I run a small business, a coffee shop close to downtown. We’ve always been open twenty-four hours for those who just can’t sleep, and we just opened a breakfast joint upstairs for those who want to get a bite after a night up. Right now, we’re popular with the local college kids and neighborhood regulars, but I’d like to see a more diverse clientele. My advertising budget isn’t huge, but if I want people to know about us, I need to invest in something. That’s why I decided to have some promotional stickers printed up.
To be honest, I didn’t realize how popular the custom stickers would be at first. I chose to go with vinyl bumper stickers since that was what I was familiar with. One of my regulars, who happens to be a freelance graphic designer, offered to help create a logo for me—he uses my place as his office most days, so it’s in his best interest this place stays in business—and a couple of my other regulars helped choose which sticker design was the best.
One of the baristas suggested that I try and sell the stickers instead of just giving them away. So, I did that. And, much to my surprise, folks bought them! I had customers paying me so that they could advertise my business. That’s not a bad deal.
With the money I made back from selling the bumper stickers, I had a few more designs drawn up. I had vinyl stickers created in a couple of other sizes and shapes. A lot of my patrons are into the whole “green” thing, so they wanted stickers for their bikes and skateboards. Since I try to keep my shop popular with the environmentally friendly crowd, I didn’t mind accommodating them at all.
Now from time to time I see a bike locked up at the grocery store or in front of the library with a custom printed sticker from my collection.
I really feel like my business is getting great exposure with these custom stickers. While I can’t tell how many new folks have come in because of them, I can tell you, I’ve started to see a lot of new faces since they went into circulation.
Because the promotional stickers were so popular, I decided to have some smaller, economy stickers printed up with a mini-version of the logo. I use those as labels now on our bags of roasted coffee beans and ground coffee. Sometimes I give one back with change to a new customer, so she’ll remember to come back to the shop the next time she’s in the area.
I’m glad I chose to invest in custom stickers for my business.
When you are planning a dynamic, low cost marketing campaign for your business or cause, consider printing custom stickers. For promotions, custom stickers meet an essential need. At their most basic, through images and text, they convey information about your event or service to your current patrons and potential ones.
But, that’s not the only purpose they serve. While they might seem very simple, stickers can embody the creative spirit of your cause containing images and text that define your organization. Once stuck, vinyl and economy stickers can either remain fixed or, as bumper stickers, might become part of a mobile marketing campaign, gaining exposure for your cause.
Custom stickers are a great gift, give-away or offering for your patrons. A well-designed sticker can be sought after by your loyal fans who serve as volunteer vehicles for your marketing campaign. Whether you choose to sell them to your patrons or give them away as a promotional item, stickers are a point of engagement for your patrons that allow them to feel as if they have an investment in your organization or cause.
Effective Custom Stickers
Effective stickers are well designed. Whether they are printed with your business name or band’s logo, custom stickers are promotional materials that convey information about your cause and they are also a product of your organization, which you can either give away as gifts to your patrons or sell to recoup the cost of printing.
Because they function both as a marketing material and a product, it’s important that your custom stickers are effectively designed. You want to your patrons and fans to want to sport them on their car or the back of their laptop, so you should make sure they’re cool.
Professionally printed stickers can come in a number of varieties and styles. Economy stickers are low cost solutions that allow you to create different sizes perfect for labels, product inserts and give-aways. Vinyl stickers are durable and waterproof and can be printed in different sizes or as bumper stickers. When you design your stickers, you can choose to use logos you have created or choose from predesigned images to provide a background for your message. Pay careful attention to your copy. Make sure it stands out and conveys your cause’s brand, whether it’s quirky, funny, artistic, or straightforward.
Ready, Set, Stick
Once your custom stickers have been designed and printed, you’ll need to decide whether you’ll sell them to your patrons or give them away. In either case, your newly minted stickers will become part of a unique mobile marketing campaign. You never know just where you’ll see your logo show up.
A “voluntary” sticker campaign garners you the same kind of exposure you might pay for when you rent billboard space or take out an ad in a paper. Your logo will constantly be on the move, finding its way around town and beyond.
How many times has your organization found itself in need of fundraising? When your operating budget is simply more than you are bringing in or you want to make sure there will be money for next year’s initiatives, you may consider hosting an event to bring in a much needed cash infusion. An event paired with an auction or raffle can be a great way to have fun, rally your stakeholders, raise awareness, and fill your coffers. Event collateral including tickets and custom printed wristbands are essential for this type of fundraising.
Get them at the door
You’ve planned a big event. Your campaign was successful, and you expect a lot of guests. Whether you are hosting a charity gala, auction, dinner or concert, you can manage your attendees with event wristbands. Make sure to slip a Dupont Tyvek wristband around the wrists of your invited or paying folks as they enter your venue.
These wristbands will help to keep your event secure, by indicating in an easily identifiable way that individuals are supposed to be there. If you are serving alcohol at your event, colored wristbands will also help you serve the right folks. You’ll have one less thing to worry about and can focus even more on your cause.
For an event open to the public, you might consider placing special wristbands on individuals who have donated to your cause or charity. Different colored wristbands or ones with varying designs can indicate different levels of donors. Individuals at the event will be inspired to donate, and hopefully donate more, when they see others wearing these event wristbands.
Have a Wristband Raffle
Consider generating an even bigger buzz around your fundraiser with a wristband raffle. If all of your guests received event wristbands, you can hand out door prizes or have a raffle as part of the big event.
You might consider upping the ante and making the raffle itself the main event! You can easily sell wristbands as raffle tickets. Your attendees will be able to show off the fact that they donated to your cause, and they will have a chance to win a big prize, too.
Securely numbered wristbands are an excellent choice for this purpose because they remain with the wearer. They are non-transferable. The winner needs only to show up and show off his or her wrist to claim the prize.
Durable and resilient, Tyvek wristbands can be printed on, so you can also show off the logo and information of your charity. Because they are wearing the wristband, your guests will be exposed to the branding of your organization throughout the event, making it something they won’t soon forget.
Win with Wristbands
Make event wristbands a central part of your fundraising event. From crowd management to event security, getting your organization’s brand in front of your guests, to being a central part of the event itself, custom printed wristbands help to ensure the success of your next big fundraiser.
It was a great night! The show was sold out, and I could tell the crowd was really into it. The club had a nice mix of diehard fans, who mouthed the words to the songs as the band belted out its tunes, and newcomers brought along by friends who couldn’t stop talking about the venue: good atmosphere, good music, cheap drinks. It was the kind of night where the energy surrounding the event was real. It was the kind of night that lands us in the black. And, as a promoter, I want every night to be that way.
How do I make that happen? I work hard to ensure guests really do enjoy themselves, so they develop some loyalty to the place. If they feel like they have a stake in it and its success, they’ll keep coming back. Lately, I’ve been printing custom stickers for the club and for the bands that come through. Event stickers are a nice take-away for patrons who might not want to shell out the cash for a T-shirt or CD. Give them a free vinyl sticker with our club logo on it, and they’re more than happy to take it.
Every once in a while, I see one of those custom printed stickers when I’m out running errands around town. I might be at a local coffee shop. I look up from my cup of Joe, and there’s a sticker with my club’s logo affixed to someone’s laptop or backpack.
About a month ago, I ordered custom bumper stickers. I’m starting to see them now on cars around town! Since that takes some commitment, I can only assume that folks think our club or its logo, at the very least, is awesome. I can’t help but think about all the free advertising we get as those bumper stickers roll through the city.
Along with printing custom stickers for the club, I have them made up for some of the bands that we book. It’s not expensive, and they appreciate it. Since I’m already preparing promotional materials, I can easily use their logos, and have their own stickers created. They can hand these out to guests as their shows to help promote their music.
I plan on keeping custom stickers in my line up of proven promotional materials. In the future, I hope every night is as energetic, crowded and fun as this last one and that I see more of those vinyl stickers around town as time goes on.
Whether you’ve just left the sunny days of summer behind or the season is just around the corner, any time of year is a great time to put your picnic planning hat on! Family reunions, neighborhood get-to-know-yous, and big fundraisers for your favorite causes go perfectly against the backdrop of sunshine and comfort food.
With a little preparation and dedication, your picnic party will be a success. From picking the right venue, choosing a catering company, auditioning entertainment, managing transportation and crowd control, you’ve got some big decisions to make. Consider using event wristbands to help keep things simple.
If you’re expecting a large number of folks, charging for food or serving alcoholic drinks, you should consider managing your guests with Dupont Tyvek wristbands. These helpful accessories are great for single or multiple day events and make it easy for anyone working or volunteering to help manage the crowd. Instead of worrying whether the young guy by the concession booth should really be drinking that beer or if that unfamiliar looking group of folks chowing down on potato salad under the food tent really paid the admission fee, you can relax, knowing that everyone is right where they belong.
With event wristbands, you’ll be able to maintain the integrity of the event, ensuring everyone has fun in the sun! If you’re hosting a company picnic or family reunion, wristbands can help you easily identify members of your party when you throw your event at a venue open to the general public.
Get Active and Enjoy the Weather
Are you planning some activities at your picnic event? Perhaps a little three-legged race or game of volleyball? Everyone wants to join in on the fun. With event wristbands, guests can have a great time without worrying they’ll lose their proof of admission.
Tyvek wristbands fit snuggly around attendees’ wrists. They are made of a durable material that feels a little like paper and a little like plastic. They’re waterproof as well, so if you’re planning a beach or poolside picnic, wristbands are an excellent choice.
Whether you’re having an egg relay, a game of four-square or playing some softball after lunch, encourage your guests to join in! Their event wristbands will stay put, until they decide to take them off at the end of the day.
Splurging on a new dress is ultimately less satisfying than putting the same cash down on a pair of theater tickets. A new MP3 player is nice for listening to your favorite band on, but can it really represent the same memories as the event wristband you received when you actually saw your favorite music group in concert? You get the idea. It’s something to think about when you plan your next event.
Side with the Science
The economy may be in the doldrums, but if you’re in the event business, according to the research, you’re in a better position than your retail counterparts to give your audience members more satisfaction for their dollars. Take heart! With every ticket and Tyvek wristband you print and sell, you begin the process of creating something lasting. And each successful event is an investment in repeat business.
Give Them Something for Their Money
Not only are you planning and promoting an event, you’re selling experiences and memories to your attendees.
Human beings are nostalgic by nature. Your promotional materials can quickly become souvenirs, eliciting the good times had long after the show is over. Flyers and posters may grace your attendees’ wall. A ticket may find its way into a scrapbook. A custom wristband, worn for the duration of the event, may grace your guests’ arms in the days to come.
Make those Memories Last
When the show is over, and the venue is quiet, its lights dim, the band and crowd long gone, make sure the memories aren’t.
Quality, customized collateral can continue to do its job even after your super group has flown the coop.
Take Tyvek wristbands for instance. Manufactured by DuPont™, they’re flexible, durable, practical and decorative. Somewhere between paper and plastic, event wristbands made from this material are waterproof and strong, so they’ll last the length of the show and beyond.
They’re also perfect for printing on. This is essential when you’re in the business of memories. Make sure to choose a logo or text that’s sure to stick out in your attendees’ minds. Whether you take this space to promote the entertainment, your sponsors or your organization, remember it will be attached to your guests’ bodies for the duration of the show.
These event wristbands become as much a part of their memories as that awesome drum solo halfway in or when the guitarist broke a string and kept rocking out anyway! By branding your wristbands and placing them so prominently, you’re putting yourself in position to become tied to all the great memories made during your event.
Everybody Wins
When guests purchase tickets and wristbands to get into your venue, they’re purchasing memories. When you customize event wristbands with your own branding, you’re purchasing a cherished place within those memories.
How do you sell event tickets? Most theaters have their own box office, with set hours when patrons can come and purchase seats to upcoming performances. But what if you’re not a theater? What if you only hold one or two events a year? Sometimes, companies will let your organization sell its own tickets out of their box office, even if you’re not affiliated with the theater or selling tickets for a show. Or, you might have a team of dedicated sales professionals, or dedicated sales volunteers, or an office manager who can deal with the numbers. But there are other options.
Increasingly, we live in a twenty-four hour society, and increasingly, our patrons find that they’d rather deal with a computer on their own terms than have to go out and wait in line, or even on the telephone, to speak to a real human being. If I can spend two minutes on the Internet and save twenty minutes of my life, I’ll chose ecommerce every time.
There are a few options for those who want to help their guests and supporters purchase tickets on their own schedules, at their own convenience, online.
Hire a web designer to build the perfect checkout for your website, allowing customers to purchase tickets to your event right from your homepage. You’ll get exactly what you want, and make it easy for your guests to check out, but this is an expensive option, and may take some time to develop.
Build a virtual store using a site such as Shopify.com, Flyingcart.com, or Highwire.com. These sites allow you to add events, collect payment, and track sales. However, you will have to spend some time setting them up, and maintaining them can be costly. There may be monthly fees, or a cost for adding new items for purchase.
Use an online ticket sales site, such as Ticket River, where you can create a page for your event in a minute or two and start selling event tickets immediately. You’ll be able to accept all major credit cards, plus PayPal payments, and it won’t cost you anything!
The online ticket sales site is really your best value. You don’t have to host anything, or pay for anything. You’ll never lose money if sales are down. At Ticket River, the only cost is a 3% service charge added to each transaction, pretty much the lowest surcharge in the industry. Compare that to a markup that could exceed 58% from a company like TicketMaster! Most customers don’t mind paying a tiny fee for the convenience of doing business on their own terms (e.g. at 3 a.m. in pajamas and bunny slippers).
Creating a page for your event helps you sell more tickets, since it’s easy to paste the URL wherever you think people might be interested to know about your event. Customize your event page with a photograph and all the details about your event and your organization and put that page to work for you.
Once you start selling event tickets, a good online ticket sales site, such as Ticket River, will collect names and addresses for your mailing list and even help you track sales by generating charts and graphs! You’ll be able to sell e-tickets, which can be printed out at home, or you can send paper tickets out through the mail, or hold tickets at will call. Whatever makes sense to you: selling tickets through an online ticket sales website is a flexible way to create the sales you want.
When you shell out extra money to purchase event tickets to private receptions, you want get your money’s worth. Even if you’ve been given a free ticket, don’t waste it! Large conferences or conventions provide the opportunity to network with others in your industry, and you’re usually scrambling to meet with many people in a few days’ time. Whether you’re a successful executive on company expense account or a new entrepreneur trying to make your mark, you’ve probably learned that your best bet for rubbing shoulders with the right people is to attend a smaller function: the private reception afterward.
In many cases, you’re paying extra for special access, but the price of entry doesn’t guarantee success. Your actions and attitude when you enter the room determine how much you’re going to get out of the cost of admission.
How do you feel about the following statements?
• Networking means creating business friendships.
• Loyalty and passion lead to support in business.
• Emotional commitments generate more results than logical commitments.
Whether tickets to these events are, in fact, free, or only offered to a select few, or sold to the general public at prices excluding those who aren’t serious about their connections, private receptions tend to be more intimate events, offering greater access to VIPs. When you’re trying to build your networks, pitch ideas, or stay on top of events, the price of an event ticket for a private reception at a large conference is usually minimal compared to the payoff, if you know how to leave the right impression.
How are you going to make your mark?
You’re well-prepared with a stack of business cards in a neat carrying case, and you can speak eloquently about your project. But you don’t want to go in, throw those business cards around, and talk someone’s ear off about your big idea. Networking is about selling yourself. Don’t set yourself up for failure by starting with the attitude that it’s all business.
Consider two equally qualified candidates embarking on a job search. One prints out a hundred resumes and sends them to one hundred HR departments. The other approaches everyone he or she knows, discusses his or her skills, abilities, and objectives, and puts out the word: I’m looking for work. In most cases, the candidate who takes advantage of personal connections is going to get the greatest response. You simply get more interviews if you’ve been recommended by someone who knows you.
So, don’t buy a ticket to a private reception with the intention of dropping one hundred resumes into strangers’ laps. Drop the expectation that you will sell an idea or a product to the people you encounter. Instead, treat it like the party that it is, and use the opportunity to make real connections.
• Work the room.
• Introduce yourself to everyone; you never know who may be important to your work, or who can help you along.
• Don’t drink more than you can handle! Stay in control at all times.
• Establish yourself as an interesting and trustworthy contact.
• Help people find reasons to like and remember you.
• Remember: just because someone doesn’t have a job or an investment for you right now doesn’t mean they can’t be a valuable contact in the future.
If you give others a reason to invest in you personally, rather than your product, you don’t need to sell anything. When your colleagues know, trust, and like you, your product will sell itself. You don’t need to trumpet the merits of your ideas unless someone has a specific question. Just give people reasons to like you, and when they think of your area of expertise, they’ll think of you and recommend you to others, because they’re personally invested in you.
Are you ready to try something different when it comes to marketing your theatre? Ready to reward your fans and benefactors with a little token of your esteem? Ready to boost your box office numbers with some stealth marketing or merchandising? If you’re looking for a low-cost, low-effort, and low-maintenance way to raise your visibility in the community, consider selling or distributing custom publicity stickers.
New Life for Old Designs
Most modern theatres have probably already paid someone a fair amount of money to design an eye-catching banner for their website. Well, that banner is the perfect digital file if you want to create the perfect Bumper Sticker. If you like the design, why not give it new life and new mobility, allowing it to move about your city and spread the word for you? Printing a stack of Bumper Stickers is cheaper than renting a billboard, and those stickers go everywhere. While potential customers are stuck in traffic, they could be memorizing the URL to your website, conveniently printed on the car in front of them.
Or, work in a smaller format. Do you use a recognizable logo when you advertise your theatre? This can translate into a sticker, too. Economy Stickers come in all shapes and sizes, and they’re versatile and eminently affordable. Vinyl Stickers are all that and more: they’re weatherproof and UV-resistant, so you can stick them on outdoor surfaces, or in a well-lit window, and they last for years.
New Designs for New Life
If you don’t already have a design in mind, you can get creative. Find one that relates to an upcoming show or season. Or, hold a contest and ask patrons to design a logo for you. It’s a great way to get the community involved, create extra publicity, and generate buzz around your website. Let patrons vote for their favorite design, online or when they visit the theatre.
Printing custom stickers for your theater is not expensive, and small print runs are available. You can create a range of designs and sizes for different spaces and different budgets. Nice stickers may become a collector’s item, and some fans will want to collect the entire run.
Where Are You Going to Stick that Thing?
Depending on how much effort you intend to put into this marketing campaign, there are a few choices concerning what you’ll actually do with your stickers once you receive them. The easiest answer, of course, is sell them, either in your box office, or on your website. Cheaper than T-shirts and more versatile than programs, stickers make cool souvenirs. Some patrons will want them for guitar cases, car windows, dorm walls, or decoration of small items like notebooks or laptop computers. That’s a lot of exposure.
If money is less of an issue than visibility, you can give some of your stickers away. These could be small prizes in a contest or small gifts to thank loyal theatergoers. Or, think bigger: distributing these stickers to a general audience could result in advertising in places you wouldn’t expect. Visit arts festivals and similar events, anywhere you might expect to find lovers of the arts, and pass out a certain number of stickers. Small children have a habit sticking them in the most unusual places. At large events, you can stick them directly on people’s shirts in the morning, and all day long, they’ll share your message.
Stealth marketing takes the most effort, but, properly done, realizes a huge return. Sticker design is essential: you must create something that makes viewers take notice. It’s especially effective if the design elicits questions in the viewers’ minds. If you’ve thought of a phrase or image which will inspire people to want to follow up and learn more and (this part is essential) you’ve included your website on the sticker, you can drive traffic to the website and create new patrons.
This technique is most effective if you can stick your stickers in surprising places. Ask around: you may be able to create a campaign by placing your stickers in unusual spots in bars, art galleries, schools, and other facilities where potential patrons may be found. Bathroom stalls are a good choice, if you have permission, as are bus shelters, and well-traveled footpaths. Use your creativity and imagination. Get them where they’ll be seen, and noticed.
Change Is Good
Marketing your theatre can be trying, especially in an economic downturn, but you can get a big return on a little investment if you’re willing to try something unusual. Where will you hang your publicity?
The year is 2010 and the face of live theater has changed. Around the globe, money is tight, attention spans are short, and approaching-infinite hours of free entertainment are available 24 hours a day in the privacy of the viewer’s home. The new millennium, it might seem, has not been friendly to a venerable tradition that asks patrons to pay for the privilege of turning off their cell phones, sitting in one place for three hours, and listening quietly without offering any opinions beyond appropriately placed applause, laughter, and perhaps an occasional and well-deserved hiss.
Not a friendly environment in which to create a successful new company.
But live theater isn’t dead: far from it. Your company offers an experience that cannot be replicated in front of a computer monitor. It’s hard, sweaty, uphill work, but hot new companies are making their mark, inspired by the bonds of friendship and their passion for acting.
Who are these starry-eyed optimists, and how are they faring?
Trial by Fire, based in Eugene, Oregon, is founder Benjamin Newman’s lifeline in a hostile world. Reborn over and over again from the ashes of projects going back as far as 1999, the group achieved what seems to be a sustainable critical success this year.
Aerial Angels and Stand Up 8, the brainchildren of writer-director-actor Allison Williams, are based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan, but have developed as traveling troupes, presenting their unique brand of circus arts all around the world since 2003.
And making their mark in film-saturated Los Angeles, California, title3, founded by reunited classmates Lane Allison, Molly Leland, Jane Montosi, and Jiehae Park, has waded into the water with their first production and found it inviting.
The Backstory
So, how does one create a theater company with no money, no space, and no history? Is love of the stage enough to succeed?
Johnny Ormsbee as The Hactor in Trial By Fire's RUBY BY THE RIVER (2006). Photo by Michael Brinkerhoff.
Benjamin Newman would say that, for some, it isn’t even a choice. He recalls the mantra, offered by countless professionals across the country: If you can imagine yourself doing something else, then this is not where you belong. “I have tried,” he says, “but I cannot. Where I have veered from my path, life became confusing and disorienting, a series of challenges which I was unable to face, because I had no support, no grounding, no definition.” If the creative path is an actor’s North Star, dedicated performers, must, like Newman, return again and again, to trod the boards, regardless of the outcome. Or, as Allison Williams says, “truly motivated people don’t fail—they have learning experiences in which money is lost or creative dreams go unrealized, but it’s not failure unless they walk away without being educated by it.”
So the short answer is yes, if your love is strong enough, passion can carry the day. But the long answer, of course, is that love is merely the propeller that moves you forward through each new script, new rehearsal, new production, new season. Love lets you persevere. Today’s artists must also carry with them a new toolbox: the gear if the information age.
The Setting
Aerial Angel Spike (Zay Weaver) performs a free street show at Covent Garden in London England. Photo by Fehmi Comert
The old ways are disappearing, according to Williams. Traditional theater is “extremely boring and pointlessly irrelevant and ridiculously overpriced. Its audience is literally…greying out and dying. Subscription theatre is fading away—nobody under 40 ever wants to see another kitchen sink drama ever again—watching Death of a Salesman once in high school was enough.” The future, it seems, is in finding new ways of telling stories. We may be telling the same stories as those who came before, Newman argues, but we tell them through the lens of our own perceptions, so that each new telling provides a new understanding. Though all the stories may have been told, we still must “let each man and woman have their turn” in telling so that we do “not simply honor one voice, but all voices.”
This philosophy was the nucleus of title3’s origin. The group evolved organically out of a weekly writer’s group, where participants began to focus on women’s experience and the place of the female voice in the arts. While simply complaining got them nowhere, they realized, “we could generate the kind of change we hoped for. Thus, our company mission: dedication to the creation of innovative work with an emphasis on providing opportunities for women in the arts.” And so, another company was born, one working within the parameters of the modern world.
With its focus established, title3 reports that, “doors opened and people aligned in ways we never would have thought possible.” LA, perhaps, needed title3’s perspective as much as title3 needed a forum in which to present it.
It’s not surprising, then, that for their first production, they chose a new play by Constance Congdon, called Paradise Street, one that required an all-female cast. Trial by Fire, in earlier incarnations, performed works written by Newman himself. Although less concerned with modernity, they have created a focus on outsider voices, first making a success of Kiss of theSpider Woman and now opening Alfred Jarry’s surrealist work Ubu Roi.
The Properties
Chip Sherman and Benjamin Newman in TRIAL BY FIRE's Kiss Of The Spider Woman (2010). Photography by Jon Meyers.
In the 21st century, the default setting for multiple voices is, of course, the Internet, and those with stories to tell cannot ignore the power of the web for communicating their message. Successful modern theaters understand the need to harness those channels. Newman exults in the possibilities of a world where “artists who have just begun their career can simply be stumbled upon, and more forms of expression, such as film, music, writing, photography, and painting, are just a click away.”
By this point, even most traditional old theaters have at least begun to make a place for themselves in cyberspace, but the vanguard is completely comfortable there: the Internet is their living room, their office, and their playground. They no longer conduct letter-writing campaigns; they send mass emails. They don’t rely on print media to spread the word; they create their own websites from which to launch publicity drives, drum up support, issue press releases, and spread the word.
For title3, there was no question that web presence went hand-in-hand with a new venture. They began not only with a website, but also with a strong presence on social media channels such as Facebook. To date, they have successfully shared photos on their website and Facebook pages, and they are in the process of developing video content that illustrates their process: recordings of rehearsals and “other interactive offerings.”
In fact, title3 considers itself “a multimedia production company.” They began with theater, because that was what they knew, but ultimately they “also have a goal to use multimedia in our theater work and hopefully expand to other media in future.”
Allison Williams also understands the driving force of Web 2.0 for creating a vibrant community of fans and attracting new patrons. Explaining the power of social networking, she says, “being ‘friends’ rather than an advertiser is powerful and important.” She’s also comfortable posting not only teasers, but also entire acts, on YouTube. The way she sees it, “our enemy is not piracy but obscurity.”
Drew Tydeman as Dopey in Trial By Fire's BALM IN GILEAD (2003). Photo by Jon Meyers.
For modern theaters, there can be no conflict between these two modes, and offering up some content in public forums can only lead to positive publicity. Williams explains, “The experience of seeing it live is fundamentally different than a YouTube experience,” and, she even goes so far as to say, “live theatre has an edge over movies.” In the twenty-first century, offering a few tantalizing tastes—or even an entire serving—only whets the viewers’ appetites for the real experience: live theater, performed by real human beings in front of real human beings. On demand content is wonderful, but it is no substitute for an event that cannot be paused, that has a life independent of the viewer’s decision to hit the play button.
While title3 calls the Internet “a primary driver of both publicity and ticket sales,” and, through tracking, learned “that Facebook and email were effective in mobilizing people to attend our performances,” Williams’ traveling show reports that only a small percentage of their ticket sales take place online, with the majority purchased at the door. However, they’ve used other modern tactics to boost sales, such as Street Crew. According to Williams, “it’s personal contact that sells a lot of tickets.” Sending supporters out to stump for the show, offering deals such as free admission if you bring 3 friends or hang 10 posters, helped them boost attendance and create new fans. Newman agrees: in his mind, the Internet is a great boon for communication, up to a point, but, he says, “there is simply no substitute for human contact.”
The lesson here is that you can’t ignore either end: you’ve got to utilize all the technological tools in your arsenal, and you must continue making direct contact with patrons. You may simply need to get creative on both sides.
The Backers
Allison Williams eats fire in a free street show in Budva, Montenegro. Photo by Dragan
Trial by Fire has recently filed for nonprofit status and begun to apply for grants and search out new sponsors in anticipation of running a full season in 2010/2011. Newman himself has sunk a great deal of his own capital into getting shows produced in the past, and, like many producers, watched the dual evolution of a critical success alongside a fiscal failure. Now, it looks as if Trial by Fire is finally poised to achieve solid financial ground.
While Trial by Fire’s evolution was long and convoluted, inextricably tied to Newman’s emotional state and his own determination to try again, title3’s first production came together in a more surprising way. Just as the group had begun discussing a production, they were offered a space “on very appealing terms.” The only catch was that the slot was only 2 months in the future, “an insanely short period of time to rehearse and put up a show, much less choose the show, do preproduction, and set up a company.”
But, the group was dedicated to following through. How did they get funding in such a short period of time? They made direct appeals, sending letters to everyone they knew: family, friends, former professors. Rather than simply asking for money, they explained their mission statement and helped donors understand how their contributions would further that cause. They also filed for fiscal sponsorship through Fractured Atlas so they could receive tax-deductible donations. The next step for title3 will be to increase their fundraising efforts, and to begin applying for government grants.
Benjamin Newman and Tara Wibrew in TRIAL BY FIRE's Beirut (2008). Photography by Michael Brinkerhoff.
Stand Up 8 took a different, and very modern approach, to finding funding. Conceived as a for-profit venture, the group originally hoped to find 80 donors willing to contribute $1000 apiece. Williams says, “I thought we’d start with our parents and move outward from there, but then a friend told me about the Canadian reality TV show Dragons’ Den.” They auditioned, got on, and hit big, attracting investor W. Brett Wilson, now a half-owner of Stand Up 8.
For the Aerial Angels group, Williams keeps the overhead low. The Angels usually perform at street festivals and similar outdoor events. They often book gigs that are paid in advance,
Allison Williams and M.A. Harrison perform acrobatics on a grand piano in Stand Up Eight. Photo by Dan Lines
but just as often they conclude their shows with a hat pass. Williams explains, “We get paid by doing an amazing show that connects with people on a personal level, by touching their hearts and their funny bones to get to their wallets.” She can easily see that the more joy she brings to her audience, the more money she makes. “We offer a 30 minute escape with awe and wonder and comedy, and we ask for the price of a cup of fancy coffee, and the people who can afford to pay subsidize the people who can’t.”
For Williams, nonprofit status wasn’t worth the effort. She found “the level of hassle and paperwork is so tedious it wasn’t worth the piddling grants,” and feels that receiving adequate grants requires employing full-time grant writers. “Frankly,” she says, “I’d rather just go out and make the money without the strings.” Williams, who has written, directed, and starred in dozens of stage productions, makes good use of her experience and consummate can-do attitude to really make live theater pay off. Her belief is that, if you are selling a desirable product, people will buy it, and you can feel good about encouraging them to do so. If it’s not good enough to sell, she says, “start over with a better product.”
She attributes some of her ease at selling performance as a product to “being a non-fourth-wall performer,” who constantly connects with the audience. Selling herself onstage is the same as selling herself before the show. At the same time, she acknowledges, “I’ve done my fair share of Shakespeare, and marketing that is the same process, so maybe more serious theatre people should be thinking like circus artists.”
Curtain Calls
Emmy Walker, Jun Ogura, Julianna Zarzycki, Tara Wibrew, and Harry John Shephard in TRIAL BY FIRE's Angels In The Architecture (2008). Photography by Bing Putney.
Live theater, Williams believes, is ready for a revival. Audiences “do still want to see stories and connect with humans and be a part of an experience they can’t have with their TV, they just don’t always know they want it and they’re unwilling to pay more than their phone bill to find out.” The women of title3 agree that one of the greatest challenges to modern theater is that younger generations have less exposure to theatre and arts in general. For one thing, “school arts programs are disappearing,” so “children won’t have theater as a frame of reference.” As technology captures a greater share of entertainment, young adults “may choose to spend their entertainment dollars on other mediums simply due to the fact that they don’t really know what theater is or means.”
But companies like Stand Up 8, title3, and Trial by Fire are committed to combating those attitudes. The world needs live theater, and the modern world needs a modern theater. Modern theaters must make their own way and recreate the ancient art. Newman reminds us that our dearest dreams are not presented to us “in a nice little package all wrapped up with a bow on top. You have to fight for them, you have to travel long distances to find them, and most importantly, you have to make them for yourself.”
