tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16876687.post6737708289833994342..comments2024-02-27T16:59:54.089-05:00Comments on (The New) Theatre Ideas: Bill McKibben on Music in Iowa in 1900Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16876687.post-48514133512325256242008-04-11T16:31:00.000-04:002008-04-11T16:31:00.000-04:00Well, for one thing, a tribe with its own playwrig...Well, for one thing, a tribe with its own playwright and composer could easily burn cast albums for original musicals. I imagine Broadway and Broadway touring groups make a fair bit of money from selling cast albums, T-shirts, postcards, key-chains, etc. Maybe a tribe or regional theatre could adapt it on a smaller scale. The big problem, of course, is that on a small scale the costs go sky high. <BR/><BR/>The other thing is marketing. Local bands thrive because they bust their asses to get their names out there. They utilize resources like Myspace, Facebook, and other social networking tools. They put ads in local newspapers, paper the town with flyers and such.<BR/><BR/>Most theatres I know only list an ad in a handful of papers and the local (and I mean local-local, not local-metro) paper occasionally does an article on the upcoming show. <BR/><BR/>Before I moved to Atlanta, I was planning on gathering a group of friends together to produce our own play, perform in the town square, and advertise the hell out of the small town we lived in. A family-oriented production in a public space with virtually no costs associated with it would undoubtedly be SRO, especially if everyone knew about it.<BR/><BR/>Take this blog, for example. You're reaching people that you never would have reached before. My generation is addicted to the Internet. Don't be like the music industry and resist it -- embrace it! Grab the ball and run with it!<BR/><BR/>You want to get more people involved? Make like the Irish and sell merchandise at the live shows. Sell custom programs, T-shirts, etc. <BR/><BR/>Last year I taught at a local high school and at every football game, a parent designed a different T-shirt for each game, and she pressed the designs onto the shirts on the spot for whoever bought one. There was no leftover inventory, just plain T-shirts that could be used to sell at the next game with a new design. Local theatres can do that kind of stuff, too.<BR/><BR/>Interesting stuff.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com