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Monday, March 03, 2025
Why Your Development Readings Need Real Audience Members (Not Just Industry Insiders)
Ken Davenport: I get a lot of invites to see readings and workshops.
And I produce a lot of readings and workshops.
My first instinct (and probably yours too) is to invite other producers and industry insiders to see ‘em, with the hopes of gaining support, from investors, producers, etc.
A lot of times there’s this fear of giving one’s work for the world to see, especially new works. The tendency is to only allow trusted friends and colleagues to see one's work. Stepping outside this comfort zone can allow for invaluable feedback. It’s important to get all sorts of audience point of views typical theater goers and first timers, a range of ages, genders, cultures, and different geographical regions if possible. While scary at first, this depth of feedback will allow creators to make their show the tightest it can be and hone in on the story they want to tell. With that said it’s one thing to get people in seats, but it's another to get their responses. This is where the business aspect comes in. How can you collect the most genuine, raw audience responses in an informative, engaging and fast way that people will actually do?
I think this is extremely crucial and important to any review process of anything, is to make sure that what you are creating is legible and understandable for your audience. It is fundamental in any creation process to have a review/editing period with trusted friends, and while it is important to get feedback from those within your own industry, as they will understand more specifically how to give critical input. Though, ultimately, you are making a story/product for a specific audience and demographic and it is fundamental that that audience is able to understand and have the response to the work that the creator intends. This is why film companies and other places will do focus groups with various people that have no connection to the work or industry to react to the work being made, it is a very helpful, but sometimes frustrating part of the process.
2 comments:
A lot of times there’s this fear of giving one’s work for the world to see, especially new works. The tendency is to only allow trusted friends and colleagues to see one's work. Stepping outside this comfort zone can allow for invaluable feedback. It’s important to get all sorts of audience point of views typical theater goers and first timers, a range of ages, genders, cultures, and different geographical regions if possible. While scary at first, this depth of feedback will allow creators to make their show the tightest it can be and hone in on the story they want to tell. With that said it’s one thing to get people in seats, but it's another to get their responses. This is where the business aspect comes in. How can you collect the most genuine, raw audience responses in an informative, engaging and fast way that people will actually do?
I think this is extremely crucial and important to any review process of anything, is to make sure that what you are creating is legible and understandable for your audience. It is fundamental in any creation process to have a review/editing period with trusted friends, and while it is important to get feedback from those within your own industry, as they will understand more specifically how to give critical input. Though, ultimately, you are making a story/product for a specific audience and demographic and it is fundamental that that audience is able to understand and have the response to the work that the creator intends. This is why film companies and other places will do focus groups with various people that have no connection to the work or industry to react to the work being made, it is a very helpful, but sometimes frustrating part of the process.
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