"They're Your Tools."

This evening I begin with a quote and title borrowed from The Guys, by Anne Nelson:

JOAN: "(...) I want to do something. But this is all I know how to do. Words. I can't think of anything else."

NICK: "That's OK. They're your tools."

These lines are a bit out of context, taken from a poignant and beautiful play set in the days following the attacks on September 11, 2001. I think of them as important reminders to theatre practitioners. Words are our tools.

I'm beginning this way in an attempt to bring it back to my own current set of tools, and hopefully, a set that belongs to many of you, as well. Not only do I have the opportunity to build with my tools onstage, I also have a blog and several social media pages which I can build with words off stage, too.

Bigger than Myself

I feel very lucky to have been chosen as a guest blogger for the lovely blog NeverSeconds by young foodie and philanthropist Martha Payne (aka VEG). When I approached Veg and her dad about being a guest blogger, I thought it would be a fun way to share a bit about the food served at Texas Tech University with fellow NeverSeconds readers. Then I realized... her page has had over 6,000,000 (yes, all those zeros are correct...) views! I have actually been given the opportunity to be an ambassador for my school, my state, and even my country, as I represent the only U.S. school chosen so far. What a privilege and a responsibility!

#Hashtag That

OK... Short and simple tonight. I'm very new to Twitter and am teaching myself- through articles, blog posts, etc- about how to use it well. So, some of you may say, I've got the Twittter thing covered, thanks. But, if you are new to the site like me, or if you haven't yet unleashed the power of the hashtag, that's what I'd like to, well, ahem... hash out, this evening.

We've seen them everywhere. Many of our favorite TV shows have hashtags associated with them. Jimmy Fallon is somewhat of a master "hashtag-er." We've also seen hashtags for our favorite LORT theatres and shows. But, have you or has your organization ever started one?

How "Social" Is Your Social Media?

I spent some time this evening reading through an article on the Public Relations Tactics website. The title is Cultural snapshots: 4 PR pros who are curating vibrant arts communities by Amy Jacques. The article is comprised of a redux of interviews with PR professionals from several arts and culture organizations. when asked, the people interviewed talked about how social media impacted their work and created dialogue with their audiences. I did note that none of the professionals worked for a theatre company.

My area of interest lies in not-for-profit regional theatre. There are many companies throughout the U.S. who are using social media effectively to create the kind of dialogue with loyal patrons and reach new audiences in the ways this article mentions.

The Influence of Friends

So... I went to see the new movie Rock of Ages tonight. As much as I love theatre and particularly musical theatre, I really had no intention of seeing this film. Perhaps I'll discuss my issues with "jukebox musicals" and "moviecals" in a future post. For tonight, I'd like to briefly talk about why I did go see it after all.

Like many of you, I have been over-exposed to ads and other marketing, which have been endlessly plugging this film for weeks. I've tuned it all out, for the most part. I still had no intention of seeing the film even after endless TV commercials and interviews. However, a friend of mine is writing his dissertation on "jukebox musicals," and quietly invited a few friends to see Rock of Ages with him via a private message on Facebook. This one personal and highly influential move made me decide to see this (raucously funny) movie after all.

What Makes You Theatre?

Today, as I was surveying what various LORT (League of Resident Theatres) theatres were communicating through their websites, I began reading posts in the Actors Theatre of Louisville blog. A post from May 8th contained a discussion of and a link to the Theatre Communications Group I AM THEATRE YouTube channel. Although I have seen a few of these videos over the past year, as the project is part of the TCG 50th Anniversary, I had not taken the time to really take in the relevance of the project.

It began with a group of 50 theatre practitioners selected by TCG to tell their individual stories of how and why they are theatre. Actors, directors, music directors, playwrights, educators, administrators, and more are represented. After visiting the TCG I AM THEATRE page, I realized the project is much more than just the stories of top professionals hand-selected by TCG. Those first fifty videos were created to encourage everyone involved in theatre to tell their stories. What a great idea!

To Tweet Seat Or Not To Tweet Seat

As I sit here late on a Saturday night after a very long day of work when I probably should be thinking about sleep, I'm thinking about "Tweet Seats." You may ask yourselves, "What is a 'Tweet Seat'?" I've wondered quite a bit lately about the kind of publicity or general PR that can be generated for a theatrical production through this fairly recent development.

A "Tweet Seat" or "Tweet Seat Performance" is an area of a theatre or perhaps an entire performance dedicated to allowing patrons to get out those smartphones- yes, during the show, gasp...- to Tweet about the goings on during a performance. Perhaps a patron wants to give a "shout out" to a particularly strong number, scene, or performer. Perhaps they want to tell everyone they know to #comeseethisshow.