We have a multi-pronged attack towards getting a younger crowd into the
theatre...
- Our second space (The Forge) is pitched at a younger audience than our mainstage. Some of that is in the programming, with edgier plays than we might put on the mainbill, but we also have what's called the "30-Under" club which is free to belong to, and means you can get two
standby tickets to Forge shows for NZ$12 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays - cheaper than the movies!
- We have a long-established troupe of improvisers called the Court Jesters who do a late-night improv show "Scared Scriptless" every Friday night after the mainbill show has finished, and that's a real drawcard for younger audiences; once they're in the
theatre we often find they'll buy tickets for another show which they may not otherwise have come to. Ticket prices for Scriptless are again cheaper than the movies!
- We do a kids' show every school holidays; it usually runs less than an hour and is often a rewrite of a classic story (Cinderella, Robin Hood, Rumplestiltskin, Beauty and the Beast) with three or four actors playing multiple parts - they're high energy and good fun, with plenty of audience participation. They run on the mainstage, using whatever set happens to be in for the mainbill show, with a few additions, and
play twice or three times daily. If we can get them interested in
theatre at seven or eight, we've got a good chance of getting them back in later on!
- We have an Ambassadors program where two students from each local high school are Ambassadors; they get a free ticket to each show and can get discounts for their friends and if they want to come back and see the show again. Ambassadors also have workshops with company staff - acting, directing,
stage management, lighting.....
- We have great relationships with local secondary schools. Often sections of outgoing sets are given to schools (we'd otherwise be dumping them), costumes go out on loan, and technical staff often lend their expertise to assist with school productions. We also often get work experience students through.
- Every year we take a show on the
road to primary schools around the city and sometimes there's a secondary school tour as well (as there is this year).
- We run a schools' theatresports competition - kids will often come and watch their friends compete and we get the Scared Scriptless
effect where they then buy tickets to other shows.
- We use Facebook! If it's good enough for the Royal
Opera House, it's good enough for us...