MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: The Mission Theatre Closes (Even The Best Productions Can Go Under) - Part I

Uhhhh...what happened?

Recently I listened to this WGN segment discussing how TJ & Dave's "theatre inside a theatre" The Mission was closing at the end of the month.  I was sad to see that another performance space dedicated to the artforms I love close, but at the same time I thought, "Wow.  It took this long for it to  happen?"

Let me explain.

iO Chicago Expansion Doubts

When iO Chicago lost its well-worn space in Wrigleyville (the tourist magnet of a neighborhood located around Chicago's beloved Wrigley Field), I was very dubious about its future.  I had heard owner Charna Halpern had plans to go even bigger with her theatre beyond the two theatres that operated in the old space with 4 stages, a huge bar, and a lounge that tied it all together.  With the economy on a rebound and the fact that Chicago's popular comedy scene has been beyond a saturation point where everyone was struggling to draw audiences, the thought of having a new sprawling comed-o-plex seemed to me to be the wrong thing at the time.

Then I heard about having a seperate theatre called The Mission located inside the iO building. My first reaction was, "Uhm, sooooo, basically it's a stage where TJ & Dave decide what productions go on it?  Is it really a separate theatre or is it just an extension of iO with TJ & Dave programming it."  I thought it was a horrible idea.  The Mission was going to use the same ticketing system/box office iO, was located at iO, and surrounded by iO community.  Sooooo, how isn't this an iO endeavor?

TJ & Dave themselves are household demi-gods of the improv community and are respected actors in their own right but other than the frequent Sonic commercials showcasing their talents, who outside of our make-em-ups bubble knew these guys by name?  The TJ & Dave lore would be enough to draw those of us in-the-know but actors alone cannot keep a theatre running.  I found this arrangement really odd and unnatural.

Believe it or not, I was actually rooting for iO and The Mission to be successful.  Having more opportunities to produce original work was good for everyone in the scene and even though there were doubts on my side, I obviously am not operating at a theatre-owner level (yet) so there are probably economics and politics beyond my purview that could contribute to its success. 

I Was Proven Wrong - For The Most Part... 

Everything iO had planned for pretty much came true.  The space was gorgeous, the bar/lounge was incredibly comfortable and inviting, and the stages were superb.  The place was alive with activity both from a training and production perspective.  People really liked being there and loved calling it home.  However, one area never seemed to get a buzz was The Mission. I never heard anyone else talk about The Mission.  With everything else going on in that building, I had no reason/want to go check out a Mission show.  My feeling was that either it was doing so well that a non-disclosure Fight Club-like rule had been implemented or people had yet to really discover it. My curiosity never got the best of me to go check it out.  I couldn't even tell you what the mission of The Mission was.  I just chalked it up as "TJ & Dave's theatre".

After listening to excellent and very candid interview,  it looks like The Mission suffered from the same problems many improv/sketch-related productions:

• Lack of cohesive marketing/confusing brand identity.
• Trying something "new" in an over-saturated market.
• Not having the buy-in from the non-actor community.

It was refreshing to hear discussion regarding the business side of theatre for a change.   This painful but needed part of the industry is an often looked over aspect of many black-box productions.  In Part II, we'll delve into each of these issues affecting all of us starting from The Mission's vantage point.

5 Things You Can Do To Effectively Market Your Show!

You've booked the venue. You got the best director your budget could afford. You've been rehearsing twice a week for 2 months to get your original show up on is feet. You're ready to entertain the masses. Yet nobody knows a thing about all of this work, you've got rent to pay for 6-8 weeks, and a bunch of actors itching to get their time in the limelight! What are you going to do?!

Well, I'll tell ya! Follow these 5 easy tips to help get the word out:

1. Get great cast photos
   Place an ad online (Craigslist.org, PerformInk.com, Yesand.com, Chicagoimprov.org) looking for someone with experience to give you high quality photographs of your cast. If you can get pictures taken on the actual stage you are going to perform in, even better. Get some staged shots of the group as well as some action photos while the cast is performing a scene.
   
   Make sure the pictures you receive are at least 300 DPI (dots per inch) as that will allow you to use these in newspapers, magazines, and websites. Try to negotiate with your photographer to see if you can get them to edit the photos as well. Sometime they will do it for free as part of their service. Typically a lot of raw images you get need color balance, exposure correction, and some kind of editing to make sure they're at their best. Do not have them run any kind of special filters on the pictures as it could make them unusable to others looking to use them to help you promote the show. Also, make sure you credit the photographer. It gets you in good graces with them and may prompt them to spread the word about your production.
   
   
2. Pick a catchy title for your show
   This is always a fun exercise especially in the theatre world. Many groups write their own original material and don't have a definitive idea as to what to call their show until they've decided on what is going to make it into the show. Others just pick a title arbitrarily and shoe horn the title into their marketing materials. Others have the luxury of having a title as someone else wrote the material and made that decision for them (oh Rocky Horror Picture Show revivalists...you have it made!)
   
   For those of you who write your own material, if you've got the luxury of having time to tie in your title with your material, please do so. A popular title schema people use to generate title names is to take a pop culture reference (a movie, book, or TV show title) and spoof the name. For example, I'm currently in a show right now with Salsation Theatre Company, NFP entitled Textual Healing - an obvious spoof of the song Sexual Healing performed by Marvin Gaye. The material in the show deals with communication and relationships in our day and age of cellphones, texting, and social media. The title totally fits the material and has a twinkle of something familiar for people to latch onto when they see/hear about it.
   
   
3. Create an eye-catching flyer/poster
   Now that you've got your title, show logistics, and pictures, you can parlay those into a fancy postcard flyer. Again, you can post up online ads for this service. Have a face-to-face with them to communicate what you want in the graphic if possible. If not, at least talk to them on the phone. Get an estimate of how long it will take them to create your graphics and what restrictions you have when using it. There are many people willing to do the work for free or for very affordable prices (like us!). Try to find someone who has experience with marketing theatre shows as they will understand what timelines/pressures you face producing the show (again, like us!)
   
   
4. Publish a Press Release
   This is one of the easiest yet most overlooked aspects of promotion. A press release sets you apart from your run-of-the-mill productions as it implies your actually serious about what you're putting up. You will send these to anybody and everybody willing to listen/read. Your press release should include:
   
   
   • Who, what, when, where, why, and how much
     
   • Show graphic and/or cast photo
     
   • Contact information (phone number, email, and website)
     
     
   Try to keep this information limited to one printable sheet (called a one-sheet). There's no need to give extra information about your show unless it's requested :)
   
   
5. Get It Out of Your Hands ASAP
   Your press release needs to be in the hand of the press (newspapers, websites, and blogs) within plenty of time to increase the chances staff gets a chance to read about your awesome creation. Give yourself at a minimum 4 weeks before opening night to send out your press release to your contacts. I'd recommend sending it out 6 weeks in advance with a follow up email 2 weeks out from opening night. This ensures that you have considered their time to review the mountains of press releases they get every day while not being annoying about reminding them they need to come out and see/review/promote your show ;-)

That's it! Sounds easy enough, right?! Get crackin'!  There are more tips to come in the future.