Regional voices talk theatre: audience development for the performing arts

[Abstract]: Audience development is somewhat of a ‘buzz word’ within the Australian performing arts sector at present. However, rather than actually engage with audiences and with non-attenders to discover how to best service the community, most performing arts organisations approach audience development from a product-centred viewpoint. In direct contrast to this, the Talking Theatre project (2004-2006) was implemented in regional Queensland and in the Northern Territory in Australia as an audience development initiative focused on the consumer. The project sought to assist performing arts centres (PACs) to better engage with their local communities and to build new audiences for the future. In particular, the research aimed to understand non-attenders; their reasons for non-attendance, and their reactions to a range of live performances they experienced under study conditions. The Talking Theatre project provided the vehicle for introduction, communication and relationship building to occur to assist in attitudinal and behavioural change. The non-attenders enjoyed their experiences at the PACs and have begun attending performances outside of study conditions. Limited awareness of the performing arts’ relevance to their lives combined with a lack of positive peer influence to attend, were the chief deterrents to attendance for the participants in the study

From Nascar to Cirque du Soleil: Lessons in Audience Development

Examines marketing trends and principles in entertainment and performance. Case studies include nonprofit arts organizations, mega-concert promoters, for-profit entertainment conglomerates, sports promoters and religious organizations

Bridging the Gap: Innovations to Save Our Orchestras

Evaluation and commentary on the Magic of Music symphony initiative to measure audience development

Increasing Cultural Participation: An Audience Development Planning Handbook for Presenters, Producers and Their Collaborators

Looks at how people-centered strategies for building public participation in high-quality arts programs can help institutions of varied disciplines and sizes to diversify, broaden, and deepen relationships with their communities

Talking theatre: an audience development programme for regional Queensland and the Northern Territory 2004-2006

Talking Theatre was a three year research project funded by the Australian Research Council, NARPACA, Arts Queensland, Arts Northern Territory, and the Queensland University of Technology. Talking Theatre sought to build new audiences both in the short and long term for the fourteen regional performing arts centres associated with the project. The research endeavoured to develop a profile of non-theatregoers in regional areas, to understand their reasons for non-attendance, and to discover their reactions to live performances, and to the performing arts centres who presented them

Audience Development of an Emerging Theatre Company in Charlotte, North Carolina

Many studies exist on the topic of audience development for arts organizations. This paper specifically seeks to study the methods of audience development for emerging theatre companies in Charlotte, North Carolina in the early 21st century. My research compares published information on audience development to that of a successful emerging theatre company. After comparing this information, I provide an eight step guide of audience development strategies for emerging theatre companies

Audience development in public cultural centers: a qualitative study in Helsingborg and Elsinore

Audience development in cultural arts organizations is the institutional practice of increasing audiences, deepening relationships with the audiences and diversifying the audience base (EAC/08/2015 Tender specifications). As a critical function of the strategic management in arts organizations (Varbanova, 2012) audience development thus contributes, to the cultural policy goal of providing access to the high arts for all and the cultural policy goal of providing opportunities for the self-expression of the community (Bjørnsen, 2014). However, public local cultural centers, as the community centers that offer different art forms and opportunities for social interaction (Shaw et al., 2006), are absent from the audience development literature and as such, one of the main ambitions of this doctoral thesis is to explore the critical function of management for this type of cultural organizations. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand the perception of directors of cultural centers and their practice of audience development, and more, the management implications of a city’s political visions on audience development and what the directors perceive it would take to improve the practice of audience development all the while taking into consideration the current challenges in practicing audience development. In order to answer the research questions, this study uses a qualitative approach to compare two case studies (Yin,2009), namely the Dunkers Kulturhus in Helsingborg, Sweden, and the Culture Yard in Elsinore, Denmark. According to the semi-interviews with their directors and the documents related to the political vision of the respective cities and the management of the two cultural centers, the findings show that directors perceive audience development to play a major role in their organizations although they understand audience development in a more holistic way than the literature suggests. Moreover, the political visions in the cities of Helsingborg and Elsinore clearly impact strategic management in both organizations and their directors navigate between the political and the art market by considering the legitimacy criteria of both markets when planning for audience development (Lindqvist, 2007). Finally, the success of any audience development plan depends on the ability to keep the relationship with their audience in the core of everything these cultural centers do

YLEISÖTYÖN POLKUJA KARTOITTAMASSA : Yleisötyön kehittämishanke Akseli Klonk- teatterille

Tämä hankkeistettu opinnäytetyö käsittelee yleisötyötä oululaisessa Akseli Klonk- teatterissa. Opinnäytetyönään tekijä toteutti teatterille yleisötyön kehittämishankkeen. Työssä kartoitettiin yleisötyön tämänhetkistä tilaa Akseli Klonk- teatterissa sekä sen tulevaisuuden tavoitteita ja mahdollisuuksia. Työn tekijä kysyy, miten teatteri-ilmaisun ohjaaja voi olla mukana kehittämässä teatterin yleisötyötä. Osana yleisötyön kehittämishanketta tekijä suunnitteli kevään 2014 aikana Akseli Klonk- teatterille yleisötyöpajoja koulu- ja päiväkoti-ikäisille lapsille Viidakkopoika Mowgli- näytelmän yhteyteen. Työpajatoiminnan tavoitteena oli esityskokemuksen monipuolistaminen taidekasvatuksellisesta näkökulmasta. Taidekasvatuksellisen näkökulman lisäksi tekijä pohtii yleisötyön sosiaalisia, taiteellisia ja taloudellisia tavoitteita Akseli Klonk- teatterin näkökulmasta. Yleisötyöhankkeen perusteella opinnäytetyössä pohditaan Akseli Klonk- teatterin yleisötyön tulevaisuutta ja suunnitellaan toimintamuotoja yleisötyön kehittämiseksi. Materiaalina tekijä käytti teatterinjohtajan haastattelua, käytännön kokemusta teatterissa työskentelystä keväällä 2014 sekä yleisötyön ja draama- ja teatterikasvatuksen kirjallisuutta. Yleisötyöhankkeen perusteella tekijä toteaa, että Akseli Klonk- teatterissa on olemassa hyvät lähtökohdat yleisötyön kehittämiselle: vankka asema Oulun teatterikentällä, omaleimainen teatterin tekemisen tapa, välineteatteriosaaminen ja ennen kaikkea halu kehittyä ja kyky tunnistaa yleisön tarpeet. Välineteatterin integroiminen yleisötyöhön tekee tulevaisuudessa Akseli Klonkista yleisötyön edelläkävijän omalla toiminta-alueellaan.This project-based thesis discusses audience development in Akseli Klonk theatre in Oulu. The thesis clarifies the situation of the audience development in Akseli Klonk theatre and discusses the future goals and possibilities for audience development. The author asks how can a drama instructor participate in the audience development of the theatre. As a part of the thesis work the author accomplished an audience development project for theatre Akseli Klonk during spring 2014. The project consisted of theatre workshops for the play Viidakkopoika Mowgli. The objective for the workshops was to broaden the experience of the audience from a theatre educational point of view. The educational function of theatre is emphasized but also the social, financial and artistic objectives of the audience development of Akseli Klonk are taken into account. Based on the audience development project the thesis observes the future of audience work in Akseli Klonk theatre and discoveres different strategies on how to further develop the audience work. For this thesis the director of Akseli Klonk was interviewed. With the help of the interview, practical experience in working in Akseli Klonk and the audience development literature, the future goals and possibilities of audience development in Akseli Klonk theatre are discussed. Based on the audience development project the author discovered that Akseli Klonk theatre has already a good basis for audience development. The theatre is well-known in Oulu's theatre field and the theatre's artistic style of making plays is unique. Akseli Klonk theatre is specialized in object theatre and the theatre is willing to develop audience work and is capable of progressing and identifying the needs of different audiences. In the future especially the object theatre is a tool which helps Akseli Klonk to develop their audience work in a unique way