Newsletter
October/November 2004

We’ve made it through SARS and West Nile.  Ditto the black out, Mad Cow scare, a really long winter, flooding and a mild summer.  9/11 is now three years behind us.  Attention to a media-heightened war is waning.  Federal privacy legislation has been dealt with.  The future looks brighter, right?

Theatres across the province, and in fact, the country, are reporting that even as these various "calamities" are diminishing, audiences aren’t returning to theatres in the same numbers, or that customer habits have changed.  Typically, the number of subscribers is dropping, while single-ticket purchases are up.  And these single-ticket purchases are occurring closer and closer to the performance date, making it difficult to gauge a show’s financial outcome. 

According to Alan S. Brown, an American arts consumer specialist, "About half of culturally active adults like to plan leisure activities, like going out to live performances, within 10 days of the event."  This explains the rise in popularity of the flex-pass or open-ended subscription. 

As a result of these new purchasing trends, more and more theatre companies are starting to explore opportunities for audience development. 

Alan wonders: "What is the answer to sustained audience growth? Is it more and better marketing, or program innovation?"

The marketing aspect of audience development, or "bums in seats," is a constant struggle for many theatres.  As the artform changes due to cross-cultural influences, technological advancements, and generational shifts, so does the language of marketing theatre.  So often, theatre is marketed by a one-sentence description of a play’s plot or theme, followed by adjective-heavy descriptions of past work.  Patrons are tired of reading that every theatre is "fantastic," "though provoking," "powerful" and "entertaining."  Some patrons have felt "ambushed" by subject matter or style of performance they weren’t anticipating seeing.  As a result, patrons are looking for more information about a particular production before making purchasing decisions. 

A direct result of a theatre’s marketing tactics is ticket sales.  Subscriptions are opening up to become more flexible and user-friendly.  Packaging with local restaurants and hotels is becoming more common, and multi-company subscriptions are gaining momentum. 

Developing a youth audience, is eyeGO, a unique program where high school students can buy a ticket to hundreds of arts events for only $5.  Partner-theatres agree that all presentations are eyeGO eligible, and eyeGO tickets go on sale the same time as regular tickets.  Each municipality sets up a youth council who help "sell" the program to other youth.  Through these youth councils, eyeGO has learned that youth are willing to spend $5 on an arts event they’re not familiar with.  Music theatre sells the most eyeGO tickets, but theatre and music (primarily classical) are not that far behind.  This year in the Waterloo area, over 3500 eyeGO tickets were sold.  Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre took part in the program and sold 172 eyeGO tickets to youth.  www.eyego.org

"We all want to increase our audience base but we continue to engage the same pool of people from the same demographic," says Patty Jarvis, Director of Audience Development at CanStage, Toronto.  "Long-term audience development has to address the need to create a greater understanding of the value of the arts in our society by providing a means of engaging individuals who may not know, at this moment, that they want to be engaged or that they can be. "

More often, theatregoers are looking for "value-added" experiences that provide learning and education.  Following performances, talk-back and question and answer sessions are becoming more and more popular. 

Quite often, artistic directors are taking part in "meet and greets" prior to a show’s start.  David Savoy at Showboat Festival Theatre, Port Colborne, makes a point of speaking to patrons as they enter the theatre.  As well, just before the show’s start, he gets up on stage to welcome the audience, sponsors and special guests, and to promote special initiatives like Just The Ticket and ASTRO. 

Students seeing Theatre Direct Canada’s upcoming production of And By The Way, Miss... , will experience a unique program inspired by the themes and issues of the play.  After the performance and question and answer session, young people will then participate in movement and voice workshops led by the performers. 

Another way to develop audiences is through a patron’s personal participation in the arts.  Thistle Theatre, Embro, used this tactic for its production of Fiddler On The Roof.  Ten non-cast members dressed in costume and created the village of Anatevka in the foyer of the theatre.  This included knitting, cooking, and going about the chores of a small Russian village.  As a result, audience members were already immersed in the values of the story before the performance even started. 

There is no right or wrong way to develop audiences.  One successful initiative might not be the right fit for another theatre company.  But ensuring the continuation, growth and renewal of audiences is important for any theatre company’s ongoing success. 

This year, two Theatre Ontario employees marked a great milestone!  Helga Paetzold (Accountant) and Cornelia Persich (Office Manager) both celebrated their twentieth anniversaries working at Theatre Ontario. 

At a surprise party on June 23, 2004, Helga and Cornelia were surrounded by friends and colleagues from Theatre Ontario.  The two have seen Theatre Ontario move from York Street (complete with Maggie Bassett Studio), Bloor Street, Yonge Street, St.  Patrick Street and now to Spadina Avenue. 

"I came to Theatre Ontario from the corporate world.  On my first day of work, the elevator opened up and I stepped out into the rehearsal hall.  Lying on the floor were a number of people, all moaning and groaning.  I hopped over them and quickly made my way to my office.  A few minutes later I heard someone yelling.  I asked a co-worker if we should go help, but I was told no, they were just rehearsing.  I had never seen actors warming-up before, it was quite a shock," recounted Helga. 

"When I started I was in charge of the members card files.  These were 3 by 8 inch cards with members names and addresses typed on them.  If someone's address changed, I would use my white-out to remove the old address and type in the new address.  But the day finally came when the cards would be moved over to a computer database," shares Cornelia.  "Theatre Ontario was one of 6 arts organization who were given a new computer or rather an almost obselete computer from I can't remember who.  This was a big step.  This computer used 10 or 12 inch disks! We were moving into the computer age. "

A passionate theatre artist, Lee Ann Pearson of Sault Ste.  Marie is a tireless advocate, committed to professional and personal development.  A member of Theatre Ontario since 1981, Lee Ann is well known as a dedicated actor and director, and as a champion for theatre arts in northern Ontario. 

Growing up in theatre-centric Stratford, Lee Ann was always surrounded by the arts.  Yet she struggled to find her own creative voice.  "I always wanted to be creative.  Deep inside, I knew there was a creative person bursting to come out.  I just needed to find her.  It wasn’t in painting, and it wasn’t through music," says Lee Ann.  That quest for a personal expression of her creativity has turned into a lifelong journey. 

It was at the University of Western Ontario, where Lee Ann was studying English and Library Sciences, that she met John Pearson, her future husband.  Thirty-two years ago they moved to Sault Ste. Marie, "The best of big and the best of small.  Sault Ste. Marie is a beautiful city.  It is my home and I love it," she exclaims. 

Lee Ann began to get involved in the local community theatre scene.  "I began to find my creative voice.  I realized I did have a creative side, a visual, teaching part of me," she says.  Not one for being timid, Lee Ann’s first dramatic role was Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire produced by Sault Theatre Workshop.  "Looking back on it now, I did no justice to Stella," laughs Lee Ann.  "I was lucky that Michael Hennessy had type-cast me and I just played myself!" She directed her first production, The Melville Boys, for Sault Community Theater (Michigan, USA) a few years later. 

"When my kids were growing up, they began to complain about the time I spent doing theatre.  There would be rehearsals for a few nights a week, and then it would get more intense as we got closer to opening.  Then there would be many nights of performances," she states.  "I would always tell them not to worry; things will slow down once the show is over.  And things would quiet down for a little bit, but a few weeks later I’d be auditioning or starting rehearsals for another show.  I told my kids, I need to do theatre.  I need this for me, in order to be a better mom for you." 

As Lee Ann began to explore other aspects of theatre, she realized her need for professional development.  Finding few theatre training opportunities in northern Ontario, Lee Ann attended Theatre Ontario’s Summer Courses in 1981.  And she never stopped.  She’s now attended for 22 years, and has taken courses ranging from introduction to acting, directing, advanced scene study, lighting design, stage management, and movement. 

In 2004, Lee Ann was a recipient of a Theatre Ontario Travel Subsidy, a program she advocated on behalf of for a number of years, in order to assist those traveling great distances to Summer Courses.  This summer’s new two-stage course in Character-Based Comedy was yet another gold mine of discovery for Lee Ann.  "I could never understand verbs and action words in script-work until this summer when Allan Stratton’s goals, obstacles, tactics and expectations finally got if through my thick skull.  Teodoro Dragonieri’s mask workshop really helped me to find the character’s physicality in myself, not an easy thing for an ‘in her head’ actor." 

One of the reasons Lee Ann continues to come back to Summer Courses time and time again is because of their immersion feeling.  There are no dishes to be washed, no phone calls to return; its just six days of intense theatre training.  "Every year there’s a gem, that piece of insight that will stay with you for the rest of your life," she states.  "Sometimes you recognize it right in the class, and other times, it hits you later in the midst of acting or directing. "

Lee Ann’s home theatre is the fifty-six year old Sault Theatre Workshop.  Besides acting, directing and stage managing, Lee Ann has at times been responsible for the company’s newsletter, membership and fundraising initiatives. 

"If I lived anywhere else, there’s no way I could direct a show a year, or get to consistently play the great parts I’ve been offered," says Lee Ann.  Having played, among others, Mrs. Shandig in The Runner Stumbles, Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, and Eleanor of Aquitaine in Lion In Winter, Lee Ann believes strongly in the interconnectivity of the actor and character.  "From the elegant determination of Eleanor of Aquitaine, to the desperation of Mrs. Shandig, there’s a thing inside that unites me with a character.  You find it, develop it.  It makes you a rounder person. "

Lee Ann is also an active member of QUONTA, the community theatre region representing parts of northern Ontario.  Currently serving as the Third Vice-President, Lee Ann champions the unique dynamics of this northern association.  "Geographically, QUONTA is a huge region," states Lee Ann, "While there are five member groups in Sault Ste. Marie, the other member groups are spread out from Timmins to Espanola, Sudbury to Elliot Lake to North Bay.  Distance is always as issue, not just in getting a group to Theatre Ontario Festival, but also to QUONTA Festival."  Currently, Lee Ann is exploring options for ensuring the QUONTA Festival can accommodate the geographically-diverse association in an equitable fashion. 

Intrigued by the dynamics of a single-sex acting ensemble, Lee Ann has directed The Wild Guys, The Foursome, If We Are Women, and Albertine In Five Times.  This March, Lee Ann gets back in the director’s chair for Sault Theatre Workshop when she directs The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), a frantic theatre piece for three male actors exploring all of Shakespeare’s plays in just 90 minutes.  "I do prefer Canadian plays, but this ‘non-Can’ challenges me particularly in the area of physical comedy, hence my choice of Theatre Ontario Summer Courses this past summer. "