Throughout this process, I have talked a lot about how you can create theatre from the back end but haven’t done much as far as talking about why we do what we do. We are looking to entertain, but there is so much more depth to theatre than that, that includes hundreds of hours, so it’s only natural that after plugging in a collective thousands of hours that you would want the show to be successful. While marketing pushes and raffle draws are the best way to entice people to see a show, the most important way to ensure your run will be worth your efforts is simply by word of mouth. Here’s some ways to support theatre.
- Go to theatre
Okay, this one might feel pretty obvious, but it is such an important message to get out to the people in your community. If you are not involved in a production in your hometown, you should attend. See the show on an early night so that it gives you plenty of time to digest the information you’ve taken in and then you can boogie on down to step 2.
- Tell your friends
Obviously, in the theatre world, we look for our audience to be two things. First, we want our audience to be entertained. Almost goes without saying. More importantly however, we want our audience to be stimulated. We want the audience to walk away thinking about the actions of the characters, rather than the actions of the performers. Once you have done this, tell everyone you know about it. Talk about it at work, in your social circles, in any clubs you attend, or anywhere you go really. This helps the theatre world out in ways that are difficult to quantify. This is the best way to support local theatre.
- Engage with people involved.
This is also a very helpful way to support theatre, as it does encourage both performers and entice audience members. If you have a friend who is in local theatre, I can guarantee that they want to engage with you about what they do but are a little worried that they might annoy you with musical theatre talk. Ask about these productions, talk to people about what they are doing, and it will inevitably increase performance quality. If someone knows you’re in the audience and that you are excited and are going to actively engage with the material, it will inevitably lead to better performances, which will lead to step 2 occurring. It’s all cyclical.
This past two weekends, I have supported theatre in two different capacities. Two weekends ago, I drove to Lethbridge to attend Lethbridge Musical Theatre’s production of 9 to 5 The Musical. When I was done seeing the show, I talked about it a lot with people. I engaged with the local community in Cranbrook about it, and potentially garnered interest in their show. I was also making sure to actively participate in clapping and cheering, and even gave standing ovations to the cast during their bows, because this will inevitably lead to higher morale for the performers, and a better show. This is my favourite part of supporting theatre. Making sure that I have done as much as I can to show the performers that I appreciate all the hard work they have put into a show. The weekend after, I drove to Calgary to see a performance of Jesus Christ Superstar being put on by Broadway Across Canada. This is not community theatre; however it is relatable to the musical world. The more people we can get out to Broadway tours, the more interest people will have in local theatre. For example, if 5 years ago, you saw a Broadway tour of Chicago and loved it and then found out that your local theatre troupe was also putting it on, you might just be the first person in line to buy tickets. The Broadway Across Canada show was of an extremely high quality and I made sure to tell everyone I know about how excellent it was and hopefully people in my community will start mulling over the idea of supporting theatre in multiple capacities.
While performers put in thousands of hours to create a production, the most important person in any production is YOU, and you can do it in just a couple of hours.