Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Notes from March 30th
DSI
- Using theatre as a means of exploring the truth-consciousness of present day social concerns, Applebox Theatre partners with established non-profit organizations to foster community engagment.
- Applebox partners with non-profit organizations to interpret social concerns through theatrical performance.
MISC
- partnerships with non-profits (relationship to raise awareness/engagement)
- intriguing to other demographics (credibility)
- an artistic voice that inspires
- performance that inspires an artistic voice to social issues/ concerns
- to interpret social concerns through performance
- theater for fund raising objectives (progressive)
-
- Using theatre as a means of exploring the truth-consciousness of present day social concerns, Applebox Theatre partners with established non-profit organizations to foster community engagment.
- Applebox partners with non-profit organizations to interpret social concerns through theatrical performance.
MISC
- partnerships with non-profits (relationship to raise awareness/engagement)
- intriguing to other demographics (credibility)
- an artistic voice that inspires
- performance that inspires an artistic voice to social issues/ concerns
- to interpret social concerns through performance
- theater for fund raising objectives (progressive)
-
Notes From March 18th
Process for branding initiative: Objective
- emotionally engaging, compelling, supportive, captivating, empathy
Specialty Attributes
- local, individually run, partnerships between community and a social issue, addresses pertinent issues of our time, provides artistic voice to non-profits, voices a cause, noble cause, their mobile.
Position
- fit a niche market, directed towards socially conscious issues, addresses a specific need.
- informs, calls to action, reaction
Competitor Specialties
- a good number of theaters are non-profit/ tax exempt, sponsored by non-profits, sustainable on their own, dedicated space, established contingent of public/ following, investment capital, background support and resources.
Specialty Statement
- Applebox is a local theater that provides a unique experience by bringing an artistic voice to socially conscious issues.
- Applebox theater provides a mobile entertainment that has been capturing audiences since 2009. (emotionally captivating drama and humor that creates an experience that...)
- Desire to be apart of the social action. (Human Condition)
-Applebox's local foundation provides an artistic voice for under represented social issues.
- Engage communities
Tag Line
- Good theatre inspires, Applebox takes the next step...
- emotionally engaging, compelling, supportive, captivating, empathy
Specialty Attributes
- local, individually run, partnerships between community and a social issue, addresses pertinent issues of our time, provides artistic voice to non-profits, voices a cause, noble cause, their mobile.
Position
- fit a niche market, directed towards socially conscious issues, addresses a specific need.
- informs, calls to action, reaction
Competitor Specialties
- a good number of theaters are non-profit/ tax exempt, sponsored by non-profits, sustainable on their own, dedicated space, established contingent of public/ following, investment capital, background support and resources.
Specialty Statement
- Applebox is a local theater that provides a unique experience by bringing an artistic voice to socially conscious issues.
- Applebox theater provides a mobile entertainment that has been capturing audiences since 2009. (emotionally captivating drama and humor that creates an experience that...)
- Desire to be apart of the social action. (Human Condition)
-Applebox's local foundation provides an artistic voice for under represented social issues.
- Engage communities
Tag Line
- Good theatre inspires, Applebox takes the next step...
Monday, March 22, 2010
deb flomberg Interview
What are your theatres objectives?
Personally, my objectives are to find ways to continue to explore my own passion and artistic drives. Professionally, within Equinox Theatre Company - our objectives are to provide new and different works that challenge both mentally and artistically for the crew and for the audience alike.
How did your theatre group as a whole originate?
We were founded about a year ago by 5 active members of the theatre community. We saw a lot of the same material being done over and over again and wanted to create moe oppotunities for new work. We had all worked together in many capacities over the course of about 5 years prior to founding Equinox, so we knew we'd all work well together. Equinox was founded out of love for the art and love for eachother.
What kind of touring experiences does your theatre have?
As of today, we have not had any touring experience with Equinox. We are still young, so who knows what the future will bring.
How many performances do you average in a year?
Our first year we had 3 shows - two fully stages plays with 4 week runs and 1 fund raiser that ran for 2 nights.
How many staff members make up the back of the house staff for a performance?
Our house is usually run by 3 people - 1 box office person and 2 ushers. Technically, we usually have an additional 2 or 3 people during the run depending on the needs of the show. 1 stage manager and 1 or 2 board ops. This also doesn't include our designers that work during all the rehearsals and are not at performances. We usually have 4 designers per show as well.
What challenges as a theater have you had to overcome or still deal with today? How did you solve these problems? Well, of course the constant issue is funding. The economy has impacted the arts in a big way - we are all struggling with money and struggling to survive. We exist in a show to show basis right now. We do one show, and hope to earn enough from it to do the next one. The trouble with that is that we are unable to plan out a full year in advance or sell season tickets. It also makes it harder to gain a following. We've been very blessed to have made enough to keep on truckin though, and we will continue to do so.
How important do you feel the community is both towards involvement with your theater and its influence to your success?
This is huge. Theatre is about community. Part of our difficulty has been establishing that community since we do not have our own theatre. We've moved from Lowry, to the DU area to the Highlands area - so many different communities have been involved. The best way to succeed is to establish yourself firmly in the community - do outreach, offer classes, etc. Then the community will support you. Art brings community together, and vice verse. Hopefully, we'll establish ourselves in the Highlands and start to build this for ourselves too.
Who do you generally market your performances towards? How many seats do you fill on average with your performances?
This is a toughy. Previously, we did general mass marketing - to little success. We'd have on average 10 - 15 people a night at performances. However, with our current show House of Yes we've done a very good job with marketing to the "20- something hipsters" with our involvement with area bars like The Thin Man and our involvement with The Denver Roller Dolls, and other ideas like that. We've been working hard to get more word out - and its showing. We've averaged 30 - 50 per night with this one, so it is a large improvement.
What genres does your theatre prefer to perform, and what are the most successful with audiences?
We focus on the dark, the unusual, or the edgy - which, to be honest, isn't always the most successful with audiences. The most attended shows in Denver lately are farces, murder mysteries, and musicals. We are branching out to an edgy musical with our next one, so lets hope that one does well!
As a theatre group how do you market yourself to your targeted audiences and beyond?
Well, we are still learning this one. The House of Yes marekting we've done is the most we've seen so far. The creative marketing techniques were used to tie in the show to other pop-culture ideas, like our Jackie-O-Look-a-Like conest - which was judges by 3 major television news personalities. We were very lucky there :)
What direction do you see Denver’s theater scene evolving into over the next 10 years?
I hope that it continues to grow, that the economy revives, and that Denver will eventually be recognized as the creative center it really is. There are some 70 theatre companies in the state, and most people do not know of any other than the Denver Center. Thats just a shame. There should be a lot more focus on the amazing talent and creativity that survives here. There is no reason Denver shouldn't be up there with Seattle and Chicago as the big theatre scenes outside of New York.
How would you value your theatres ability to serve as a means of social awareness for social activism?
We have to be very careful with this one. As a 501c3 non-profit we are not allowed to participate in any social activism that may make a political statement. So that is a tricky one. But, we do feel that social awareness and messages can and have been presented in our shows. For example, our production of Below the Fold had, at its essence, a message about being true to your roots and loving your family. While another producion we did, Frozen, was about recovery from grief and pain. So we do make a lot of social statements, we just can't get near anything political.
Personally, my objectives are to find ways to continue to explore my own passion and artistic drives. Professionally, within Equinox Theatre Company - our objectives are to provide new and different works that challenge both mentally and artistically for the crew and for the audience alike.
How did your theatre group as a whole originate?
We were founded about a year ago by 5 active members of the theatre community. We saw a lot of the same material being done over and over again and wanted to create moe oppotunities for new work. We had all worked together in many capacities over the course of about 5 years prior to founding Equinox, so we knew we'd all work well together. Equinox was founded out of love for the art and love for eachother.
What kind of touring experiences does your theatre have?
As of today, we have not had any touring experience with Equinox. We are still young, so who knows what the future will bring.
How many performances do you average in a year?
Our first year we had 3 shows - two fully stages plays with 4 week runs and 1 fund raiser that ran for 2 nights.
How many staff members make up the back of the house staff for a performance?
Our house is usually run by 3 people - 1 box office person and 2 ushers. Technically, we usually have an additional 2 or 3 people during the run depending on the needs of the show. 1 stage manager and 1 or 2 board ops. This also doesn't include our designers that work during all the rehearsals and are not at performances. We usually have 4 designers per show as well.
What challenges as a theater have you had to overcome or still deal with today? How did you solve these problems? Well, of course the constant issue is funding. The economy has impacted the arts in a big way - we are all struggling with money and struggling to survive. We exist in a show to show basis right now. We do one show, and hope to earn enough from it to do the next one. The trouble with that is that we are unable to plan out a full year in advance or sell season tickets. It also makes it harder to gain a following. We've been very blessed to have made enough to keep on truckin though, and we will continue to do so.
How important do you feel the community is both towards involvement with your theater and its influence to your success?
This is huge. Theatre is about community. Part of our difficulty has been establishing that community since we do not have our own theatre. We've moved from Lowry, to the DU area to the Highlands area - so many different communities have been involved. The best way to succeed is to establish yourself firmly in the community - do outreach, offer classes, etc. Then the community will support you. Art brings community together, and vice verse. Hopefully, we'll establish ourselves in the Highlands and start to build this for ourselves too.
Who do you generally market your performances towards? How many seats do you fill on average with your performances?
This is a toughy. Previously, we did general mass marketing - to little success. We'd have on average 10 - 15 people a night at performances. However, with our current show House of Yes we've done a very good job with marketing to the "20- something hipsters" with our involvement with area bars like The Thin Man and our involvement with The Denver Roller Dolls, and other ideas like that. We've been working hard to get more word out - and its showing. We've averaged 30 - 50 per night with this one, so it is a large improvement.
What genres does your theatre prefer to perform, and what are the most successful with audiences?
We focus on the dark, the unusual, or the edgy - which, to be honest, isn't always the most successful with audiences. The most attended shows in Denver lately are farces, murder mysteries, and musicals. We are branching out to an edgy musical with our next one, so lets hope that one does well!
As a theatre group how do you market yourself to your targeted audiences and beyond?
Well, we are still learning this one. The House of Yes marekting we've done is the most we've seen so far. The creative marketing techniques were used to tie in the show to other pop-culture ideas, like our Jackie-O-Look-a-Like conest - which was judges by 3 major television news personalities. We were very lucky there :)
What direction do you see Denver’s theater scene evolving into over the next 10 years?
I hope that it continues to grow, that the economy revives, and that Denver will eventually be recognized as the creative center it really is. There are some 70 theatre companies in the state, and most people do not know of any other than the Denver Center. Thats just a shame. There should be a lot more focus on the amazing talent and creativity that survives here. There is no reason Denver shouldn't be up there with Seattle and Chicago as the big theatre scenes outside of New York.
How would you value your theatres ability to serve as a means of social awareness for social activism?
We have to be very careful with this one. As a 501c3 non-profit we are not allowed to participate in any social activism that may make a political statement. So that is a tricky one. But, we do feel that social awareness and messages can and have been presented in our shows. For example, our production of Below the Fold had, at its essence, a message about being true to your roots and loving your family. While another producion we did, Frozen, was about recovery from grief and pain. So we do make a lot of social statements, we just can't get near anything political.
Interview answers - Buntport Theatre
Even Weissman Buntport theatre:
Who do you generally market your performances towards? How many seats do you fill on average with your performances?
we make shows that we like and then put them on...as we write and create our shows we don't have a target audience in mind. However, our audience has grown over nine years to be an oddly diverse crowd (in theater terms) especially younger folks and those that don't normally go to theater. Our seats are modular, so the number depends on each show, but generally around 100 for each night of our mainstage shows.
What genres does your theatre prefer to perform, and what are the most successful with audiences?
We write all our own work...we call it "Transformational theater" but that doesn't really mean anything to anyone else. Some folks in the press have begun describing things "Buntportian" if they involve set pieces that are treated like another character---changing into lots of different things......Comedies work very well for us, though 90% of our shows are "dramadies" I'd say!
As a theatre group how do you market yourself to your targeted audiences and beyond?
We are lucky enough to have built up a large audience base without any advertising. We did 8 years of a live sit-com on tuesdays and wednesdays that brought in a lot of folks who then came to our mainstage shows. However, we try and utilize the web and social media sites, cross-promotion with other theaters, artists and non-profits in the area.
What direction do you see Denver’s theater scene evolving into over the next 10 years?
Tough to say. I wish for more folks doing original work. It's so necessary for a community. I'd like to see ticket prices reduced as well! My guess, with the loss of newspapers, and tv rarely covering any theater, that we'll continue to see a decline in ticket revenue for a lot of theaters, but then there will be a resurgence: it will be "hip" to see things locally made as opposed to zapped in from LA on the tv.
How would you value your theatres ability to serve as a means of social awareness for social activism?
I value it highly, though I'm not sure about our ability. Theater CAN be a great vehicle for social activism. The main questions for artists creating work are: SHOULD my work be a vehicle or social activism, and HOW to do it? At Buntport, we try to layer our work in order to be both accessible to audiences and make them think (and laugh, etc...). We are not a "political" theater. I have worked with political theaters and they have an important role. Sometimes, you want to hammer people on the head about an issue, and sometimes you don't want to---the question is really effectiveness and when you get bogged down in effectiveness, it can lead to inaction---which is the opposite of what you want if you have a social ethic of change in your mindset. So, sometimes you preach to the choir, sometimes you preach to the whole community, and both are good. We try to write about what we're interested in and hope that inspires thought and action.
What are your theatres objectives?
accessibility and affordability for our original works. Also, we work in a non-hierarchical, collaborative way because we think it's the most empowering way to create as artists. Democracy works and is hard and annoying and is better than the alternative!
How did your theatre group as a whole originate?
"Hey let's make a show" "Cool" Made the show, toured it around to fringe festivals, made another. Decided to try and get serious about it. Fundraised, found a warehouse, started making shows---got lucky!
What kind of touring experiences does your theatre have?
Not too much---originally we toured the fringe circuit in Canada, went to philadelphia and chicago...but since we got our own space, we really only go elsewhere when we perform at a college or something like that.
How many performances do you average in a year?
We usually debut 3 or 4 world premieres a year. We wrote 100 episodes of our sitcoms. We've made 29 plays in 9 years (which is a LOT). Also, we have an ongoing show at the Denver Art Museum every month.
How many staff members make up the back of the house staff for a performance?
We are six people for everything---writing, acting, writing grants, designing, cleaning the bathrooms. Typically, 5 of us act and one is the technician. We get volunteers to run the box office.
What challenges as a theater have you had to overcome or still deal with today? How did you solve these problems?
Getting legitimacy in some ways. We've won over 60 awards but most people we meet in the supermarket have never heard of us or think we're some kind of improv troupe. Unless you've got lots of cash to market yourselves in some sleek way, things just take on a life of their own. But after nine years in Denver, that's been decreasing. Fundraising is a constant challenge. Keeping our ticket prices low is important to us, but it does make it harder to bring in more revenue.
How important do you feel the community is both towards involvement with your theater and its influence to your success?
It's most everything. We believe that a strong community needs the arts and a strong arts community needs the community at large. We hold a benefit night during each run of a show, where we give 100% of the box office sales to another community group. Philanthropy should be reciprocal and serial. We collaborate with tons of other groups. We work with students all the time, to expose them to what theater can mean (not just incredible sets that cost a ton, but using their imaginations). We got a grant to give away free tickets to six community groups who work with folks that could not, or would not otherwise come to theater: the homeless, the working poor, recent immigrants among them. We have pay-what-you-can nights for every show. If we're ever going to change anything in our community, it has to start with ourselves.
Who do you generally market your performances towards? How many seats do you fill on average with your performances?
we make shows that we like and then put them on...as we write and create our shows we don't have a target audience in mind. However, our audience has grown over nine years to be an oddly diverse crowd (in theater terms) especially younger folks and those that don't normally go to theater. Our seats are modular, so the number depends on each show, but generally around 100 for each night of our mainstage shows.
What genres does your theatre prefer to perform, and what are the most successful with audiences?
We write all our own work...we call it "Transformational theater" but that doesn't really mean anything to anyone else. Some folks in the press have begun describing things "Buntportian" if they involve set pieces that are treated like another character---changing into lots of different things......Comedies work very well for us, though 90% of our shows are "dramadies" I'd say!
As a theatre group how do you market yourself to your targeted audiences and beyond?
We are lucky enough to have built up a large audience base without any advertising. We did 8 years of a live sit-com on tuesdays and wednesdays that brought in a lot of folks who then came to our mainstage shows. However, we try and utilize the web and social media sites, cross-promotion with other theaters, artists and non-profits in the area.
What direction do you see Denver’s theater scene evolving into over the next 10 years?
Tough to say. I wish for more folks doing original work. It's so necessary for a community. I'd like to see ticket prices reduced as well! My guess, with the loss of newspapers, and tv rarely covering any theater, that we'll continue to see a decline in ticket revenue for a lot of theaters, but then there will be a resurgence: it will be "hip" to see things locally made as opposed to zapped in from LA on the tv.
How would you value your theatres ability to serve as a means of social awareness for social activism?
I value it highly, though I'm not sure about our ability. Theater CAN be a great vehicle for social activism. The main questions for artists creating work are: SHOULD my work be a vehicle or social activism, and HOW to do it? At Buntport, we try to layer our work in order to be both accessible to audiences and make them think (and laugh, etc...). We are not a "political" theater. I have worked with political theaters and they have an important role. Sometimes, you want to hammer people on the head about an issue, and sometimes you don't want to---the question is really effectiveness and when you get bogged down in effectiveness, it can lead to inaction---which is the opposite of what you want if you have a social ethic of change in your mindset. So, sometimes you preach to the choir, sometimes you preach to the whole community, and both are good. We try to write about what we're interested in and hope that inspires thought and action.
What are your theatres objectives?
accessibility and affordability for our original works. Also, we work in a non-hierarchical, collaborative way because we think it's the most empowering way to create as artists. Democracy works and is hard and annoying and is better than the alternative!
How did your theatre group as a whole originate?
"Hey let's make a show" "Cool" Made the show, toured it around to fringe festivals, made another. Decided to try and get serious about it. Fundraised, found a warehouse, started making shows---got lucky!
What kind of touring experiences does your theatre have?
Not too much---originally we toured the fringe circuit in Canada, went to philadelphia and chicago...but since we got our own space, we really only go elsewhere when we perform at a college or something like that.
How many performances do you average in a year?
We usually debut 3 or 4 world premieres a year. We wrote 100 episodes of our sitcoms. We've made 29 plays in 9 years (which is a LOT). Also, we have an ongoing show at the Denver Art Museum every month.
How many staff members make up the back of the house staff for a performance?
We are six people for everything---writing, acting, writing grants, designing, cleaning the bathrooms. Typically, 5 of us act and one is the technician. We get volunteers to run the box office.
What challenges as a theater have you had to overcome or still deal with today? How did you solve these problems?
Getting legitimacy in some ways. We've won over 60 awards but most people we meet in the supermarket have never heard of us or think we're some kind of improv troupe. Unless you've got lots of cash to market yourselves in some sleek way, things just take on a life of their own. But after nine years in Denver, that's been decreasing. Fundraising is a constant challenge. Keeping our ticket prices low is important to us, but it does make it harder to bring in more revenue.
How important do you feel the community is both towards involvement with your theater and its influence to your success?
It's most everything. We believe that a strong community needs the arts and a strong arts community needs the community at large. We hold a benefit night during each run of a show, where we give 100% of the box office sales to another community group. Philanthropy should be reciprocal and serial. We collaborate with tons of other groups. We work with students all the time, to expose them to what theater can mean (not just incredible sets that cost a ton, but using their imaginations). We got a grant to give away free tickets to six community groups who work with folks that could not, or would not otherwise come to theater: the homeless, the working poor, recent immigrants among them. We have pay-what-you-can nights for every show. If we're ever going to change anything in our community, it has to start with ourselves.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Erin Lee Research
Research Project 5
A brand is a psychological entity that exists in the mind of the consumer. Products are made in factories; brands exist in the consumer's mind. All brands stand for something in the consumer’s eyes, and what a brand stands for is vitally important for the success of business and product. Many must link their brands to other entities, for example, people, places, things, or other brands, as a means to improve their brand equity. Like piggy backing on others success.
The brand's resources gratify, enable and enrich the self and can be represented in the consumer's mental representation, which connects the brand to the self. The way in which different parts of an organization are able to feed in their views, and are heard, as well as the role local groups and individual members play in helping to determine future direction of policy.
The view that semantic representations are necessary in the sentence comprehension process and is plausible, since it provides for an extremely natural account of communication exchanges between speakers and hearers. On this account, the formal objects that are encoded and recovered in speech exchanges are semantic representations. It seems that any psychological model of such exchanges must recognize some formal object, which captures the notion of the message in a standard communicated sentence.
There are four dimensions of psychological distance, temporal distance, spatial distance, social distance, and hypothetically. Each of these dimensions is highly relevant to the psychology of consumer decision-making. For example, individuals often commit now to a decision that will go into effect at a later point. It is similarly common to buy something now for use at a later date. Think relationships. Think of a customer saying, "What's in it for me?" not a marketer saying, "Cool, I have another marketing tool!" Think of customers talking with each other, not companies adding social media to their "marketing mix."
The consumer mind is insecure; minds are both emotional and rational. Purchasing decisions are really not known because minds remember things that no longer exist. Branding for sensory information stimulates the relationship with the brand because it allows an emotional response to rational thinking. It also offers different dimensions for a single brand. The ultimate should be a strong, positive, and loyal relationship between brand and consumer.
It is not charisma that creates leadership. You are the same as your consumer, not superior. Getting consumers to see themselves as part of a group provides them with a social identity. When a customer chooses a product, their memory is triggered and they remember a television commercial they saw, or a jingle they heard on the radio or the big sign they see while driving home from work every day. This makes them familiar with the product more than inexpensive products. Even if you are not in a store, some of the jingles you have heard get stuck in your head and you find yourself singing or humming them.
A brand is a psychological entity that exists in the mind of the consumer. Products are made in factories; brands exist in the consumer's mind. All brands stand for something in the consumer’s eyes, and what a brand stands for is vitally important for the success of business and product. Many must link their brands to other entities, for example, people, places, things, or other brands, as a means to improve their brand equity. Like piggy backing on others success.
The brand's resources gratify, enable and enrich the self and can be represented in the consumer's mental representation, which connects the brand to the self. The way in which different parts of an organization are able to feed in their views, and are heard, as well as the role local groups and individual members play in helping to determine future direction of policy.
The view that semantic representations are necessary in the sentence comprehension process and is plausible, since it provides for an extremely natural account of communication exchanges between speakers and hearers. On this account, the formal objects that are encoded and recovered in speech exchanges are semantic representations. It seems that any psychological model of such exchanges must recognize some formal object, which captures the notion of the message in a standard communicated sentence.
There are four dimensions of psychological distance, temporal distance, spatial distance, social distance, and hypothetically. Each of these dimensions is highly relevant to the psychology of consumer decision-making. For example, individuals often commit now to a decision that will go into effect at a later point. It is similarly common to buy something now for use at a later date. Think relationships. Think of a customer saying, "What's in it for me?" not a marketer saying, "Cool, I have another marketing tool!" Think of customers talking with each other, not companies adding social media to their "marketing mix."
The consumer mind is insecure; minds are both emotional and rational. Purchasing decisions are really not known because minds remember things that no longer exist. Branding for sensory information stimulates the relationship with the brand because it allows an emotional response to rational thinking. It also offers different dimensions for a single brand. The ultimate should be a strong, positive, and loyal relationship between brand and consumer.
It is not charisma that creates leadership. You are the same as your consumer, not superior. Getting consumers to see themselves as part of a group provides them with a social identity. When a customer chooses a product, their memory is triggered and they remember a television commercial they saw, or a jingle they heard on the radio or the big sign they see while driving home from work every day. This makes them familiar with the product more than inexpensive products. Even if you are not in a store, some of the jingles you have heard get stuck in your head and you find yourself singing or humming them.
PTSD & Veterans Affairs Research
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is the second largest department in the US Government; it is second to the US Department of Defense. It was created during the Revolutionary war to provide medical help to those injured during battle. As the United States became involved in more and more fighting the amount of funding put towards the Department of Veterans Affairs increased. Currently, the department receives funding from both the government as well as numerous sponsoring organizations. Upon joining the military everyone is guaranteed services provided by the USDVA for themselves and their family. These services include Health Care, Life Insurance, Dental Benefits, financial benefits, home loans, vocational rehabilitation, education, as well as various services for surviving families. The United States offers the most comprehensive system of assistance for veterans in the world. This is greatly attributed to the assistance they provide for dependents and survivors as well as those dealing with mental illness.
The most common illness seen in veterans is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. The National Institute of Mental Health defines PTSD as an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat. Common symptoms of PTSD include persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal, emotionally numbness especially with people they were once close to, sleep problems, feel detached or numb, they are easily startled, as well as fits of anger or rage. In order to be clinically diagnosed with PTSD a person must show at least one of these symptoms regularly for at least one month.
Dealing with this disorder as well as the other side effects of returning from war is very taxing for both the person affected as well as the people they are close to. The only medications prescribed to assist people with the disorder are anti-depressants, which for many people come with a whole other list of side effects. The best way to assist someone with PTSD is to let them know that you are their for them one hundred percent. Each person will deal with the effects of this differently and providing support for them is the best way to help.
PTSD can also affect the survivors of those lost in combat. I have witnessed this first hand. One of my best friends lost her older brother in Iraq and I was present when the two Army soldiers walked to the door to inform her mother of the news. The whole practice of how this news is delivered is quite the event in itself and is exactly like it’s depicted in the movies. The weeks and months following this were a whirlwind with lots of time spent trying to find the right words to say to make things even a tiny bit better but that was a task that was impossible. I quickly figured out that the best way to help my friend and her family was to just be there. This is the goal of many non-profits that aid veterans. They look for not only funding for families but for community support so that whenever a family needs they have someone to simply be there for them.
Sources:
Research on Comparable Endeavors
Socially conscious theatre is a select niche for the performing arts; so it is imperative to know what are currently the trends and habits of the few theatre troupes that fall into this niche with the greater Denver area. The theatre troupe Apple Box is a new an exciting start up theatre troupe that falls into the category of performing socially conscious venues. Apple Box’s isn’t profit driven so in many ways their business model has to be very similar to a non-profit organization; so that is another theatre type to reference, the non-profits. The goal of the comparison and researching of theatre troupes similar to Apple Box is to discover how a socially conscious theatre and thrive in Denver, and do so without using profit as their drive.
Denver is actually a fairly large and nationally recognized city for the performing arts and theatre; unfortunately most are profit based and larger theatres that have more mainstream performances. So after weeding out a lot of the mainstream, there were many different small troupes and theatre groups that have a good following in the greater Denver area. There are four that were focused on for research purposes; two non-profits, and two theatres that primarily perform socially conscious material:
Germinal Stage- A non-profit theatre that focuses on more intimate “theatre in the round” performances. They cater a lot of shows to the community in their immediate vicinity.
http://www.germinalstage.com/
Curious Theatre- A non-profit
http://www.curioustheatre.org/
Paragon Theatre- socially conscious theatre, most performances and plays are focused on current day issues.
http://www.paragontheatre.com/
Su Teatro- culturally conscious theatre that focuses on the Chicano experience in the United States.
http://www.suteatro.org/
The oldest standing theatre is Su Teatro, it began in 1971 and has a consistent history of performances many of which socially conscious or at least culturally aware. This may be true because was the first major Chicano theatre and still remains so; perhaps comparing Apple Box to Su Teatro is a stretch. Germinal Stage is more relevant to Apple Box and has been arounf since 1973, but they admit that they have only been consistent in production since 1987. Being a non profit it may be good to understand their business model to see how they have stayed on the scene for such a long time. Unfortuantely, their site, and facilities seem dated and unkempt. Curious and Paragon theatre’s have been around since the turn of the century, both have a new and fresh presentation to their sites and have some acclaim. Deeper research will be needed to conducted to find out what has made them successful in Denver’s theatre climate as well as what type of show’s are more advantageous to perform.
After all the research that was conducted two things is certain, a niche needs to be found for Apple Box’s audience (similar to Su Tearto). Secondly, a solid business model needs to be decided upon that is tried and true. Once these two things are decided there can be steps taken to make Apple Box a success.
Denver is actually a fairly large and nationally recognized city for the performing arts and theatre; unfortunately most are profit based and larger theatres that have more mainstream performances. So after weeding out a lot of the mainstream, there were many different small troupes and theatre groups that have a good following in the greater Denver area. There are four that were focused on for research purposes; two non-profits, and two theatres that primarily perform socially conscious material:
Germinal Stage- A non-profit theatre that focuses on more intimate “theatre in the round” performances. They cater a lot of shows to the community in their immediate vicinity.
http://www.germinalstage.com/
Curious Theatre- A non-profit
http://www.curioustheatre.org/
Paragon Theatre- socially conscious theatre, most performances and plays are focused on current day issues.
http://www.paragontheatre.com/
Su Teatro- culturally conscious theatre that focuses on the Chicano experience in the United States.
http://www.suteatro.org/
The oldest standing theatre is Su Teatro, it began in 1971 and has a consistent history of performances many of which socially conscious or at least culturally aware. This may be true because was the first major Chicano theatre and still remains so; perhaps comparing Apple Box to Su Teatro is a stretch. Germinal Stage is more relevant to Apple Box and has been arounf since 1973, but they admit that they have only been consistent in production since 1987. Being a non profit it may be good to understand their business model to see how they have stayed on the scene for such a long time. Unfortuantely, their site, and facilities seem dated and unkempt. Curious and Paragon theatre’s have been around since the turn of the century, both have a new and fresh presentation to their sites and have some acclaim. Deeper research will be needed to conducted to find out what has made them successful in Denver’s theatre climate as well as what type of show’s are more advantageous to perform.
After all the research that was conducted two things is certain, a niche needs to be found for Apple Box’s audience (similar to Su Tearto). Secondly, a solid business model needs to be decided upon that is tried and true. Once these two things are decided there can be steps taken to make Apple Box a success.
Social Business With a (non)Profit
How Can Businesses Be More Charitable and Profitable at the Same Time?
^ Interesting audio interview ^
http://causecapitalism.com/
Social business ventures are not new, but they are an opportunity for businesses to do right by their consumers, their employees, and ideally, their profits. One concept, known as Cause Capitalism, explores ways in which a for-profit entity (the theatre) could extend itself towards supporting a non-profit entity (the cause) and position itself as universally well received from the community at large. Cause capitalism, promoted and fostered by Olivia Khalili, attempts to bridge the gaps between panhandling non-profits and money-grubbing for-profits to create harmony in the eyes of the public.
In one particular blog post, Olivia writes on what she views as the 5 Ways to Create a Socially Responsible & Profitable Company. She explores 5 different business models, which contribute to different causes or simply find ways to treat employees better. Listed below is the 5 different setups.
1. BOGO: Buy-one-give-one
For every product sold, the company donates an exact item match towards a cause. Examples include TOMS shoes and
One Laptop Per Child.
2. Portion of Profits Donated
Most typical way in which companies engage in social responsibility, to provide a portion of the profits to be donated.
3. Transparency/Call-to-action
Publicly charting all progress, both in supporting a cause and in identifying all costs. Additionally, the company (for-
profit) could publicly advocate on behalf of an organization to motivate consumer support.
4. Employee Volunteerism – n/a
5. Employee Incentives – n/a
Social Business Network (MET Group)
http://www.helium.com/items/1646989-how-to-start-a-profitable-socially-responsible-company
http://www.helium.com/items/1650770-social-resonsibility-for-start--up-businesses
By and large, my research has dictated that theatre is typically (almost exclusively) a non-profit venture. Additionally, any specific organization dedicated to a social cause is also non-profit. The goal with Applebox is to have the theatre provide revenue for a non-profit, but I'm starting to realize that it will be difficult for a theatre to provide financial revenue, as it will be difficult for the theatre to even cover their costs alone. An alternative may need to be found, such as service opportunities or volunteering to provide "aid" to the partnering non-profit. At this time, unless a sufficient amount of donors/investors were on board to give their money to the cause, the theatre as it currently stands, with only 1 performance in the summer will not generate enough/any revenue to really be able to provide economic support to an organization.
^ Interesting audio interview ^
http://causecapitalism.com/
Social business ventures are not new, but they are an opportunity for businesses to do right by their consumers, their employees, and ideally, their profits. One concept, known as Cause Capitalism, explores ways in which a for-profit entity (the theatre) could extend itself towards supporting a non-profit entity (the cause) and position itself as universally well received from the community at large. Cause capitalism, promoted and fostered by Olivia Khalili, attempts to bridge the gaps between panhandling non-profits and money-grubbing for-profits to create harmony in the eyes of the public.
In one particular blog post, Olivia writes on what she views as the 5 Ways to Create a Socially Responsible & Profitable Company. She explores 5 different business models, which contribute to different causes or simply find ways to treat employees better. Listed below is the 5 different setups.
1. BOGO: Buy-one-give-one
For every product sold, the company donates an exact item match towards a cause. Examples include TOMS shoes and
One Laptop Per Child.
2. Portion of Profits Donated
Most typical way in which companies engage in social responsibility, to provide a portion of the profits to be donated.
3. Transparency/Call-to-action
Publicly charting all progress, both in supporting a cause and in identifying all costs. Additionally, the company (for-
profit) could publicly advocate on behalf of an organization to motivate consumer support.
4. Employee Volunteerism – n/a
5. Employee Incentives – n/a
Social Business Network (MET Group)
http://www.helium.com/items/1646989-how-to-start-a-profitable-socially-responsible-company
http://www.helium.com/items/1650770-social-resonsibility-for-start--up-businesses
By and large, my research has dictated that theatre is typically (almost exclusively) a non-profit venture. Additionally, any specific organization dedicated to a social cause is also non-profit. The goal with Applebox is to have the theatre provide revenue for a non-profit, but I'm starting to realize that it will be difficult for a theatre to provide financial revenue, as it will be difficult for the theatre to even cover their costs alone. An alternative may need to be found, such as service opportunities or volunteering to provide "aid" to the partnering non-profit. At this time, unless a sufficient amount of donors/investors were on board to give their money to the cause, the theatre as it currently stands, with only 1 performance in the summer will not generate enough/any revenue to really be able to provide economic support to an organization.
The denver theatre scene
At the moment a simple Google search for the Denver Metro areas Theatre scene turns up 14 medium to large independent theatres. Each of these theatres seem to be restrictive in that the troupes and actors that perform for them are relatively selective on staying within that group. Outside of these 14 independent groups there is of course the collective of theatres that make up the Denver performing arts complex (DPAC). While there are distinctions between these theatres a few of the commonalties between them:
The number of performances they put on a year with that number seeming to average between 2 – 4
With the exception of 4 theatres in my research all of the larger and better-known theatres call themselves non-profit (whether or not this is financially true I’m not sure) but due to the current status of the economy and the already limited theater audiences I think it is the case
It seems outside of the DPAC most theatres prefer to work within the comedy or more lighthearted play genres. Outside of Su Teatro, the Paragon Theatre most theatres seemed to shy away from more dramatic or politically / socially charged theatres
It seems that nearly all of the theatres including the DPAC have offerings of improve or audience involvement. This may be a connection towards the mining / general labor nature and the social class diversification between Colorado residents, where the larger and more expensive theatres would rely on formally trained actors and staff while the smaller more community driven performances and marketing.
I noticed that most theatres including the more luxury ones mention involvement in the community. I would believe again this is a tie in towards the history of Colorado and the intertwining between the theatre and the community. Geographically speaking it seemed like there was enough distance between the theatres so there would be no real over saturation of theatres so the theatre as a entity has the chance to become the “community” theatre and would be able to cycle supp
According to the website every year the DPAC takes close to a million seats sold and it is self proclaimed as the largest regional mutli live performance complex in the region bringing in audiences from the surrounding states. Unlike the smaller theatres it seems like that overall the DPAC and its encompassing theatres prefer more dramatically and emotionally charged performances. Alike the smaller theatres the DPAC and the Denver theatre guild share a mutual investment and interest in the involvement of community both as staff, actors and influential audiences.
Applebox seems that what it stands to do is relatively unique. While there are non-profit theatres in the area and the Denver metro area, I didn’t find any that were dedicated towards social awareness let alone willingness to change this focus per performance. When it comes to this openness and Applebox’s limited productions I think I believe that they would be in position to where the more established theater players and supporters would be willing to work towards its summarily success depending on resource avaiblity.
The number of performances they put on a year with that number seeming to average between 2 – 4
With the exception of 4 theatres in my research all of the larger and better-known theatres call themselves non-profit (whether or not this is financially true I’m not sure) but due to the current status of the economy and the already limited theater audiences I think it is the case
It seems outside of the DPAC most theatres prefer to work within the comedy or more lighthearted play genres. Outside of Su Teatro, the Paragon Theatre most theatres seemed to shy away from more dramatic or politically / socially charged theatres
It seems that nearly all of the theatres including the DPAC have offerings of improve or audience involvement. This may be a connection towards the mining / general labor nature and the social class diversification between Colorado residents, where the larger and more expensive theatres would rely on formally trained actors and staff while the smaller more community driven performances and marketing.
I noticed that most theatres including the more luxury ones mention involvement in the community. I would believe again this is a tie in towards the history of Colorado and the intertwining between the theatre and the community. Geographically speaking it seemed like there was enough distance between the theatres so there would be no real over saturation of theatres so the theatre as a entity has the chance to become the “community” theatre and would be able to cycle supp
According to the website every year the DPAC takes close to a million seats sold and it is self proclaimed as the largest regional mutli live performance complex in the region bringing in audiences from the surrounding states. Unlike the smaller theatres it seems like that overall the DPAC and its encompassing theatres prefer more dramatically and emotionally charged performances. Alike the smaller theatres the DPAC and the Denver theatre guild share a mutual investment and interest in the involvement of community both as staff, actors and influential audiences.
Applebox seems that what it stands to do is relatively unique. While there are non-profit theatres in the area and the Denver metro area, I didn’t find any that were dedicated towards social awareness let alone willingness to change this focus per performance. When it comes to this openness and Applebox’s limited productions I think I believe that they would be in position to where the more established theater players and supporters would be willing to work towards its summarily success depending on resource avaiblity.
Theatre and Non-profit
When it comes to successful branding for theater companies and non-profit the design qualities are often not as fully developed. This is especially so for many non-profit organizations, where it seems like the branding itself is developed by the relationships it builds with the business.
After looking at these the United Way one of the nations largest non-profit organizations the branding for them is laid out nicely through a flash site. The site gives a style guide and an overall view of how logos are to be placed, colors, etc. As with other non-profit sites it seems that the logo has to be in full view and is the most important aspect to let the user know who is being represented. The color scheme is usually one solid color, and nothing too experimental or over the top. Another example is by Generous Colorado.
Although when it came to theater companies there really wasn't much information and as designs to most of their sites a lot look amateurish. One of the more successful companies that I had read about through getting most of the press out of any other company through the Denver Post was Curious Theatre Company. The design qualities followed suit with most Non-profits chose a color palette that wasn't very adventurous and was very simple. Also with non-profits I think that it is successful because it has had more press and had a larger PR than any of the other theaters as it was hard finding anything about Colorado theater rather than getting reviews out of the Denver Post.
After looking at these the United Way one of the nations largest non-profit organizations the branding for them is laid out nicely through a flash site. The site gives a style guide and an overall view of how logos are to be placed, colors, etc. As with other non-profit sites it seems that the logo has to be in full view and is the most important aspect to let the user know who is being represented. The color scheme is usually one solid color, and nothing too experimental or over the top. Another example is by Generous Colorado.
Although when it came to theater companies there really wasn't much information and as designs to most of their sites a lot look amateurish. One of the more successful companies that I had read about through getting most of the press out of any other company through the Denver Post was Curious Theatre Company. The design qualities followed suit with most Non-profits chose a color palette that wasn't very adventurous and was very simple. Also with non-profits I think that it is successful because it has had more press and had a larger PR than any of the other theaters as it was hard finding anything about Colorado theater rather than getting reviews out of the Denver Post.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
History
QUICK BACKGROUND
Theatre first began in Greece and then eventually made it's way to Rome. It existed as more of a ritualistic thing and had a very social significance to it. Because theatre was one of the only forms of entertainment, the popularity of theatre at first was very high, but seemed to decline during the Middle Ages.
WHERE THESPIAN CAME FROM
Thespis, is a figure (which we know VERY LITTLE about) who won the play competition in honor of the greek god Dionysus in 534 B.C. It is uncertain whether Thespis was a playwright, an actor or a priest, but it is his name that the arts are associated with "Thespian".
THEATRE IN AMERICA
The birth of theatre is believed to have begun with the Lewis Hall troupe that arrived in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1752. Although the first theaters to actually be built in America were in Williamsburg in 1716, New York in 1732 and Charleston in 1736.
George Washington seemed to play an important role in the "new" theatre that was to come about. This is because many restrictions were put against the theatre at one point. But Washington himself relaxed the laws and restrictions because he is known to have been something of a theatrical enthusiast and to have frequently attended New York theaters.
Such things as wars and laws have effected theatre since it started. Burlesque, where females in male roles mocked the politics and culture of the day, became a popular form of entertainment by the middle of the 19th century. Criticized for its sexuality and outspokenness, this form of entertainment was hounded off the "legitimate stage" and found itself relegated to saloons and barrooms.
The massive social change that went on during the Great Depression also had an effect on theater in the United States. Plays took on more social roles, identifying with immigrants and the unemployed.
Theatre's population throughout the time it's existed in America has fluctuated. At first, everyone was going to theatre programs enjoying the entertainment (rare entertainment at the time). But as laws and restrictions were constantly being enforced then lifted and new forms of entertainment popped up, theatre's population began to slowly decline.
I had a problem trying to find WHO went to theatres, but it seems that because theatre was so popular when it was first brought to America, that many adults (and possibly children? depending on the play?) were going to theatres.
I THOUGHT THIS SUMMED THINGS UP NICELY...
The stage has forever been a place where political issues have been examined. The ritualistic and social significance of the earliest Greek performances in central arenas brought relevance to many controversial topics, a pattern that has not subsided to this day. According to Wikipedia, "Political theater is drama or performing art which emphasizes a political issue or issues in its theme or plot.... Political theater can also be defined as exploring themes more universal and central to society itself, especially when that society defines itself as politically conscious."
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Interview Questions
Everyone here are a quick series of questions that Dan and I came up with for the theaters I was planning on interviewing. Due to time constraints I"m going most likely end up just emailing them out and hopefully will have some responses back by Thursday class if not I'll be sure to post all the answers to this blog and will email them individually to everyone incase they can be used.
Marketability / community based questions –
Who do you generally market your performances towards? How many seats do you fill on average with your performances?
What genres does your theatre prefer to perform, and what are the most successful with audiences?
As a theatre group how do you market yourself to your targeted audiences and beyond?
What direction do you see Denver’s theater scene evolving into over the next 10 years?
How would you value your theatres ability to serve as a means of social awareness for social activism?
Individual theatre based questions –
What are your theatres objectives?
How did your theatre group as a whole originate?
What kind of touring experiences does your theatre have?
How many performances do you average in a year?
How many staff members make up the back of the house staff for a performance?
What challenges as a theater have you had to overcome or still deal with today? How did you solve these problems?
How important do you feel the community is both towards involvement with your theater and its influence to your success?
Marketability / community based questions –
Who do you generally market your performances towards? How many seats do you fill on average with your performances?
What genres does your theatre prefer to perform, and what are the most successful with audiences?
As a theatre group how do you market yourself to your targeted audiences and beyond?
What direction do you see Denver’s theater scene evolving into over the next 10 years?
How would you value your theatres ability to serve as a means of social awareness for social activism?
Individual theatre based questions –
What are your theatres objectives?
How did your theatre group as a whole originate?
What kind of touring experiences does your theatre have?
How many performances do you average in a year?
How many staff members make up the back of the house staff for a performance?
What challenges as a theater have you had to overcome or still deal with today? How did you solve these problems?
How important do you feel the community is both towards involvement with your theater and its influence to your success?
Theatrical Research Topics
Alright guys, I think we have some great ideas for research topics for Thursday. Listed below are the topics that people will be providing summations for. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Additional Research Opportunities:
- Profitability in Socially Conscious Branding - (Ryan)
- Non-Profits in Denver dealing with Veteran's Affairs/PTSD - (Mackensie)
- The theatre community in Denver - (Dan W.)
- General history of theatre - (Katy)
- Effective branding in the theatre community & non-profit community - (Tyler S.)
- Successful advocacy campaigns - (Asterisk)
- Psychological approach to addressing reputation & how it is fostered through design (Erin)
Additional Research Opportunities:
- The economics of non-profit theatre
- Demographic
- SCFD/Grants
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