Let's posit two categories of theatre. To be dramatic (that's what we do, right?) we'll call the first category "Sit-down-and-shut-up" theatre, meaning theatrical productions in which the au…
It's no accident that ancient and renaissance playwrights were drawn to write plays about heroes and nobles. Not only were they aspirational figures whose lives would be ripe for curiosity b…
This post may skate on the edge of self-promotion, because I am going to be drawing attention to a brief e-book I've co-authored; but I have a good story to tell about how this book is an ex…
I am not a keynote speaker for TCG this year, but if I were, this is what I would say. The Theatre Communication Group national conference this year is called Game Change. As both…
I’m in Kannsas City for a TCG gathering about audience engagement that has sort of morphed into a gathering about working across institutional lines. Now this is a topic I’m thor…
You don't have to program it during the holidays to sell a bunch of easy tickets. That tactic works for lots of companies though, which made me wonder why. With anything as big as A Christma…
The Cleveland Playhouse Board invited me to speak at their board retreat last Saturday. The talk was well received, so I thought I would share the text here. Thank you all for bringing me he…
I keep writing about collaboration between theatre making organizations, but until now, I haven't given a very clear picture of what form that collaboration should take. Here's a stab at it.…
On Saturday the 8th of June, I hosted a session of the Theatre Communications Group Conference in Dallas to prompt discussion of ideas to increase playgoing. It drew a great group of people …
Thesis: The American Theatre Movement has had a tendency to define itself partly by what it is not – distancing itself from community theatre and mere entertainment. This distancing sh…
Thesis: Introducing bold new kinds of productions will require change. Change can be frightening. This post is basically a sermon intended to help beat back the fear. "How do you give In to …
Thesis: Celebrity is one of the strongest social forces in America. Increasingly, though, people are responding to apparently oxymoronic "Narrow fame;" that is, being highly salient for some…
A shade more than two years ago, David Loehr and I met during a gathering at Arena Stage. He encouraged me to do some writing for this web site. Since that time, this is the 20th post I've w…
Thesis: Skills in event creation and performance can be applied to marketing appropriately and effectively. If stunt marketing is selling out, it is selling out in a very classy way. I was i…
Thesis: Holding the idea that artists are different in kind from non-artists may create a barrier that discourages non-artists from attending or engaging with your work. Choosing to believe …
Thesis: You can learn more when you innovate if you adopt a few concepts from the scientific method. In my experience, plenty of people in the American Theatre innovate frequently. Whether t…
Thesis: People with whom you have some relationship are far more likely to attend your work than are total strangers. I am aware of two major movements within marketing over the last century…
Thesis: Your available work time is completely taken up doing things the way you do them now. You have no time to try something new. All these ideas are worthless if you never have time to a…
Thesis: If your productions aren't getting the word-of-mouth support you hope for, you may be able to take action to shape the word-of-mouth. Most companies who survey members to learn why t…
Thesis: Adherents to a hobby define their relationship to a hobby partly through swag " collectibles and ephemera related to their activity. Theatre companies could create swag around their …
Thesis: Members of the public who care about local produce might be good prospects to attend local theatre. At first I thought I should file this idea away until the northern hemisphere spri…
Thesis: Specialty web sites promote hobby awareness and participation. There could be one for playgoers. My two big interests besides playgoing are board gaming and craft beer. Each of these…
Thesis: Opportunities to create strong, face-to-face relationships between audience members and playmakers will encourage future attendance and raise awareness of the value of playgoing. Als…
Thesis: A group of actors, with very little infrastructure, can create audience engaging, artistically satisfying events. The Actors Salon is a group of actors who gather a few times a year …
Thesis: If you produce a show inside a bar, you might find people interested in seeing it in other bars. Example: The Pink Line Project is an endeavor to raise the visibility of the arts in …