A Life in the Theater

This is the third and final part of an article based on a Keynote Address I delivered during the First General Assembly of the Association of Cultural Offices of Philippine Educational Institutions (ACOPEI). Comments are welcome. What challenges do we face in audience development?  First, there is the question of the here and now.  Undoubtedly, we must fill our spaces –whether they be theaters or galleries -- now, and we must ensure that we will have audiences in the future.   According to former CCP President Nestor O. Jardin, short term strategies that could be employed to ensure our audiences for today will have to be directed primarily at addressing such limiting factors as lack of awareness, pricing, competition, scheduling, accessibility, environment for the delivery of programs and programming.  Necessarily, we will have to focus on the youth whose minds arestill impressionable and whose preferences are just being formed. ...

This is the second part of an article based on a Keynote Address I delivered during the First General Assembly of the Association of Cultural Offices of Philippine Educational Institutions (ACOPEI). Comments are welcome. How do we develop the youth as arts audiences? First, let us take a look at a typical ladder of attendance.              An arts audience begins by first becoming aware of the arts and arts activities.  This may lead him to bea part of an arts activity on a trial basis. Thereafter, he may consider re-attendance in similar activities, until he or she becomes a regular user or attender.             This being the case, a formula for developing life-long learning through arts participation may be done through a basic audience development process, as below: 1.     POINT OF ENTRY - Introducing new p...

During the production party of a play that I was part of recently, conversation drifted to arts marketing and audience development.  I have been threatening to write and publish a Manual on Arts Marketing for Filipinos, but have not gotten around to putting it together.  It was suggested that, perhaps, articles on Arts Marketing made more accessible might be of help at this point.  I've decided to take on the suggestion, and will be posting articles based on lectures and papers I have presented over the years. This first article, in several parts, is taken from a Keynote Address I delivered during the First General Assembly of the Association of Cultural Offices of Philippine Educational Institutions (ACOPEI).  Comments are welcome. What is audience development? According to the Arts Council of England, audience development is a planned process which enhances and broadens specific individuals’ experiences of the arts.   The Canada Council for the ...

Following is the link to an article on Arts Marketing as written by Philippine Star's Exie Abola, based on an interview we had during the last holidays.  I hope it contributes to the discussion on the subject. Dennis Marasigan on the Science of Arts Marketing Some excerpts: “A lot of times,” Dennis says, “I encounter people talking about arts marketing not really understanding what marketing really means.” What people often mean by marketing — advertising, sending press releases to the papers, announcing shows in online social networks — is actually promotions. And promotions comes, or should come, at the end of a long and systematic marketing process, a process that includes an assessment of one’s product, pricing strategy, place decisions (product availability and distribution), branding (or positioning), and people. If the earlier parts of the process are done well, then promotions, which should be the finishing kick, will succeed. But don’t expect it to if you haven’t go...