Audience Experience Still Counts

So you invite all your Facebook "friends" to your show and entice them with comp tickets. Maybe you need to fill the house because a reviewer is coming*. Maybe you just need to fill the house. Or maybe you're the rare individual who actually "likes" every single one of your FB "friends" and it's just because time is tight for everyone and getting together is such a hassle, like we all have to get in a cars or on public transportation or our bikes or whatever mode of transportation we favor and, you know, just generally make an effort to be in the room with someone and act like we value them and like commit the revolutionary act of acknowledging that typing is not the equivalent of actually spending time with our friends and everything, that, well, since you also have this show going on, that well, it just makes the most sense efficiency-wise to get them all together in the same room for one night.

Whatever possesses you to invite your FB "friends" to your show, remember this important guideline: you still have to treat them well. Yes. You still have to treat them like they matter. Like they're real people with real dollars to spend on your show or, in the case of comps, real people with their own FB "friends," of which you, yourself, are one, FB being kind of reciprocal that way, or their own army of Twitter followers, or even their own blogs - where, instead of actually mentioning the name of your show and how much they liked it (or not) across their entire social network (and entreating - or is that entweeting - same network to see your show), they devote their energy to writing snarky posts about how you treated them after they drove 50 miles to see your show. Yes. And this is especially true if you're a really small company either renting or residing in a really small theater (49 seats and under). Yes. You have to say hi to the people who show up to see your work and like act all grateful that they came and make them feel welcome and if you know their name, don't be afraid to use it even. Or else it needs to be very clear that hospitality is not part of your contract - like in those extremely hip restaurants where part of the experience is being on the receiving end of all the attitude the waiters sling your way. Either way, acknowledge that these people who came to see your show are in the room. Look at them and make eye contact or roll your eyes in a way that conveys the message that you're acting indifferent or abusive for reasons that are intrinsic to the other person's enjoyment of the evening. Give some indication that you appreciate that they came out to support you and your company. You're the one who has to extend some effort here because when it comes to audiences, like most things in life, showing up is half the battle.

Yeah. I know. It's hard. But get this: it's necessary. You have to do it. It's critical when your FB "friends," or anyone who wouldn't personally help you move a dead body when called by you at 4am with absolutely no money changing hands except for maybe coffee or breakfast afterwards, come to see your show that you treat them well. When do you need to do this? Simple. This needs to occur the moment they walk in the door. That's right. The audience experience starts as soon as they walk in the door.** Not after they get their ticket. Or when the lights come up and the show starts, but exactly the moment they walk in the door. This is so basic I'm stunned I have to mention it.

It doesn't have to be you personally because that may not always be possible. But anyone who is in the theater representing your company - like your box office person or your ushers or your artistic director or your producer or like everyone who has anything to do with your show - every last one of those people needs to convey the sense that they're glad that your FB "friends" showed up. That they're glad anyone showed up. Anyone at all. Because? Well, this is also so obvious and basic I can't believe I have to write it - you may have only one chance. One chance to make it right.

You don't really want someone seeing your work one time. You want them to come back. Right? You want a to build a base of people who, for whatever reason - besides either being related to you or being a real friend - you want a group of people who will come out on a dark, rainy night, give up time with their family, or pay money for a babysitter, and/or put down their remotes, you want a group of people who will put their excuses and their very real obligations and inconveniences aside to come out and support and sustain your work.

And, maybe, ideally, supporting and sustaining you and your work might mean that you don't always have to create a perfect work of art. That from time to time, you and the audience could maybe take a risk, however you define that, and maybe you could be allowed to risk a little something and try to push some boundaries or explore something that might challenge people in some way, and maybe, just maybe, we could acknowledge that people are human and fallible, even artists, and maybe the possibility of failure could exist as part of the audience contract. If any of this is like ballpark of what you're aiming for then, unless you're like some kind of creative genius who makes work so stunning and original and amazing that society gives you a by on treating people with anything remotely resembling kind regard, well, then, yes, you're going to have to be nice to people who come see your show. You're going to have to build some kind of rapport with your audience that keeps them coming back and makes them want to bring everyone they know through your door. And if you don't? Well, that's kind of basic and obvious too, isn't it, eh?

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*If reviewers don't pay attention to audience reaction and don't account for it in reviews, why do people try to paper their houses? Why not let the critic sit in an empty theater? Why pretend we don't need a critic's support when it's quite clear that we do? Just what is the point of this dance? Just sayin'.

**Some will argue that it starts the minute a potential audience member comes into contact with your show in any sort of way. Post card, webpage, etc and yeah, I have to agree. I would and will go so far as to say that the audience experience begins the moment you decide you're going to make work. But the point here is that sometimes we pay so much attention to marketing the show and getting people into the theater that it's easy to overlook the niceties of civil interaction that need to occur once virtual people actually show up in real time inserting themselves into physical space and dragging their wants and needs and urges and prejudices and all that icky, gooey stuff that makes it hard to be in the room with people for long periods of time along with them.