Open Forum

Hello fellow artists!   If you were going to make a pamphlet or other marketing materials for your classes  (ie acting classes and tech)  what would you put?  What are major perks of taking theater classes?  

thanks for all the input :) 

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Chad Taylor
Drama Teacher
Kentwood High School
WA
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You may want to look around at current advertising trends. Once upon a time, ads were about product features, later they changed to product benefits, and nowadays they're mostly about lifestyle: "If you buy this Rolex, you too can go on a cruise on the Riviera." Apparently that's what works nowadays. 

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George F. Ledo
Set designer
www.setdesignandtech.wordpress.com
www.georgefledo.net
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I'm working on this as well. Are you marketing to students or parents? That affects my selling points and handout designs. For students, make sure to ask current students the best parts of taking theater!

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Laura Butchy
BASIS Independent McLean
VA
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Original Message:
Sent: 3/1/2023 9:20:00 AM
From: Myndee Washington
Subject: RE: Marketing your Theater/Tech class

I would include transferable skills, or match skills taught in theatre to 21^st century skills.

Myndee Fleury Washington

Civics & Drama Teacher

Electives Team Leader

Union Park Charter Academy

She/Her

Probably the most useful thing I've done is survey alumni to see how taking my classes have benefited them in college and the working world, what their majors were and what their current fields are, then I used those statistics on a flyer that lives on my class websites. A couple years ago, I had students record video testimonials then used them to create marketing videos (I have one for tech and one for acting); and most recently I focused on the social emotional benefits of theatre: self confidence, quick thinking, supportive environment, etc. 

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Kaila Schwartz
Theatre Arts, Director
Milpitas High School
CA
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I suggest that you download the TIOS zipped file celebrating Theatre in Our Schools month and look through the graphics.  I wish there weren't so many that date to 2012, but there are some surveys, etc., that are more recent.  Data appeals to some parents who don't understand the vast benefits of theatre study and work to the student.  Being able to list a source of data gives legitimacy to assertions.

You might also ask seniors to give a short quote about the positive impact of school theatre on their lives.  A list of one-sentence quotes (without names) from the Class of 2023 could be persuasive to both students and their parents.       

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CJ Breland
Retired Theatre Arts Educator
NC
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My website (which I need to update) is svgstheatre.weebly.com. You might be interested in the Why Study the Arts and Humanities and the Alumni Spotlight under the "more" tab. Our Instagram is svgs.theatre.

Here's the one-sheet flyer I made to hand out to elementary and middle school students and school board members.

I also recently had to do a huge marketing project for my graduate theatre management class, so let me know if you're interested in seeing any of that.

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Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
Theatre Department Coordinator
Shenandoah Valley Governor's School
VA
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