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Part 5: Productions – In Production
Audience Building
By Dale Griffiths Stamos
July 2012
". . . the issue of audience building is essential and often quite challenging." —STAMOS
Now, if you are lucky enough to have a play produced at a theatre with strong marketing and publicity and with a healthy subscription base, well then, you can stop reading and go about your day, because this column is not for you.
However, for the rest of us playwrights (and I’m afraid it’s the majority) that are being produced in small theatres, or who are producing their own plays, the issue of audience building is essential and often quite challenging.
I live in Los Angeles, but I suspect it is similar in many large cities. There are lots of small struggling theatres and we are all competing for that same precious play-going audience. That audience has so many other distractions, television, film, Facebook, tweeting, you name it. So how to make a production stand out?
First, if someone else is producing your work, DO NOT just sit back and pray they will get seats in the seats. Get involved! Find out what press is getting targeted for advance interviews, or are invited to review. If you know someone who might be able to get you an interview or advance article for the play, follow up on that. If you have a large e-mailing list, make sure you get jpgs of all the marketing materials and start sending them out – with personal notes whenever possible. Is the theatre targeting groups that might be interested in the subject matter of your play? If not, why don’t you send such groups an email - inviting them to the show and telling them why it would be of particular interest to them. (I had a play once with a philosophy professor in it - we targeted all the nearby college philosophy departments - quite a few professors did come to the show!) Does the theatre have group sales? If so, approach schools, senior centers, etc, with these offers. Once there are postcards, don’t just send them out - distribute them to every local theatre, school, or business that you have a relationship with. And of course, you want to use social media as much as possible. Update your Facebook page with information about your show opening, then once you have some good reviews, put those reviews up.
"If your writing is strong, you’ll be surprised how many are willing to take on a theatre role that is meaningful to them . . ." —STAMOS
Now, if you are producing yourself, you want to do all of the above, and more. Being in Los Angeles, I always try to have a "name" actor in my cast. Someone who is both an accomplished theatre actor and is also known for film and/or TV work. If you are also in a film town, do not think such actors are out of reach. If your writing is strong, you’ll be surprised how many are willing to take on a theatre role that is meaningful to them, even if the pay is not what they’re used to. Remember, they love craft just like you do!
Also, when producing, you want to offer a variety of ticketing options - full price, group rates, senior and student rates. There are also a number of websites that will do ticketing for you. Many of these include ways to offer a limited number of half price tickets. Aim those for days you feel might be harder to fill. On opening weekend, when word has not spread yet and when reviews are not yet out, work doubly hard. Encourage your actors to use their comps then. Offer a fair amount of 1/2 price tickets. Have an opening night reception to encourage people to attend a "special event." Remember, this is usually the weekend reviewers come, as well, and you certainly don’t want them to be sitting in a half empty house.
". . . playwrights must be willing to work hard at generating audience." —STAMOS
Once there are some good reviews and word of mouth, momentum will start to build. But don’t ever assume audiences magically appear, (even if by the end, they seem to.) In the same way book writers must get out there and market their books, playwrights must be willing to work hard at generating audience.
About the Author
Dale Griffiths Stamos is an award-winning playwright whose work has been produced and published in the United States and abroad. She is on the faculty of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, and has been a guest workshop instructor at Cal Arts. Her newest full length play, One White Crow, had its world premiere this year at Arena Players Repertory Theatre, Long Island, New York. An evening of her one acts entitled Thicker Than Water, starring Barbara Bain, was produced in May at Promenade Playhouse in Santa Monica, CA. For more information on Dale’s work, go to her website at: www.dalegriffithsstamos.com. For information on Dale’s private consulting (all genres), go to: www.manuscriptconsultant.com.
