Audience Engagement

Boston’s neighborhoods, some of whose origins can be traced to the 1630s, have been home to myriad political and cultural shifts over the centuries—a concept that blew my California-raised mind. It was somewhat intimidating to move to a city with such a wonderful and complex past and getting charged with the task of creating spaces for conversation across the various communities.

We've all been there. The curtain call is over, the house lights come up, and a representative from the theater comes out on stage to inform the audience that, in a few minutes, there will be a post-show discussion with the playwright. Thankfully, a partnership at Playwrights Horizons in New York City is rethinking that model. Playwright Dan LeFranc and director of New Play Development Adam Greenfield are turning the concept on its head by making the playwright the interviewer, instead of the interviewee.

Part two of this series, curated by Aditi Kapil, playwright-in-residence at Mixed Blood Theatre, examines the pragmatics of how Radical Hospitality works, “The Financial or Business Case,” in a conversation with Managing Director Amanda White Thietje, Community Outreach & Marketing Manager Brie Jonna, and Artistic Director Jack Reuler.

Alice Stanley Jr. reviews Orange Theatre’s experimental production of Federico García Lorca’s Blood Wedding, which incorporated contemporary multimedia technology in its warehouse set.

P. Carl interviews Director Lear deBessonet on her influences, inspirations, and current work.

Lauren Gunderson offers advice on dealing with threatending situations at talkbacks, and how theaters can better protect their artists during audience engagement.

This initial conversation between Artistic Director Jack Reuler and Playwright-in-Residence Aditi Brennan Kapil examines the artistic case for a theatre in Minneapolis to charge no admission, program ambitious new work that stretches its aesthetics, capacity, and resources, and perhaps more importantly, why this matters?

Technology reflects and changes the ways in which we think.  We need to start telling more stories designed to accommodate our interactivity of the internet to grow with our audiences.

Following the historical models set by Southern artists against violence and aggression, Cartlon Turner talks about why and how this work continues in his community.

Jocelyn Prince, Connectivity Director at Woolly Mammoth, continues our series on Audience Engagement with a blog focusing on the intersection of connectivity and community organizing.

This Thursday's topic will be: The Internet + Audience Engagement. How do your audiences continue their in-person experience on the internet? What are the in-person manifestations of your online engagement? Join us Thursday, October 24 for the Weekly Howl on hashtag #newplay at 11:00am PDT – 12pm PDT (Los Angeles) / 1:00pm CDT – 2pm CDT (Austin) / 2:00pm EDT – 3pm EDT (New York) / 18:00 GMT – 19:00 GMT / 7:00pm BST - 8pm BST (London) / 8:00pm CEST - 9pm CEST (Berlin).

I love that engagement has become such a major part of the conversation in our field. But I do worry that if we are not vigilant, “engagement” has the potential to become a code-word for “extra.”

RJ Maccani discusses learning through Foundery Theatre’s projects the distinct ways artists and social justice organizers can come together to make change.

In this installment, Aaron Carter offers a brief overview of The Lab at Steppenwolf.

The Weekly Howl is a peer produced, open access discussion about theater culture and contemporary performance that happens in real-time on Twitter using the hashtag #newplay. Join us Thursday, October 10 for the Weekly Howl on hashtag #newplay.

Highlighted by Scotland’s possible independence, Regan sifts through the idea of how debate can be brought on by political theatre.

David Schultz examines the artist and audience relationship and offers advice on how to create a diverse and growing audience base. 

In this first installment, Talya Kingston struggles to figure out the best way to choose from all of the possible selections to see at Edinburgh Fringe.

Brian Otaño explores the physical and metaphorical implications of what a reunion provides for us in our journey of being.

Alice Stanley Jr. describes her experince at The Toch Theatre's "Improvised Book Club" and writes about how an audiences' preparation affects their involvement.