Industry Pro Newsletter: Where are the Audiences?

For all intents and purposes, the performing arts industry is back into the swing of things from a production standpoint - yes, there are still differing protocols in place, there are still risks from the virus, and some organizations are leading the way on institutional reform. But in general, theatres and arts organizations are back to producing seasons in the way that we were used to before the pandemic. However, the audience hasn't returned in the same way. In multiple articles in this week's newsletter, we examine the question from a few different angles - where has the audience gone, and how do producing organizations get them back?

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Industry Trends

Why Interested Visitors Aren't Visiting

Recent survey results from IMPACTS shows new barriers for potential patrons that are interested in a cultural event to actually attending that cultural event. New to the list that is particularly interesting for performance based institutions: cost of travel. This is a strong indicator for our regional readers in particular that there are likely plenty of our readers who are interested in traveling to Broadway, but cost of travel makes them primed for a reminder that there is high quality theatre nearby. Click here to read more...

Stage Managers' Association Announces Del Hughes Award Winners

Andrew Feigin, Bernita Robinson, and Raymond Menard were the honorees of the Del Hughes Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Art of Stage Management. The event will take place in late October, with further details to be announced at a later date. Click here to read more...

Broadway/New York

Audiences Have Been Slow to Return

With attendance dropping as much as 50% pre-pandemic levels, Broadway and other major cultural institutions are struggling to motivate people to come back into the building. The issue is not isolated to New York institutions, as companies across the country grapple with how to re-motivate audiences, and what it might mean for programming in the continued death of the subscription model for ticket sales. Click here to read more...

Meredith Lynsey Schade To Depart HERE

Schade was serving as the Producing Director of the off-off Broadway company, and had been there for the last seven years. The company is now seeking to fill the role of Managing Director by the fall. Click here to read more...

The Performance World Has Been the Slowest to Recover

The creation of new pieces of performance art, and performance opportunities for these new pieces, was decimated during the pandemic - and recovery has consistently lagged behind other areas of the performing arts. Regularly, budgets are exceedingly tight and performance artists are working without understudies, which makes these performances even higher risk to cancellation due to illness. Click here to read more...

CAA and Black Theatre Coalition Launch New Fellowship

The fellowship is designed to help increase the number of agents from historically marginalized communities, with the goal to create a new pipeline into the American theater business. Applications are now open through the end of August. Click here to read more...

Regional

Philadelphia Theatre Company Announces New Artistic Directing Team

Married couple Taibi Mager and Tyler Dobrowsky will take the artistic helm at Philadelphia Theatre Company. Mager is an Obie-Award winning director, and the pair have spent the last ten years as the Associate Artistic Director and Director of New Play Development at Trinity Repertory Company. Click here to read more...

The Full Board at ACT in Seattle Resigned - In Support of a Better Future

After great deliberation, the full board (with the exception of the executive board officers required by law) at A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle resigned their seats so that the the theatre may completely dismantle its current board structure in favor of something more equitable and which more closely aligns with the mission and goals of the institution. Click here to read more...

Gabrielle Randle-Bent Named Associate Artistic Director at Chicago's Court Theatre

A director and dramaturg, in addition to advising on season planning, Randle-Bent will oversee a New Works Development Program. Located on the South Side of Chicago, Court Theatre is the professional theatre of the University of Chicago. Click here to read more...

Megan Sandberg-Zakian Named AD at Boston Playwrights' Theatre

The professional producing arm of Boston University's MFA in Playwriting, Sandberg-Zakian has taken over the role of Artistic Director this week. She replaces Kate Snodgrass who retired this summer after 35 years at Boston University. Click here to read more...

Theatre Horizon Wins Grant for Autism Program

A $25,000 grant from the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation will go to support the theatres in-house autism program, designed to help individuals on the autism spectrum develop their social and verbal expression skills. The program started with 1 student and has grown to serve more than 1,000 in recent years. Click here to read more...

International

As Audiences Return, Their Behavior is Worse Than Ever

Reports from the UK indicate that though audiences are beginning to return to the theatre, their behavior has been particularly bad. Types of reports include fist fights, loud talking during a show (and not in reaction to it), as well as eating full takeaway meals. Click here to read more...

West End Backstage Workers Accept Revised Offer

The offer includes 10% pay rises and other workplace improvements following extensive negotiations between BECTU, which represents the workers, and the Society of London Theatres. Click here to read more...

Missed our last few newsletters?

August 15, 2022 - Policies Diverge Across Regions, Why Theatres Need to Utilize TikTok

The industry is in a weird spot right now, and the stories in this week's newsletter highlight the divergent paths different segments of the industry are going down - first, a story about the necessity of TikTok, as well as a story of the cancellation of The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical Concert at the Royal Albert Hall amidst the recently filed copyright infringement suit against the creators. In another form of copyright infringement, Lin-Manuel Miranda issued a statement on the illegal production of Hamilton. Then, on Broadway The Kite Runner becomes the first show to create a mixed mask policy - with at least one performance per week designated a mask required performance - while the rest of Broadway remains mask optional. But in Washington, DC, the trade group there announced that masks would remain required. As the industry recovers and reforms, we'll continue to see these kinds of divides on the regional level, and we'll bring you coverage of those divides as they happen. Click here to read more...

August 8, 2022 - New Leadership Model at Pennsylvania Shakes, New Auditions at Princeton

Our two Industry Trend stories this week take a look at a few of the different ways that people are trying to bring change to the theatre industry: first in reforming the work environment that has long been problematic, and second, the way Princeton is working on developing a new audition process to help bring more people into theatre in an educational environment. In the wider industry, we have a few more lawsuits, some more leadership transitions, and a look at the struggle to bring more access for disabled patrons to the UK. Click here to read more...

August 1, 2022 - Finding Artistic Rest, Susan Booth Returns to the Goodman

New Diorama Theatre in the UK announced an interesting new season: they won't be producing any shows until 2023. While we have seen a slew of these kinds of announcements for financial reasons as companies reorganize, this was for a different reason. The company wanted to give their artists the opportunity to rest away from the pressures of constantly producing. They also raised funds for it like they would any other productions season, meaning that not only is everyone getting rest - they're being compensated so they can actually rest and dream about the next creative steps for the company. This story stands in contrast to another story in the newsletter today - allegations at Adventure Theatre Company in DC of unsafe work conditions, primarily resulting from an over-scheduled season. How can New Diorama's example be followed to give artists more time and space to be creative? Click here to read more...

BroadwayWorld Resources

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Add Your Show to our Regional Events Calendar

As audiences get set to return to in-person performances, and as your company works to market your own return to the stage, make sure you've got your upcoming shows in our regional events calendars. Listings are free of charge, with boosting options available. Get your show listed now

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