Case Studies of Current Practice

The touring production A Clockwork Orange was taken to Stirling.  Younger attenders from the local community and university were targeted with ticket incentives and related workshops.

In Sunderland the film was used as the inspiration for a performance event in a local night club. The event devised and presented by students and Northern Stage was designed to provide young audiences with a taste of a live performance in a more familiar setting than traditional arts venues.

about lead organisation

Northern Stage Ensemble is the largest producing theatre company in the North East of England. It is based at the Playhouse Theatre and the Gulbenkian Studio in Newcastle upon Tyne. The company has an established track record for touring high quality productions which attract younger, and often non-traditional, theatre audiences. The Company also offers a range of participatory arts activities and presents the work of international companies and artists.

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background

In 1998 the company began a pilot programme, funded by Arts Council England's Arts for Everyone Scheme, to find a new way of working by engaging performers, animateurs and stage management on a long-term basis to work with other members of staff as one ensemble. Its first enterprise was a touring production of A Clockwork Orange.

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aims of the project

• To attract first time attenders, especially young people
• To monitor and evaluate the effects on first-time attenders
• To explore price as a barrier to non-attendance
• To extend tours to Scottish borders
• To present work in a new context

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about the project

In Stirling university students were given vouchers for reduced price tickets for performances of A Clockwork Orange at the MacRobert Arts Centre. Established film attenders at the centre were also targeted through a special mailing.

The company hosted an educational interactive workshop, entitled  Malchicks, based around the film.  The workshop was aimed at students on performing arts courses and evaluation forms were handed out.

In Sunderland, the project built on a six-month residency by company members, contacting schools, youth and community groups and students. Seven students from University of Sunderland's creative and performing arts department presented Hammered, an interactive one-off event at the Palace Nightclub.

Three performances at the Sunderland Empire were promoted in the nightclub and in city bars. The Empire monitored rebooking by new attenders.

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about the audience

In Stirling, 686 young people used vouchers to attend the film performances. 

Many new attenders returned, for films and other facilities.

80 young people, mainly on performing arts courses, attended the Malchicks workshop.

In the Palace Nightclub,  Hammered  was presented to 2,500 people. More than 80 per cent of seats occupied at the Empire performances were new attenders and the Empire estimates that 56 per cent of the total audience was under 25 years.

The nightclub promotion yielded 45 attenders. To date 10 per cent of all the new attenders have rebooked, mainly for comedy and live music.

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outcomes and lessons learned

It was felt that audiences for the Malchicks could have been improved if more time had been available to spend working with schools and community groups in advance.

In Sunderland the long lead time made Hammered possible as The Palace Night-club needed encouragement to host it's first live event.

Few clubbers, however, crossed over to the Empire. The project however helped build the company's relationship with the Sunderland public.

New audiences can be attracted to theatres if the product and promotional campaign are matched and if time and resources are invested to build to relationships with people through a range of activities.

This project is highlighted in the Theatre Management Association (TMA) Annual Report for 1999. It highlighted as a model of good marketing practice.

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New Audiences archive