Follow Friday: 19 March 2010

It’s Friday. These are stories we’ve been following this week. We’re taking the pulse of the #2amt folk–and in some cases, raising those pulses…

And here’s a thought. There’s been a lot of talk about transparency and process, we need to introduce audiences to our process, let them see. A window is transparent, but a door is open. Maybe we should be the door in some small way. Like, for example, storytelling…

Simon Ogden reads the HIVE mind.
What do you think of when you hear the word “theatre?” It might not be the same as your average theatregoer, let alone your ideal audience member. How do we define ourselves? How do we redefine ourselves? Are you part of the Red Curtain crowd? There’s nothing wrong with it, but that’s only one type of theatre. So why do most people see red curtains and the comedy/tragedy masks when they think of theatre? How do we electrify them? Simon Ogden shows us the HIVE festival in Vancouver and makes us wish we were there. (And the weather’s beautiful.)

Theresa Rebeck on the gender problem.
Coming back to diversity for a moment, here is the full text of Theresa Rebeck’s Laura Pels Keynote address for an event hosted by the Alliance of Residence Theatres/New York this week. She challenges the theatre community to acknowledge the gender problem and to address it. If you read nothing else in this post this week, you need to read this.

Travis Bedard on finding words.
This post might exist just to make Don Hall’s head pound. But it might help you see some of the disconnects in terminology, in explanation, in showing and not telling. How do we communicate why we do what we do, why we love this work, why we think you as an audience might enjoy seeing us work? Maybe the key isn’t in high-falutin’ language or literary theory. Maybe we need to be open and straightforward about it. Maybe we just say, here’s a story, I think you’re going to like it. Or here’s a show that’ll blow your mind.

Adam Thurman on what works.
After our Outrageous Fortune post the other day and the Twitter conversation between @TCG and Carlo Scandiuzzi of ACT in Seattle on Wednesday, Adam Thurman’s post strikes a particular chord. Stop complaining about what doesn’t work. Find what works and make it work for you. Simple as that.

Jonathan Fields on exercising new ideas.
Scandiuzzi noted that the primary models for ACT’s new pricing and structure are gym membership plans and Netflix. Essentially, for $25 a month, you can go to anything at ACT at any time. What they’ve created is “theatre on demand.” In this post, Jonathan Fields walks us through how this kind of plan might work, and how to keep it from becoming a crutch instead of a long-term solution.

Ciara Pressler on staying outside the box.
When you left school, did you think you’d stop learning? And did you actually stop? If so, why? Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is to step outside of your tried and true and take a good look around. You might find new ideas there. You might even find the old ones aren’t working as well as you’d thought. On the Fractured Atlas blog, Ciara Pressler has a few ideas about that.

Dan Granata on running the asylum.
This post continues a conversation that began here at the 2am site with Eric Ziegenhagen’s post on where people are when they’re not at the theatre. Dan Granata makes his way through the crazy people in the room and listens to the audience.

Gus Schulenburg on engagements.
Okay, so you’ve got it. You need to engage your audiences, listen to them. Next question. How do you do that? Gus Schulenburg points out three good examples of how best to engage your audience, both the current one and potential new ones. (Full disclosure and potential feedback loop, he does highlight our 360 Storytelling concept.)

Dennis Baker on finding your balance.
And balancing your delusions, perhaps? He’s not delusional, he’s an entrepreneur, as inspired by this cartoon. We all are in some sense, and it’s vital to find that balance between life and art. Dennis shares how he’s done that so far, and wonders if this is the right balance. As Stoppard said, “Happiness is equilibrium. Shift your weight.” And keep shifting.