Reminder: This Blog will be our main source for communication between the members. As always, thoughts and suggestions should be sent to: thecollective9@gmail.com or brought up to a board member at any time. Board members: Victoria Dicce, Robert Z. Grant, Kevin Kane, Brian Leider, Nina Mehta and Lisa K.
1) SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF NO EMPTY SEATS (NES) CAMPAIGN
A) Financial Report
- We recovered 90% of our financial goal: we made back a little over $13,000 of the $14,500 budget for this production.
- We started the summer with a little over $3,000 in the bank, so we now have ~ $1,500 in seed money for the upcoming productions.
- Some the last-minute additional fees that we paid to NYTW could not have been anticipated, so we essentially hit our original mark for the production to pay for itself, and the money we allocated to this production managed to establish our brand with new audience, press, and industry.
- Either through admissions or donations, we collected $18, for all but 8 of the 750 seats we had available for this production, so financially we filled 99% of the seat capacity for this production.
B) Audience Reach Report
- We filled with audience an average of [~45] seats/night for the June run, 68 seats/night for the July run, and 72 seats/night of the August run. (*June numbers should be double-checked.)
- The capacity for Teatro is listed as 55 seats with a fire code allowing up to 74 seats, while the capacity for 4th St. Theatre is listed as 60 seats with a fire code allowing up to 72 seats, so we were slightly under capacity for the June run and slightly over capacity for both the July and August runs.
- 740 people saw the show: 99% of our goal.
- The June audience was comprised primarily of existing Collective loyalists; the July and August audiences were comprised of first-time audience members who heard the buzz created during the previous runs.
- The August run included an average of 2 press/industry patrons per performance and all three weeks included artists interested in working with the group.
- More than 50% of the industry/press who attended "Someone" have already booked their tickets for our next show "Nuts."
2) PRODUCTION PRACTICES TO MAINTAIN/AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
- We want to continue to use "pay what you can" language to encourage donations, and we want to own the phrase as part of our brand identity to make vital theatre accessible.
- Establishing and mentioning several locations and times to donate (in the vase on the way in, at the bar during intermission, in the vase on the way out after the show, via the Internet the next day) encourages patrons to participate without making them feel uncomfortable or putting them on the spot.
- The box office/front of house staff can set the tone for the entire experience by meeting patrons, collecting e-mail addresses, and providing details about the show.
- Collating programs the night before each performance will ensure that we have all the materials we need.
- Mentioning the next show on our calendar allows us to cross-promote.
- Patrons responded that they appreciated the bar: bar offerings have become part of the Collective experience, not just for option to have a drink but for the resulting social, mingling opportunities with Collective members and among patrons.
* Shout out: more than once, audience cited Jeff Berg as "an awesome bartender."
- Patrons responded positively to a street-level theatre, and since we benefited from our alliance with Fourth Arts Block, we should consider booking those theatres again.
- Audience was impressed with the artistic aspects --acting, directing, design-- of "Someone."
3) FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS/AREAS TO IMPROVE
- Press/industry attendance is a development from previous Collective shows, but given the Collective membership numbers, we can improve this attendance going forward with continued personal invitations from members.
-Although the three separate engagements were inefficient for loading, in this instance the extended time frame increased our audience and promotion momentum. We should continue to to explore non-traditional scheduling models and to consider labor intensity.
- Members and audience responded with pride to the establishment of the Collective brand as one that
* presents both new work and previously produced work with an original perspective;
* prepares work over time, specifically, methodically, thoroughly (sharing work when it is ready, as opposed to adhering to a pre-planned schedule, contributing to the expectation that "the work will be good");
* works continuously as part of "the center of the epi-center of arts that is NYC"; and
* makes vital theatre accessible.
TO THAT END, regarding maintaining and showcasing the way we work and the way we want to develop work: in addition to the scenes we are undertaking from "Seagull" and "Lefty," any time that members develop a personal slate of scripts to tackle on Mondays, they commit not only to maintaining their craft but to developing the potential performance/production docket for the group.
Ideally, we can overflow Mondays with work at the same time that we are producing work that emerged from Monday work sessions so that we are constantly working at full capacity and creativity.
- Regarding new work and the impending "Nuts" run, discussion highlighted the prolific and inspirational benefits of writers working in collaboration with a home development/production company.
4) COLLECTIVE MONDAY HIATUS - Collective Mondays will begin a 3-week break starting Sept. 6th (Sept. 6, 13 and 20th)
5) WARNING: MAY CONTAIN NUTS opens n Tuesday, August 31st. All members should pick up postcards and submit availability for staffing - contact B.Parrish (2fishproductions@gmail.com) for more information.
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