Running Your Theater: New members of theatre and audience

New members of theatre and audience

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Theater Administration
Forum Name: Running Your Theater
Forum Discription: General questions about how to make it work
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4882
Printed Date: 4/29/24 at 1:27am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: New members of theatre and audience

Posted By: ianhornby
Subject: New members of theatre and audience
Date Posted: 11/26/10 at 6:00am

We've the same problem as most, I guess: falling audience numbers and membership. Community theatre doesn't seem to have much street cred atm, so younger members are not joining the older groups and the audiences are older. (As my wife cynically says, "kids today aren't interested in anything they don't have to plug in.")

We always make an announcement during the show to tell friends, that we need new members and so on, and we always have leaflets available at the door.

I had an idea some time back that we would run a free quiz each show for a bottle of wine - five fairly simple quiz questions on a sheet of paper given out at the start of the interval and collected before the show restarts, so no disruption to the show itself. We only give one bottle over the run of the play so anyone wanting to win it (and the questions are at a level where everyone should be able to answer) has to leave contact details to be notified if they win.

Consequently we have an expanding database of audiences and we mail them as each show's tickets go on sale.

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I demand a second opinion

Replies:

Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 11/26/10 at 10:40am

Originally posted by ianhornby

We've the same problem as most, I guess: falling audience numbers and membership. Community theatre doesn't seem to have much street cred atm, so younger members are not joining the older groups and the audiences are older.

I'm coming to the conclusion that if you do shows that have a lot of kids or young adults in them (the more the better) that demographic will show up.

Otherwise you're facing an uphill battle.

I keep getting complaints that we're not doing enough shows that appeal to twenty/thirty somethings but when we do small, recent plays like that they don't draw an audience.

Posted By: ianhornby
Date Posted: 11/26/10 at 10:47am

I know what you mean by drawing an audience to recent plays - as a relatively unknown playwright it's difficult to find too many theatres who are prepared to give you a chance when they usually opt for the safety of Agatha Christie, Bill Shakespeare, Alan Bennett et al. Still, we have to keep trying otherwise tehatre will stagnate under the weight of safe 1950s domenstic dramas and farces!

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I demand a second opinion