Post Gazette: "Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet,' Twitter version:
'But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grie...'
Apparently, social media has its limits. But sending out 140-character snippets of literature online and by text message can be very useful in other forms of the arts, as local organizations are quickly discovering."
12 comments:
It is ridiculous how involved people are with online social sites. I realize that younger generations do not necessarily read the paper and so online advertising makes sense. But all the tweeting from backstage from dancers? Feels a bit like the entire world is turning into Gossip Girl. Instant communication has not only become a fun thing to do, but is getting to be a requirement. One starts to think that unless we check our email or twitter or facebook every ten minutes we'll be missing something.
I don't think this is bad at all. I think one of the main points this article is trying to make is that the average age of patrons for many cultural things in Pittsburgh is in the mid-50's. If this method gets more of a younger generation interested, then it is sucessful. As long as it is not forced upon those who don't like it, it should not matter. I think it's an acknowledgment that social sites are an increasingly important part of society. This article reminds me a lot of the media during intermission of Inspector General, which was completely about Twitter.
I am myself a huge fan of twitter as a news source, New York Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and others and a way to more information about people, for me mediocre celebrities such as Adam Savage, Danica Patrick, Christian Siriano, and many others, I would not normally interact with. Adding these backstage and behind the scenes tweets from the dancers is a great way to engage the younger generations to ballet and other art forms by means of a source they already use. This seems like it could be great for the ballet.
On a separate note, it caught my eye that this dancer is retiring at 25. That seems crazy to be retired at 25, but then again dancing does take a huge toll on one's body.
I'm not surprised at all that "the arts are taking to Twitter". A great deal of 'Next to Normal's success came from insider tweets, that kept the audience hooked and brought new audience members in. For me, backstage tweets remind me of the special features on DVDs, the making of clips. They both can add to and enrich the experience of the performance. Also as Katherine said, it's a great way to advertise the show. On Broadway, a great deal of the audience are tourists, and while advertising may reach them in many ways, advertisers all agree that word of mouth is the most important factor in selling a show. What's more effective word of mouth than twitter? I just can't wait to see what's next.
@Ariel - bringing Next To Normal in, though, introduces the need for a distinction between using the social networking sites as news (the topic of this article) and using it as a storytelling device (like N2N and one of my favorites, the TwitterPlays by Jeremy Gable www.jeremygable.com/twitplay). This article is talking more about communicating to the public, which I think is a fantastic marketing strategy and is likely to succeed in drawing younger audiences. I had little interest in seeing Haephestus at Lookingglass this summer, but when they started tweeting from the rehearsal room, the pictures and stories caught my interest. These techniques are already successful, and will only become more prevalent as social networking develops further.
Part of what I have always liked about Twitter is that unlike most other social networking sites and systems, their is not a correct use for Twitter. Sure most use it as a replacement for constantly updating their FaceBook profile status, but given that the only rules of Twitter are 140 characters or less, it really allows for the user to do with it what they will. There has been lots of talk lately about using Twitter as a substitute for some parts of entertainment information, so what's all that much unusual about using it to give all kinds of backstage information.
I have been finding that Twitter is an incredible marketing tool! It has popped up in multiple events this year. I follow Pittsburgh Opera on twitter, as well as the PSO, and was going to try to go get those Ben Folds tickets (but had class). Inspector General's prominent use of Twitter also points to its rising use. One of the biggest advantages to using Twitter as an organization, I think, is that it gives a face and a personality to the organization. This is particularly true if its not just used for advertising, but for other company news or pertinent stories. This appeals to your audience much more.
One of my favorites so far has been the Carnegie Mellon twitter and the CMU CFA twitter, which both advertise CMU events, but will also take your events if you tweet them to them, and retweet them for the whole campus community. They are there for all of us to use, not just CMU's administration.
This is a very interesting way to take the theater outside of the theater and engage more people than can fit into the seats every night. Weather it is a beloved character tweeting about experiences outside of the play to give the audience a sense of what is required for character development or an actor tweeting about experiences on stage. These messages will connect the audience more closely to the work and to the people making it. Mostly because they feel involved. If the audience gets the opportunity to follow a professional actor or director and to see what goes into the creation of a theatrical work, they will feel engaged and involved.
This is extremely interesting that the theatre and ballet are trying to use social networking to advertise their shows. I hope that they continue to give out free tickets by posting clues on the social networking sites. I feel that the tweeting in the wings during a performance is one thing that should not be used because it will distract the actors from doing what they should be doing. During rehearsals it can create interest in the show and work as a form of advertising. It is a great but not while the show is going on. When the show is not gong on it is a great idea and will get people interested in the process of theater. This is a way we can all be behind the scenes of these productions.
Although I agree with Sylvianne to a certain extent, that all this social networking stuff can get a little too crazy, I also see the good side of all of this. I think that performers tweeting can make audience members a lot more excited about the art. I think that the arts are going to have to become more in tune with the times to get our generation excited about the arts.
I think it's interesting idea to bring social media in to different theater, although it can be a bit overwhelming, I think it's a great way to allow people to get a different perspective on how theater works, and let them see the backstage world that they don't normally get to observe. I understand Sylvianne's complaint that it all gets to be a bit much that we all need to have instant access to everything, but it's just a part our generation at this point.
Like all marketing ideas and campaigns, the campaign can and will be successful if it targets the target audience of the event/production, and if it successfully reproduces and emulates the core of the event/production, as in the Next To Normal campaign. However, there are far too many people using twitter inappropriately and in a way that badly represents the thing that is trying to be promoted.
In terms of simple exposure to content, Twitter is a fantastic way to distribute information. The wide variety and (mostly) free content distribution are all fantastic ways to promote the show.
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