Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "When audience members open their programs, they're likely to find more than a cast list and technical credits.
Increasingly, performing arts presenters and producers offer historical timelines, biographies, background information and directors' notes to educate and inform their audiences."
3 comments:
I've always enjoyed having more information available in a program, if for no other reason than it gives me something to do while waiting for a show to start. It's also useful to be able to find out what's going on, particularly in plays that are somewhat less accessible to the general public because of a relatively obscure setting, an unusual time period, or any other factor that makes the setting unfamiliar to the general public. Perhaps a slightly thicker program would bring more people in to read them.
Like Tom, I like having something to occupy my time while waiting for the production. Although I have seen our programs add information in addition to a directors note (such as dramaturgial info) I have yet to see that much change in regional/B-way programs. I would think that if money is still tight, that cutting the program size could potentially same a large amount of money. On the other hand, having more stuff to the program may make them more "collectible" rather than just something to read and toss.
A lot of the time the information provided in a program can provide much needed backstory and give the audience a better context and therefore a better understanding of a performance. However at the same time, too much information can taint an audience's perception of a performance. I believe that an audience member should be able to understand a performance without any outside information or knowledge. It's the job of the performers and the designers and the director to convey the story to the audience effectively.
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