, too.

Let me make one thing quite clear: I never explain anything.

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Reply #14 - Mar 10^th, 2008 at 9:09pm

Tshep Offline
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Beebe, Arkansas

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Quote:

luvbeefcakes wrote on Mar 9^th, 2008 at 9:19pm:

Does anything in the world ever change if nobody has an opinion about changing it? �People who lack opinions are not very interesting to converse with. I'm not going to argue with you about "Cabaret" because I haven't seen it yet. �Maybe I won't go see it if it's not worth the time committment. �Words like "mediocre" and "uneven" and total lack of response don't inspire me to rush out to the theatre. �I don't want to go see it and be bored and unimpressed. �I've seen "cabaret" too many times already to see the same old same old. � Undecided

(Emphasis mine. �//Wildcard)

Don't wish to pick on luvbeefcakes, so I won't, but this raises aninteresting point... �suppose there is a show that opens, and you've never heard of it. �Matter of fact, nobody in the area seems to have heard of it, and there's been very little "buzz" and no "leaks" about the production.

So. �Would you go see a show you know nothing about? �Why or why not? �If not, what would somehow compel you to go?

Discuss.

Sure.... but it would expedite my decision if nudity, sexiness and gutter language were involved.

Speaking from first-hand experience.... Utah is a crap market for the new, unconventional and/or buzzless. This is not to say that "this is the place" is the only place largely peopled by feckless and fearful, lemminglike mall-zombies who would rather the tepid familiarity of an Applebee's potato-puck and a Drew Barrymore movie...... but there certainly is more than enough along the Wasatch (and overflowing the cashboxes at the Hale theaters).

They say, best men are moulded out of faults; &&And, for the most, become much more the better &&For being a little bad.

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Reply #15 - Mar 10^th, 2008 at 9:39pm

spiker Offline
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Tshep wrote on Mar 10^th, 2008 at 9:09pm:

Speaking from first-hand experience.... Utah is a crap market for the new, unconventional and/or buzzless. This is not to say that "this is the place" is the only place largely peopled by feckless and fearful, lemminglike mall-zombies who would rather the tepid familiarity of an Applebee's potato-puck and a Drew Barrymore movie...... but there certainly is more than enough along the Wasatch (and overflowing the cashboxes at the Hale theaters).

Thank god for Jerry Rapier. A man who knows how to find, develop and market new works.

"...there are more people alive now than have died in all of human history. �In other words, if everyone wanted to play Hamlet at once, they couldn't, because there aren't enough skulls!"

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Reply #16 - Mar 10^th, 2008 at 10:04pm

Tshep Offline
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Beebe, Arkansas

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spiker wrote on Mar 10^th, 2008 at 9:39pm:

Tshep wrote on Mar 10^th, 2008 at 9:09pm:

Speaking from first-hand experience.... Utah is a crap market for the new, unconventional and/or buzzless. This is not to say that "this is the place" is the only place largely peopled by feckless and fearful, lemminglike mall-zombies who would rather the tepid familiarity of an Applebee's potato-puck and a Drew Barrymore movie...... but there certainly is more than enough along the Wasatch (and overflowing the cashboxes at the Hale theaters).

Thank god for Jerry Rapier. �A man who knows how to find, develop and market new works.

To a well outside the mainstream, niche-demographic.

They say, best men are moulded out of faults; &&And, for the most, become much more the better &&For being a little bad.

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Reply #17 - Mar 10^th, 2008 at 11:13pm

mr. spiker Offline
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Eagle Mountain, UT

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Tshep wrote on Mar 10^th, 2008 at 10:04pm:

To a well outside the mainstream, niche-demographic.

Because, obviously, finding and marketing to an audience for the "new and unconventional" is a problem. You should simply build it and expect "the lemmings" to come.

Come on, Crunchy. This ain't the Field Of Dreams.

"Buzzless" theatre is theatre that's not being marketed well. In Wildcard's theoretical question here, of course you wouldn't see a show you knew nothing about. Nobody would, because .... well, because they didn't know about it.

I think SLAC and Plan-B and Tooth And Nail (in it's time) show there is the potential for "edgy" theatre here, but you can't expect that simply making a good play will get people to come - and that's just as true in New York and Chicago. This is a business, and a product that needs to be sold. You identify your market and then sell to it. Marketing the new and unfamiliar is a bigger challenge, but it's not insurmountable.

http://www.fiftytwoplays.com

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Reply #18 - Mar 10^th, 2008 at 11:47pm

kitchensinger Offline
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mr. spiker wrote on Mar 10^th, 2008 at 11:13pm:

Tshep wrote on Mar 10^th, 2008 at 10:04pm:

To a well outside the mainstream, niche-demographic.

Because, obviously, finding and marketing to an audience for the "new and unconventional" is a problem. You should simply build it and expect "the lemmings" to come.

Come on, Crunchy. This ain't the Field Of Dreams.

"Buzzless" theatre is theatre that's not being marketed well. In Wildcard's theoretical question here, of course you wouldn't see a show you knew nothing about. Nobody would, because .... well, because they didn't know about it.

I think SLAC and Plan-B and Tooth And Nail (in it's time) show there is the potential for "edgy" theatre here, but you can't expect that simply making a good play will get people to come - and that's just as true in New York and Chicago. This is a business, and a product that needs to be sold. You identify your market and then sell to it. Marketing the new and unfamiliar is a bigger challenge, but it's not insurmountable.

Sometimes I wonder if it IS insurmountable, though. �I think that's why you see the same shows over and over...and "new-old" sells. �It's so tough to carve out a new niche when it comes to the arts. �The more sophisticated stuff just doesn't seem to be in demand. �Why is it that Utah Symphony and Opera can sell-out the Capital Theatre for heavy rep operas, but when a new start-up company puts on lighter, more crowd-pleasing operas, no one comes? �They're using the same media channels...radio, print, TV news press releases. �There's DEFINITELY a barrier to entry when it comes to new rep AND new companies. �I think that if theatres want to specialize in more obscure, unknown stuff, they're going to have to do some serious creative marketing.

One idea I have is for a company that wants to specialize in lesser-known stuff to somehow do a "merger" with a more established company with a solid market base. �Kind-of like a "branding" if you will. �This way the market from the established parent company can feed into the company with newer rep. �They could share marketing, and even offer both theatres on season ticket sales, for example.

I just don't think the normal media channels are enough. �The only market right now for new rep is performers who can appreciate the stuff. �And that's no good cuz we all go for comp tickets.

"I have noticed that nothing I never said ever did me any harm."--Calvin Coolidge&&&&"Some families go water skiing together; others go camping.....our family does THEME PARTIES." --my brother Ben

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Reply #19 - Mar 11^th, 2008 at 8:24am

Tshep Offline
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It made me feel sad, and
just a little bit dirty.
Beebe, Arkansas

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mr. spiker wrote on Mar 10^th, 2008 at 11:13pm:

Tshep wrote on Mar 10^th, 2008 at 10:04pm:

To a well outside the mainstream, niche-demographic.

Because, obviously, finding and marketing to an audience for the "new and unconventional" is a problem. You should simply build it and expect "the lemmings" to come.

Come on, Crunchy. This ain't the Field Of Dreams.

You misunderstand.... Identifying and effectively targeting a niche market is a commendable thing. However, what Jerry has been able to do has relied on his theater's embrace of the outsider demographic and not mass-market appeal. I reckon that many of Plan-B's audience attends simply out of loyalty and affection for Plan-B.... this in mind, then new, unconventional and buzzless are really less of a hindrance.

I sat on the board of a theater co called MadLab (http://www.madlab.net) in Columbus a few years back. They had a somewhat similar beginning. Small ensemble/cooperative producing new, nontraditional and avant garde work. They have achieved a pretty firm footing in a glutted theater market by zeroing in on a concise audience demo and avoiding the trap of mainstream sales. Their audience came (and still come) because they have an appreciation for what MadLab does and stands for.... this small audience's devotion and excitement attracted press and donor attention. They have grown substantially (as has Plan-B), but neither organization will be able to mainstream their appeal without gearing their programming toward more populist product.

But, like I say above, what both have done is commendable. �

Quote:

"Buzzless" theatre is theatre that's not being marketed well. In Wildcard's theoretical question here, of course you wouldn't see a show you knew nothing about. Nobody would, because .... well, because they didn't know about it.

See above.

Quote:

I think SLAC and Plan-B and Tooth And Nail (in it's time) show there is the potential for "edgy" theatre here, but you can't expect that simply making a good play will get people to come - and that's just as true in New York and Chicago. This is a business, and a product that needs to be sold. You identify your market and then sell to it. Marketing the new and unfamiliar is a bigger challenge, but it's not insurmountable.

As I noted above..... selling an organization is quite a bit different than selling a show.

They say, best men are moulded out of faults; &&And, for the most, become much more the better &&For being a little bad.

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