Producers’ Toolkit
the together project
How can companies and venues do audience engagement better?
Contents
Section 1 Introduction
Page 01 – 02
Section 2 What worked
04 – 07
Section 3 What didn't work
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Section 1 Introduction
A Handbook for Touring Companies and Producers From 2015 to 2017 Unlimited Theatre undertook a Strategic Touring project called Together that was supported by Arts Council England. It ran from October 2015 to June 2017 and involved two companies, Unlimited Theatre and Rash Dash. The project toured three productions: • Play Dough: an interactive children’s show about the financial crisis • Am I Dead Yet?: a show with live music about death and dying • Two Man Show by RashDash: a show about men and Man The project took place across five venues:
CAST Doncaster, Barnsley Civic Theatre, The Lowry Salford, Arts Centre Washington and ARC Stockton.
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Section 1 Introduction
Together set out to answer the question:
‘How can touring companies and venues develop more effective practice in their collaborative approaches to audience engagement and development?’ The outcomes and learning from the project have been detailed in an evaluation document and a final report on the activity for Arts Council England. In this handbook, we want to outline the key findings of the project and pass these on to venue staff, touring companies and freelance practitioners working in theatre. One of the main findings from the project was the importance of working with local audience engagement practitioners, identified in partnership with the venues, who have local knowledge and contacts. Another key finding was the importance of a collegiate approach between companies and venues to booking and understanding a show, and then in turn forming an audience engagement plan. The relationship between the company producer and the venue’s marketing department is crucial in working effectively with local engagement practitioners. The project tried and tested a variety of ideas. This is what worked, what didn’t work, and the learning we’d like to pass on.
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Section 2 What worked
Recruit Local Engagement Practitioners We found that the most effective way to engage local new audiences and groups was by recruiting local engagement practioners in collaboration with the venue. These Local Engagement Practitioners (LEP’s) were able to work with local people and help them become advocates for the work, as well as curating and managing the engagement activity in support of the tour. This saved company staff time researching and developing relationships with local groups in each of the areas that the show was touring to and delegated this work on to someone who had much of this local knowledge already. Having a freelance practitioner based in the local area meant that engagement could take place across a longer timescale, rather than being restricted by at best a couple of trips from the visiting company staff. LEP’s don’t have to be artists. We worked with artists, local community leaders and social workers, all with varying degrees of enthusiasm for the arts, but with an understanding of how theatre works. They all came with different perspectives and advice. It is important to note that they are paid professionals, with good networks that link them into either the target audience for the show, or those who might have an interest in the subject matter, so that there is a clear route already to engaging them. LEP’s are more than ambassadors or volunteers, they are paid and contracted for a number of days, and for the delivery of a set number of activities (these could be workshops/talks or tailored sessions introducing groups to the production). Recruitment was done by the touring company, to make sure the right person with the right networks for each show was employed. The first point of call was always the venue, to see if there was someone they had already worked with or knew of who would be suitable. Working with someone who had a pre-existing relationship with, or understanding of the venue worked the best. The more comfortable they were with spending time in the building, asking for space, knowing who to talk to etc, the more effectively they were able to use their time.
“We loved working with the LEP’s, it felt like they really got the show and did a lot to communicate the meaning to local groups. This was the most successful element of audience recruitment in our experience.” Rash Dash Start in Good Time Start engagement activitiy at least two months before the show starts. It's not worth doing it in less time as groups meet weekly or even monthly, so arranging visits or activity didn’t happen properly when we had less than two months.
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Section 2 What works
Curating Activity Once an LEP was recruited, the touring company made them ‘experts on the show’. This involved making sure they’d seen the show, live or recorded. Talking together about the show, its ambitions, how it was made, why it was made, and giving opportunities and the right environment for them to ask questions. These meetings were about making each practitioner feel closely connected to the work and part of the team. They were also about working together to figure out different ways of talking about the show, and identifying groups of people to get in touch with. Tap Into Pre-existing Groups Rather than talking to all groups in the same way, it is better to begin with a common point of interest by finding the parts of the show that that group might be interested in or finding a hook for discussion. For example, when talking about Two Man Show, a women's yoga group were interested in a piece about feminism that involves dance. However talking to a young LGBTQ+ mental health group about the same show, the common interest was gender, patriarchy, sexuality and activism and we discussed how the show might partly feel like a gig. Translate Marketing or Descriptive Copy for a Local Audience We worked with our LEP’s to re-write the copy for some shows. They advised us on what words might be misunderstood or put off a local audience, and suggested the language and the parts of the show to highlight. This was a collaboration with the company/ artists and the LEP. It is important the copy is understandable to a local audience, but also that the artists are happy with the descriptions and that they are still true to the show. Transport Transport is an important factor influencing why a big group of people may not come to a show. As one group leader said to us, “it’s all well and good doing this engagement, but if people can’t afford it or don’t know how to get to the theatre, you’re stuffed.” This isn’t something that the company or the LEP should be solely responsible for, it’s better placed with the theatre. But it is worth noting that if there’s a particular group of people the engagement activity is aimed at, transport is a major factor as to why people might not be able to engage.
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Engagement Is Conversations The project trialed a wide range of engagement techniques. The most successful being when a facilitator could talk to a person or a group of people in an environment where they felt comfortable, and simply have a conversation about the show. This often resulted in a willingness for engagement activity, which was always based on the conversation and gauging what that person might be interested in. Free events that happen close to the show also worked well as an environment for conversations, especially if it was on the same day as the show. The LEP would also feed back to the company on activities they had delivered, providing a voice to the groups and communities they were speaking to and shaping the content, information and engagement opportunities the company provided throughout the tour.
Section 2 What works
Workshops for Young People It is beneficial to be able to offer an educational workshop for schools and community groups, with the LEP in discussion with a teacher or group of young people, that is based on their interests or needs. Rash Dash found it interesting to see how students, who appeared uninterested in workshops, were incredibly engaged after seeing the show and had a real energy and enthusiasm. This made them consider whether workshops could work post-show, which would mean they would become more about deepening engagement rather than attracting audiences, but they would be interested in using both models in future. Informal Drinks and Chats Pre-show drinks and discussion on a theme worked well. Offering a free drink in an informal open space to talk about some of the themes of the show, pulled a lot of people in. When the offer is more than just the show, it turns the evening into a bigger event. Online Engagement We recognised that it was difficult to reach a large number of people, whilst wanting to maintain a deeper engagement than just using traditional marketing materials. Making videos to disseminate online was one solution to reaching a larger number of people. For Am I Dead Yet? we made 5 short (3 minute) trailer-type videos that explained the show and gave depth to the themes, creating opportunities for wider conversations. Relationship With the Venue This project enabled us as touring companies to work more closely than usual with the five partner venues to create a collegiate relationship. It felt important and worthwhile to invest time and effort to make the relationship between venue and visiting company as clear, constructive and aligned as possible. A few points to note on this: • The relationship worked best when the LEP’s were able to work independently. • It was useful for the LEP to have access to the venue and feel supported by them with things like using the photocopier, linking in with their contacts, having a space in the venue to work from, and having a point of contact at the venue. • Tapping into pre-existing groups who already use the venue, such as yoga, over 60’s groups, youth groups, knitting groups etc worked well. This was because they were already familiar with the venue, and the LEP was able to attend their groups over a number of weeks to build relationships and develop conversations and interest from them. Practical Information We paid each LEP for between 5-7 days work. This could be extended to more days, budget permitting. With less time, it’s important to work closely with the venue to target pre-existing groups.
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Section 3 What didn't work
Actors Undertake All Activity We originally planned for performers to do much of the engagement, but it soon became apparent that this was not the best strategy. Overall it was too much of an additional role for the actors, expensive to transport them to and from the local areas, and they weren’t necessarily trained in engagement techniques. Rash Dash commented that they felt the number of workshops were challenging as it added to travel and time away, particularly when doing a small scale tour where performers are also involved in helping with get-ins and get-outs. Very Public-facing Engagement The LEPs and companies trialled pop up activities in local shopping centres to engage a wider audience. Although this made the work very visible and public facing, it was difficult to engage the pubic and rarely had a deep enough impact to balance how much resource it used. Assuming You Know What the Public Wants Don’t assume what type of engagement event will be popular. Previously for Am I Dead Yet?, Unlimited Theatre had hosted Death Cafés all over the country and they had a great response. This didn’t always work on tour this time. Listening to the feedback from LEPs about suggested activities was key in shaping what engagement events to provide. Hosting Too Many Extra Activities Too many extra activities dilutes the amount of people who will come to each, and requires further marketing. Unlimited Theatre hosted CPR demonstrations in conjunction with Am I Dead Yet? and this quickly grew to become an event in itself. The company then had two events to market, which was hard work and didn’t impact much on increasing audiences for the show. Being Unrealistic About the Audiences You Are Aiming to Engage More obvious audiences are not necessarily a lazy choice. We began engagement for Two Man Show with the ambition of spending lots of time in pubs, chatting to young men about masculinity, and hoped to engage men who had never considered what the patriarchy is. On reflection, this audience development target was too broad and unlikely to be achieved for a touring production with limited time and resources. In the end, we targeted groups who were already engaged with the subject matter, either directly or indirectly. These people got more enjoyment out of seeing the show than we anticipated. The key learning here was to always be flexible and willing to adapt, and to be resilient and honest rather than over ambitious in setting audience targets.
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Unlimited Theatre Studio 21, Munro House Duke Street Leeds LS9 8AG +44 (0)113 880 5682 unlimited@unlimited.org.uk www.unlimited.org.uk @untheatre