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 engaging with audiences and with non‐attenders to discover how to best serve the community, most of the 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. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Understanding customer satisfaction in opera: first steps toward a model

“…In order to do this, performing arts organizations need reliable information on the antecedents of customer satisfaction. However, while there is an extensive level of knowledge about customer satisfaction in the general services marketing literature, research on customer satisfaction in performing arts organizations is still scarce (Scollen, 2008).…”

Theatre Talks – Audience Development in Three Perspectives: Marketing, Cultural Policy and Theatrical Communication

“…Kolb 2008: 129-130]. However, as further research show [Scollen 2008;Hansen 2015]: they hold a very promising potential for audience development (including groups that consist of non-theatregoers). In the meantime, this was not Sauter's intended use of the method.…”

“…In this article, I will focus on describing the reception research method, Theatre Talks, which became a tool that can be used for multiple purposes. I will show how it stimulated development of a theatre communications model [Sauter 2000], trace its evolution into an audience development method for non-theatregoers [Scollen 2008] and as a tool for increasing the democratic potential of theatre [Hansen 2013]. Further, I argue that Theatre Talks may serve to bring together three perspectives of audience development: (1) marketing (in increasing and diversifying groups of spectators), (2) cultural policy (in including excluded groups), and (3) theatrical communication (in supporting better understanding of theatrical codes and conventions), and in doing so they could become an instrument of development for both theatre institutions and audiences.…”

Acquiring Start-Up Funding for New Arts Organizations

“…The core competencies needed to address audience connection pivots on services expertise. Fostering artistic quality (in its infinite variety), as well as attending to audience awareness, understanding, and affinity for presented materials and performers—all factor very highly for emerging arts groups (Scollen ). Nevertheless, connecting with audiences also requires a start‐to‐finish management of the overall experience—from getting information, to ticketing, to finding parking and seats, to mid‐show logistics, to post‐performance hospitality.…”