Embracing Digital Theater

Theater is storytelling. The addition of technology over the years has always faced resistance in the theater industry but the pandemic accelerated the inevitable. Disney’s partnership with TikTok to Livestream the opening number for the reopening of The Lion King on Broadway is a perfect example. Digital technology is here to stay, in both making theater and marketing theater. Digital access expands the fanbase, not just for theater but for many types of entertainment, sports, and leisure activities. Do you think there would be as many football fans if they were told, “you can’t see the game unless you go to the stadium?”  Let’s learn how to use digital to create an engaged and robust fanbase within your theater community.

Audience Engagement and Education Starts With Your Own Employees.

One of the best and most cost-effective ways to better your organization is to have knowledgeable staff – and the best way to learn about theater is to see as many shows as possible. This is a valuable component of professional development.  Encourage your employees not only to see every live in-person shows at your theater but to watch digital theater productions online. Most streaming services have apps that allow viewing the show on your big tv screen, tablet or mobile device.

There are hundreds of full-length digital captures available for streaming. “Digital capture” or “live capture” is the industry term referring to the recording by film or video of a stage production. Digital capture is usually done in the theater while the audience is watching the show to create a sense of going to the theater. The capture is the recording is of the full show and done in real-time.

Start a book club-type forum to discuss upcoming shows using digital theater as a reference. This type of online group can be lead by an expert (local library or college Shakespeare historian), employee, cast, or creative of a show.  Discuss topics such as; is this show a revival? Is it based on a book, a Hollywood movie, or a historical event? The upcoming show does not need to be available in digital form but by relating it to other shows, composers, or playwrights that are accessible through the internet, it creates a deeper connection to the show that is coming.

At employee meetings or training sessions give someone an opportunity to discuss a digital show that they have seen in terms of theatrical elements like the style of music, choreography, lighting, set designs, or quick-change costumes and have them connect that digital show to an upcoming in-person stage show.

Tying outside theatrical experiences to your theatrical organization reinforces the importance of your theater as the hub for everything else – the mothership.

Encourage employees to have conversations among themselves about favorite composers, playwrights, directors, or choreographers, and have them try to connect to the shows coming to your theater. For example, Phantom of the Opera is coming to your theater, have employees talk about other Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals, his knighthood, his numerous Tony Awards, or his philanthropy.

Once employees get comfortable with talking about different elements of theater and the current or upcoming show, have them pepper interactions with the audience with facts about the show. Suggest statements like “this show won five Tonys in 2019”, “it’s the composer’s third show” or “did you know that she also wrote a show from last season?” Fun facts to share while serving concessions, ushering people to seats, or checking Covid status can add positive feelings to the atmosphere –  this theater is welcoming!

Seeing one show does not make anyone a theater fan, multiple experiences create deeper knowledge and appreciation for the art form of live theater. Creating theater fans means shifting from a single-ticket buyer to a lifelong patron of your theater. Theater fans will value all the shows in your theater. They might like one show better than another but a theater fan will be able to discuss their preferences with a vocabulary drawing on their multiple experiences. A theater fan is a better-educated consumer of the shows at your theater and will be your biggest supporter, returning often and suggesting your organization to friends and family.

Embrace the digital theater experiences on the internet, use them to draw people to your theater. The digital is a gateway to in-person stage shows. Digital captures are a reminder of all the things we love about the magic of live theater, shared experiences, and storytelling.

Also by Bonnie Comley:

Streaming Allowed Audiences To Discover You During The Pandemic: Now, How To Keep Them?

Artists Move Online: The Pandemic Creates a Generation of Internet Artrepreneurs