Open Forum

Hi! I work as the Performing Arts Lead at a community arts center in Portland, OR (I was hired back in September).​ In addition to performing arts programs (theatre, music, dance), our facility also offers visual arts classes for the Portland community (painting, ceramics, textiles, printmaking, etc.).

In terms of number of course offerings, theatre is arguably the weakest program. We have a "studio theatre" program offered for kids ages 10-17 each term that is wildly popular and fills up quickly (the directors for this course have been doing this program for years, so it has been well-established for awhile). We also have a few Youth Improv courses (ages 4-12) that get decent enrollment, but not much else.

One of my goals is to grow the theatre curriculum and offer more classes of interest for adults in the community (ages 16+). One of my teaching artists has attempted to teach adult theatre courses (Improv and Acting for the 'Non-Actor' have been the most recent attempts) but they have all ended up being cancelled due to low enrollment and lack of interest.

SO. My first attempt since being hired has been offering a Winter Community Production of Almost, Maine. In addition to be listed in the course catalog we release each term, I have tried several different kinds of outreach:

• Posting flyers around the community (community college performing arts facilities, high school theatres, libraries and other community centers, etc.)
• Boosting the program on social media (under the arts center FB page and local Performing Arts/Theatre groups/forums)
• Taking the back page ad space for the fall studio theatre production and having the directors market it at their fall shows

But alas, winter term is approaching next month and I am afraid I will have to cancel/postpone it due to low enrollment.

Does anyone have any creative ideas for successfully marketing a not-yet-established community theatre program? There is a lack of community theatre in the area of Portland where my community center is located, so creating a program that gets our neighborhoods excited and involved in theatre performance is something I am really passionate about. This is my first "arts administration" role, so I am also pretty new at this.

One last thing I'll say is that my arts center is a program of the City Parks & Recreation- so although Almost, Maine was being marketed as a community production (auditions, weekend of performances, etc.), there is a course fee attached to it (about $300, same as the youth studio theatre program). One thought that I have is that the fee might be deterring adults interested in acting in a community production?

Thank you for taking the time to read, happy holidays.

------------------------------
Patrick Browne
Performing Arts Lead
Multnomah Arts Center
Portland, OR
------------------------------

You're doing essential work!

The high school program I run has evolved into a quasi-community theatre program. I run a non-cut program and even allow home-schoolers to participate in our big spring musical and this has yielded numerous benefits (parent volunteers, additional donations and sponsorships, etc.). Here's what I suggest:
1) Determine through market research what the max. ticket price can be (I did this at the high school level so you should have an easier time as a community arts organization).
2) Solicit corporate sponsors to produce a huge, big-time musical with a familiar title, huge cast, and has a broad family appeal (ex: Sound of Music, Hairspray, any Disney show).
3) Advertise that everyone who auditions is in the show in some capacity.
4) Encourage older teens and adults that don't want to perform to come be part of the crew or work as front of house (ushers, concessions, etc.)
5) Have the cast/crew sell advanced tickets and/or advertising in the show's program, and give them an incentive to do so. For example, in my shows, every time a kid brings in $25 in ad sales, he/she earns one comp ticket for family/friends.
6) Blitz the media and your online presence with photos and short clips of rehearsals (licensing and copyright issues may prevent or limit this, so be sure to get permission from the publishing company about what you can do).
7) THIS IS ESSENTIAL!!!! As you rehearse, make sure the director(s) and entire production staff continually emphasize the fun, joy, and community spirit of the process. I can't tell you how many theatre programs (whether educational or avocational) have chased people away due to tyrannical directors/producers with unrealistic expectations. Needless to say, either those monsters, or (sadly) the entire theatre are now defunct.

It may take a year or two.  In less than three years, I was able to take a group of 25 drama club members to a membership of over 120 and have more than quadrupled our annual budget. I now teach six drama classes a day and they are all maxed out. We also offer a two-week summer camp and routinely rent out costumes, props, even our theatre space to other groups.  All of which brings in revenue and increases our presence in the community.

Break A Leg!

------------------------------
Josh Ruben, M. Ed.
Fine Arts Head
Northwest Whitfield HS (dba, The Northwest Theatre Co.)
Tunnel Hill, GA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-29-2017 15:30
From: Patrick Browne
Subject: Ideas for growing a community theatre program?

Hi! I work as the Performing Arts Lead at a community arts center in Portland, OR (I was hired back in September).​ In addition to performing arts programs (theatre, music, dance), our facility also offers visual arts classes for the Portland community (painting, ceramics, textiles, printmaking, etc.).

In terms of number of course offerings, theatre is arguably the weakest program. We have a "studio theatre" program offered for kids ages 10-17 each term that is wildly popular and fills up quickly (the directors for this course have been doing this program for years, so it has been well-established for awhile). We also have a few Youth Improv courses (ages 4-12) that get decent enrollment, but not much else.

One of my goals is to grow the theatre curriculum and offer more classes of interest for adults in the community (ages 16+). One of my teaching artists has attempted to teach adult theatre courses (Improv and Acting for the 'Non-Actor' have been the most recent attempts) but they have all ended up being cancelled due to low enrollment and lack of interest.

SO. My first attempt since being hired has been offering a Winter Community Production of Almost, Maine. In addition to be listed in the course catalog we release each term, I have tried several different kinds of outreach:

• Posting flyers around the community (community college performing arts facilities, high school theatres, libraries and other community centers, etc.)
• Boosting the program on social media (under the arts center FB page and local Performing Arts/Theatre groups/forums)
• Taking the back page ad space for the fall studio theatre production and having the directors market it at their fall shows

But alas, winter term is approaching next month and I am afraid I will have to cancel/postpone it due to low enrollment.

Does anyone have any creative ideas for successfully marketing a not-yet-established community theatre program? There is a lack of community theatre in the area of Portland where my community center is located, so creating a program that gets our neighborhoods excited and involved in theatre performance is something I am really passionate about. This is my first "arts administration" role, so I am also pretty new at this.

One last thing I'll say is that my arts center is a program of the City Parks & Recreation- so although Almost, Maine was being marketed as a community production (auditions, weekend of performances, etc.), there is a course fee attached to it (about $300, same as the youth studio theatre program). One thought that I have is that the fee might be deterring adults interested in acting in a community production?

Thank you for taking the time to read, happy holidays.

------------------------------
Patrick Browne
Performing Arts Lead
Multnomah Arts Center
Portland, OR
------------------------------

These have been the marketing strategies that have consistently yielded the biggest results for me amongst high school and college students.

• Attend high school and college plays. Up until this year, this was our most powerful recruitment method. It's definitely time-consuming though, so you have to be really invested in getting your show off-the-ground for this one. Call around to all of your local high schools and colleges and find out when their next plays/musicals/one-act festivals will be. Buy a ticket and attend the production. During the production, mark an asterisk in the program next to the names of students who you find particularly promising. If you can introduce yourself to the drama teacher (and congratulate them on a job well-done!) afterwards, that's a definite plus. When you get home, write a letter (like an actual hard-copy snail-mail letter) to the drama teacher stating what you liked about the production and specifically shouting-out the students you marked down who did a fantastic job. Include audition flyers/enrollment forms and ask the teacher, via letter, to distribute them to those students and anyone else who might be interested. I don't think we had a single school that didn't pass out our flyers to the students we specified when we sent them along. It's how we were able to get top-tier talent in our productions for years! (And I got to see about a hundred high school plays in the process.)

• Go to PTA meetings. This is another one that can really pay off. Find out when your local schools' PTA (or, even better, Drama Booster Club or Thespian Society) meetings are going to be. You can usually find this out by calling the school or the drama teacher. Ask if you can come in briefly and talk about your program. Make sure to bring flyers with you to pass around to parents/students! This was how we initially drummed up interest at some of the more challenging NYC high schools to break into (i.e. the big-name performing arts schools).

• Use Instagram advertising. This is now my favorite advertising method, but I'm still waiting to see exactly how many applications are submitted via our Instagram link. (Tons of Instagram students have started applications; we'll see how many finish them!) For $1 a day, you can send out an advertisement specifically to folks in your area who are interested in acting. I experimented with Instagram advertising for one week ($7 budget!) and received such fantastic results in terms of applications started and website traffic, that we're now running three Instagram ads at any given time. I highly recommend giving it a shot!

• Contact your local newspaper. When we were working at the regional level, we befriended our local newspapers early on. We sent out press releases and managed to persuade them to write a bunch of articles about us. That went a long way towards increasing our visibility in the community and getting students more interested in auditioning for us. (Not only did we befriend the arts section, which netted us reviews, we also spent a lot of time communicating with the student-written section of the newspaper. Ultimately, that had a way bigger impact on enrollment numbers than any review ever could.)

• Use a referral program. We're just implementing a referral system this year -- so I'll let you know how it works! I've done a lot of research on them though, and they seem like a way to really kick up your enrollment numbers after the official deadline has passed. Go to the students who HAVE enrolled and offer them incentives for getting their talented friends to come onboard. Maybe you offer a $20 course fee deduction for every referral (i.e. every applicant who enrolls and writes down that student's name as the referrer). Or maybe you offer other non-monetary incentives. Who knows? But if your deadline has come and gone, try implementing a referral program before you cancel the production.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions!

------------------------------
Victoria Chatfield
Executive Director
National Theatre for Student Artists
www.nationalstudenttheatre.org
vchatfield@nationalstudenttheatre.org
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-29-2017 15:30
From: Patrick Browne
Subject: Ideas for growing a community theatre program?

Hi! I work as the Performing Arts Lead at a community arts center in Portland, OR (I was hired back in September).​ In addition to performing arts programs (theatre, music, dance), our facility also offers visual arts classes for the Portland community (painting, ceramics, textiles, printmaking, etc.).

In terms of number of course offerings, theatre is arguably the weakest program. We have a "studio theatre" program offered for kids ages 10-17 each term that is wildly popular and fills up quickly (the directors for this course have been doing this program for years, so it has been well-established for awhile). We also have a few Youth Improv courses (ages 4-12) that get decent enrollment, but not much else.

One of my goals is to grow the theatre curriculum and offer more classes of interest for adults in the community (ages 16+). One of my teaching artists has attempted to teach adult theatre courses (Improv and Acting for the 'Non-Actor' have been the most recent attempts) but they have all ended up being cancelled due to low enrollment and lack of interest.

SO. My first attempt since being hired has been offering a Winter Community Production of Almost, Maine. In addition to be listed in the course catalog we release each term, I have tried several different kinds of outreach:

• Posting flyers around the community (community college performing arts facilities, high school theatres, libraries and other community centers, etc.)
• Boosting the program on social media (under the arts center FB page and local Performing Arts/Theatre groups/forums)
• Taking the back page ad space for the fall studio theatre production and having the directors market it at their fall shows

But alas, winter term is approaching next month and I am afraid I will have to cancel/postpone it due to low enrollment.

Does anyone have any creative ideas for successfully marketing a not-yet-established community theatre program? There is a lack of community theatre in the area of Portland where my community center is located, so creating a program that gets our neighborhoods excited and involved in theatre performance is something I am really passionate about. This is my first "arts administration" role, so I am also pretty new at this.

One last thing I'll say is that my arts center is a program of the City Parks & Recreation- so although Almost, Maine was being marketed as a community production (auditions, weekend of performances, etc.), there is a course fee attached to it (about $300, same as the youth studio theatre program). One thought that I have is that the fee might be deterring adults interested in acting in a community production?

Thank you for taking the time to read, happy holidays.

------------------------------
Patrick Browne
Performing Arts Lead
Multnomah Arts Center
Portland, OR
------------------------------

A few years ago I worked at a community theatre that had been growing steadily over thirty years. It was like yours, run by a parks and rec program, and had developed a solid fan and support base.

Fast forward, the managing director (the original one), who was also the artistic director, retired after her thirty years and a new artistic director was hired. Within three years, season subscriptions dropped significantly, donors fell by the wayside, attendance dropped radically, the yearly season dropped from five shows to three, and the theatre was suddenly darn near being run by the park and rec's board of directors (who didn't know anything about theatre) just to keep it afloat. It almost folded.

Why?

Because the new artistic director DID NOT want to understand the audience. She, and the (also new) theatre supervisor wanted to change the programming and present a different type of show than the theatre had been successful with for thirty years. I could go on and on, but basically they both refused to accept that attendance was dropping due to the change in programming. They didn't want to bother doing an audience survey, so the head of the unit at the parks and rec district insisted on doing one, and, sure enough, the results indicated that patrons did not like the current programming and wanted to go back to the old.

But they still didn't want to listen.

Based on this unfortunate experience, the best advice I can offer in terms of growing the program is to understand your audience, listen to your audience, and offer what your audience will buy. You can certainly do a different show here and there as a change, but if you want to put butts in seats you need to understand your audience.

Hope that helps a bit.

------------------------------
George F. Ledo
Set designer
www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
www.georgefledo.net
http://astore.amazon.com/sdtbookstore-20
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-01-2018 13:09
From: Victoria Chatfield
Subject: Ideas for growing a community theatre program?

These have been the marketing strategies that have consistently yielded the biggest results for me amongst high school and college students.

• Attend high school and college plays. Up until this year, this was our most powerful recruitment method. It's definitely time-consuming though, so you have to be really invested in getting your show off-the-ground for this one. Call around to all of your local high schools and colleges and find out when their next plays/musicals/one-act festivals will be. Buy a ticket and attend the production. During the production, mark an asterisk in the program next to the names of students who you find particularly promising. If you can introduce yourself to the drama teacher (and congratulate them on a job well-done!) afterwards, that's a definite plus. When you get home, write a letter (like an actual hard-copy snail-mail letter) to the drama teacher stating what you liked about the production and specifically shouting-out the students you marked down who did a fantastic job. Include audition flyers/enrollment forms and ask the teacher, via letter, to distribute them to those students and anyone else who might be interested. I don't think we had a single school that didn't pass out our flyers to the students we specified when we sent them along. It's how we were able to get top-tier talent in our productions for years! (And I got to see about a hundred high school plays in the process.)

• Go to PTA meetings. This is another one that can really pay off. Find out when your local schools' PTA (or, even better, Drama Booster Club or Thespian Society) meetings are going to be. You can usually find this out by calling the school or the drama teacher. Ask if you can come in briefly and talk about your program. Make sure to bring flyers with you to pass around to parents/students! This was how we initially drummed up interest at some of the more challenging NYC high schools to break into (i.e. the big-name performing arts schools).

• Use Instagram advertising. This is now my favorite advertising method, but I'm still waiting to see exactly how many applications are submitted via our Instagram link. (Tons of Instagram students have started applications; we'll see how many finish them!) For $1 a day, you can send out an advertisement specifically to folks in your area who are interested in acting. I experimented with Instagram advertising for one week ($7 budget!) and received such fantastic results in terms of applications started and website traffic, that we're now running three Instagram ads at any given time. I highly recommend giving it a shot!

• Contact your local newspaper. When we were working at the regional level, we befriended our local newspapers early on. We sent out press releases and managed to persuade them to write a bunch of articles about us. That went a long way towards increasing our visibility in the community and getting students more interested in auditioning for us. (Not only did we befriend the arts section, which netted us reviews, we also spent a lot of time communicating with the student-written section of the newspaper. Ultimately, that had a way bigger impact on enrollment numbers than any review ever could.)

• Use a referral program. We're just implementing a referral system this year -- so I'll let you know how it works! I've done a lot of research on them though, and they seem like a way to really kick up your enrollment numbers after the official deadline has passed. Go to the students who HAVE enrolled and offer them incentives for getting their talented friends to come onboard. Maybe you offer a $20 course fee deduction for every referral (i.e. every applicant who enrolls and writes down that student's name as the referrer). Or maybe you offer other non-monetary incentives. Who knows? But if your deadline has come and gone, try implementing a referral program before you cancel the production.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any questions!

------------------------------
Victoria Chatfield
Executive Director
National Theatre for Student Artists
www.nationalstudenttheatre.org
vchatfield@nationalstudenttheatre.org

Original Message:
Sent: 12-29-2017 15:30
From: Patrick Browne
Subject: Ideas for growing a community theatre program?

Hi! I work as the Performing Arts Lead at a community arts center in Portland, OR (I was hired back in September).​ In addition to performing arts programs (theatre, music, dance), our facility also offers visual arts classes for the Portland community (painting, ceramics, textiles, printmaking, etc.).

In terms of number of course offerings, theatre is arguably the weakest program. We have a "studio theatre" program offered for kids ages 10-17 each term that is wildly popular and fills up quickly (the directors for this course have been doing this program for years, so it has been well-established for awhile). We also have a few Youth Improv courses (ages 4-12) that get decent enrollment, but not much else.

One of my goals is to grow the theatre curriculum and offer more classes of interest for adults in the community (ages 16+). One of my teaching artists has attempted to teach adult theatre courses (Improv and Acting for the 'Non-Actor' have been the most recent attempts) but they have all ended up being cancelled due to low enrollment and lack of interest.

SO. My first attempt since being hired has been offering a Winter Community Production of Almost, Maine. In addition to be listed in the course catalog we release each term, I have tried several different kinds of outreach:

• Posting flyers around the community (community college performing arts facilities, high school theatres, libraries and other community centers, etc.)
• Boosting the program on social media (under the arts center FB page and local Performing Arts/Theatre groups/forums)
• Taking the back page ad space for the fall studio theatre production and having the directors market it at their fall shows

But alas, winter term is approaching next month and I am afraid I will have to cancel/postpone it due to low enrollment.

Does anyone have any creative ideas for successfully marketing a not-yet-established community theatre program? There is a lack of community theatre in the area of Portland where my community center is located, so creating a program that gets our neighborhoods excited and involved in theatre performance is something I am really passionate about. This is my first "arts administration" role, so I am also pretty new at this.

One last thing I'll say is that my arts center is a program of the City Parks & Recreation- so although Almost, Maine was being marketed as a community production (auditions, weekend of performances, etc.), there is a course fee attached to it (about $300, same as the youth studio theatre program). One thought that I have is that the fee might be deterring adults interested in acting in a community production?

Thank you for taking the time to read, happy holidays.

------------------------------
Patrick Browne
Performing Arts Lead
Multnomah Arts Center
Portland, OR
------------------------------

There is a lot of great advice here already. The one thing I would address is the cost to be involved with your production. I think charging people to participate is a significant deterrent. I certainly understand youth programs that offer an educational component charging a fee, but I don't think adults want to pay to be in a play.
Would it be possible to host a small party as a "kick-off" event? Do you have a board of directors who could get people interested? Is there a mailing list you could borrow from other theatres in your area? It would be helpful to find volunteers who can help you market the program.

------------------------------
Rob Duval
Theatre Teacher/Director
'Iolani School
Kaneohe HI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-29-2017 15:30
From: Patrick Browne
Subject: Ideas for growing a community theatre program?

Hi! I work as the Performing Arts Lead at a community arts center in Portland, OR (I was hired back in September).​ In addition to performing arts programs (theatre, music, dance), our facility also offers visual arts classes for the Portland community (painting, ceramics, textiles, printmaking, etc.).

In terms of number of course offerings, theatre is arguably the weakest program. We have a "studio theatre" program offered for kids ages 10-17 each term that is wildly popular and fills up quickly (the directors for this course have been doing this program for years, so it has been well-established for awhile). We also have a few Youth Improv courses (ages 4-12) that get decent enrollment, but not much else.

One of my goals is to grow the theatre curriculum and offer more classes of interest for adults in the community (ages 16+). One of my teaching artists has attempted to teach adult theatre courses (Improv and Acting for the 'Non-Actor' have been the most recent attempts) but they have all ended up being cancelled due to low enrollment and lack of interest.

SO. My first attempt since being hired has been offering a Winter Community Production of Almost, Maine. In addition to be listed in the course catalog we release each term, I have tried several different kinds of outreach:

• Posting flyers around the community (community college performing arts facilities, high school theatres, libraries and other community centers, etc.)
• Boosting the program on social media (under the arts center FB page and local Performing Arts/Theatre groups/forums)
• Taking the back page ad space for the fall studio theatre production and having the directors market it at their fall shows

But alas, winter term is approaching next month and I am afraid I will have to cancel/postpone it due to low enrollment.

Does anyone have any creative ideas for successfully marketing a not-yet-established community theatre program? There is a lack of community theatre in the area of Portland where my community center is located, so creating a program that gets our neighborhoods excited and involved in theatre performance is something I am really passionate about. This is my first "arts administration" role, so I am also pretty new at this.

One last thing I'll say is that my arts center is a program of the City Parks & Recreation- so although Almost, Maine was being marketed as a community production (auditions, weekend of performances, etc.), there is a course fee attached to it (about $300, same as the youth studio theatre program). One thought that I have is that the fee might be deterring adults interested in acting in a community production?

Thank you for taking the time to read, happy holidays.

------------------------------
Patrick Browne
Performing Arts Lead
Multnomah Arts Center
Portland, OR
------------------------------

Agree with Rob. This might be as simple as reframing the course fee as a fundraising goal. Start a crowdfunding campaign online or host a special event. Set a target amount for each of your participating community theatre members and then build the hype -- shouting out cast members who've reached their goals, passing out show shirts as prizes, etc. While this might seem like a precarious way of doing business (because you aren't technically guaranteed any money), I've found that students involved in free programs that I've managed really made an effort with fundraising. We usually raised about $10K per year.

Plus, by the time you ask community theatre members to fundraise, they've already gotten to know each other and have become invested in the production. When they feel ownership of the entire process, they're more likely to work hard to raise money. You might even end up with more money than you initially were aiming for!

------------------------------
Victoria Chatfield
Executive Director
National Theatre for Student Artists
www.nationalstudenttheatre.org
vchatfield@nationalstudenttheatre.org
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-02-2018 14:10
From: Rob Duval
Subject: Ideas for growing a community theatre program?

There is a lot of great advice here already. The one thing I would address is the cost to be involved with your production. I think charging people to participate is a significant deterrent. I certainly understand youth programs that offer an educational component charging a fee, but I don't think adults want to pay to be in a play.
Would it be possible to host a small party as a "kick-off" event? Do you have a board of directors who could get people interested? Is there a mailing list you could borrow from other theatres in your area? It would be helpful to find volunteers who can help you market the program.

------------------------------
Rob Duval
Theatre Teacher/Director
'Iolani School
Kaneohe HI

Original Message:
Sent: 12-29-2017 15:30
From: Patrick Browne
Subject: Ideas for growing a community theatre program?

Hi! I work as the Performing Arts Lead at a community arts center in Portland, OR (I was hired back in September).​ In addition to performing arts programs (theatre, music, dance), our facility also offers visual arts classes for the Portland community (painting, ceramics, textiles, printmaking, etc.).

In terms of number of course offerings, theatre is arguably the weakest program. We have a "studio theatre" program offered for kids ages 10-17 each term that is wildly popular and fills up quickly (the directors for this course have been doing this program for years, so it has been well-established for awhile). We also have a few Youth Improv courses (ages 4-12) that get decent enrollment, but not much else.

One of my goals is to grow the theatre curriculum and offer more classes of interest for adults in the community (ages 16+). One of my teaching artists has attempted to teach adult theatre courses (Improv and Acting for the 'Non-Actor' have been the most recent attempts) but they have all ended up being cancelled due to low enrollment and lack of interest.

SO. My first attempt since being hired has been offering a Winter Community Production of Almost, Maine. In addition to be listed in the course catalog we release each term, I have tried several different kinds of outreach:

• Posting flyers around the community (community college performing arts facilities, high school theatres, libraries and other community centers, etc.)
• Boosting the program on social media (under the arts center FB page and local Performing Arts/Theatre groups/forums)
• Taking the back page ad space for the fall studio theatre production and having the directors market it at their fall shows

But alas, winter term is approaching next month and I am afraid I will have to cancel/postpone it due to low enrollment.

Does anyone have any creative ideas for successfully marketing a not-yet-established community theatre program? There is a lack of community theatre in the area of Portland where my community center is located, so creating a program that gets our neighborhoods excited and involved in theatre performance is something I am really passionate about. This is my first "arts administration" role, so I am also pretty new at this.

One last thing I'll say is that my arts center is a program of the City Parks & Recreation- so although Almost, Maine was being marketed as a community production (auditions, weekend of performances, etc.), there is a course fee attached to it (about $300, same as the youth studio theatre program). One thought that I have is that the fee might be deterring adults interested in acting in a community production?

Thank you for taking the time to read, happy holidays.

------------------------------
Patrick Browne
Performing Arts Lead
Multnomah Arts Center
Portland, OR
------------------------------

​Hi all,

I just wanted to give a huge thank you to everyone who read through my query and offered advice and insight- I really appreciate it. I read through the replies and see a lot of helpful and creative ideas for growing our theatre program. I'm currently printing this thread out, and me and my coordinator are going to review everything that was contributed and brainstorm a game plan for spring term and beyond.


Take care, and break a leg,

------------------------------
Patrick Browne
Performing Arts Lead
Portland OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-02-2018 15:49
From: Victoria Chatfield
Subject: Ideas for growing a community theatre program?

Agree with Rob. This might be as simple as reframing the course fee as a fundraising goal. Start a crowdfunding campaign online or host a special event. Set a target amount for each of your participating community theatre members and then build the hype -- shouting out cast members who've reached their goals, passing out show shirts as prizes, etc. While this might seem like a precarious way of doing business (because you aren't technically guaranteed any money), I've found that students involved in free programs that I've managed really made an effort with fundraising. We usually raised about $10K per year.

Plus, by the time you ask community theatre members to fundraise, they've already gotten to know each other and have become invested in the production. When they feel ownership of the entire process, they're more likely to work hard to raise money. You might even end up with more money than you initially were aiming for!

------------------------------
Victoria Chatfield
Executive Director
National Theatre for Student Artists
www.nationalstudenttheatre.org
vchatfield@nationalstudenttheatre.org

Original Message:
Sent: 01-02-2018 14:10
From: Rob Duval
Subject: Ideas for growing a community theatre program?

There is a lot of great advice here already. The one thing I would address is the cost to be involved with your production. I think charging people to participate is a significant deterrent. I certainly understand youth programs that offer an educational component charging a fee, but I don't think adults want to pay to be in a play.
Would it be possible to host a small party as a "kick-off" event? Do you have a board of directors who could get people interested? Is there a mailing list you could borrow from other theatres in your area? It would be helpful to find volunteers who can help you market the program.

------------------------------
Rob Duval
Theatre Teacher/Director
'Iolani School
Kaneohe HI

Original Message:
Sent: 12-29-2017 15:30
From: Patrick Browne
Subject: Ideas for growing a community theatre program?

Hi! I work as the Performing Arts Lead at a community arts center in Portland, OR (I was hired back in September).​ In addition to performing arts programs (theatre, music, dance), our facility also offers visual arts classes for the Portland community (painting, ceramics, textiles, printmaking, etc.).

In terms of number of course offerings, theatre is arguably the weakest program. We have a "studio theatre" program offered for kids ages 10-17 each term that is wildly popular and fills up quickly (the directors for this course have been doing this program for years, so it has been well-established for awhile). We also have a few Youth Improv courses (ages 4-12) that get decent enrollment, but not much else.

One of my goals is to grow the theatre curriculum and offer more classes of interest for adults in the community (ages 16+). One of my teaching artists has attempted to teach adult theatre courses (Improv and Acting for the 'Non-Actor' have been the most recent attempts) but they have all ended up being cancelled due to low enrollment and lack of interest.

SO. My first attempt since being hired has been offering a Winter Community Production of Almost, Maine. In addition to be listed in the course catalog we release each term, I have tried several different kinds of outreach:

• Posting flyers around the community (community college performing arts facilities, high school theatres, libraries and other community centers, etc.)
• Boosting the program on social media (under the arts center FB page and local Performing Arts/Theatre groups/forums)
• Taking the back page ad space for the fall studio theatre production and having the directors market it at their fall shows

But alas, winter term is approaching next month and I am afraid I will have to cancel/postpone it due to low enrollment.

Does anyone have any creative ideas for successfully marketing a not-yet-established community theatre program? There is a lack of community theatre in the area of Portland where my community center is located, so creating a program that gets our neighborhoods excited and involved in theatre performance is something I am really passionate about. This is my first "arts administration" role, so I am also pretty new at this.

One last thing I'll say is that my arts center is a program of the City Parks & Recreation- so although Almost, Maine was being marketed as a community production (auditions, weekend of performances, etc.), there is a course fee attached to it (about $300, same as the youth studio theatre program). One thought that I have is that the fee might be deterring adults interested in acting in a community production?

Thank you for taking the time to read, happy holidays.

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Patrick Browne
Performing Arts Lead
Multnomah Arts Center
Portland, OR
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