I recently witnessed something at a play that I’d never experienced before—the encouraged use of social media during the production. Usually, house managers speak to the audience before the show starts and ask everyone to turn off their mobile devices. At this particular production by Echo Theatre at the Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas, though, we were told we could tweet and Instagram during the play as long as we were sitting in the back row (and our phones were on silence, of course).
I almost got up to go sit in the back row, but the seats were already taken.
What surprises is that more theater companies and venues don’t encourage social media use during shows, because social media is where a lot of people get information about shows. In a recently released report conducted by LiveAnalytics (Insight division of Ticketmaster International, Live Nation Entertainment), 93 percent of theatergoers who write reviews of plays do so on social media. Around 40 percent of those polled also feel that reviews are important in encouraging them to attend a show.
The same report says that checking your phone during a performance is the least acceptable behavior of theatergoers. Still, 25 percent of patrons do that. And when it comes to tweeting, 24 percent tweet about the performance they’re about to see. However, of those polled who are between the ages 16-19 say they tweet 47 percent of the time about a show they’re about to see.
As that age bracket gets older, they’re going to carry those habits with them into the theaters. The report addresses this concern by suggesting some best practices. For example, embrace engagement with audiences before and after shows and consider using social media as a way to capitalize on the emotional connection that live performances create. Also, know your audience and the type of performance that is happening at your venue. Not all attendees want to tweet, so think about setting aside space for those who do (much like Echo Theatre does).
Do you know of more theaters and performing arts centers that encourage social media use during productions? If so, please let us know about them in the comment section.
(Image via Flickr: Trey Ratcliff/Creative Commons)
