When marketing a theatre production, it is incredibly important to look at the marketing from the point of view of a potential audience member. Forget that you know all about your production, and the venue. Remember, that the audience member doesn't. They may have never heard of your company or your shows before. 

You want the potential audience member to be able to judge if this is a show to their/ their familys taste, and to encourage new visitors. 
I recently conducted an online study across various theatre audience discussion groups, mainly based in the UK, in the autumn of 2020, especially focussed on what information is often missed out by venues and production companies, in marketing theatre shows, and consolidated the main feedback. 
Where a reason may be more obscure, I have included an explanation as to why people like the information. 
​
For us as a company, this information will be used to redesign our box office page, as well as creating a template document of production information for the box offices/ marketing managers of all venues which we tour to, in addition to the usual supply of posters and usual marketing materials.

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Content notes that people like to know

• Swearing
• Nudity/ sexual content
• Violence
• Synopsis (what is it about, what genre etc?)
• Loud sounds (unexpected loud sounds can cause distress to people with some forms of autism, though with warning ahead of time, they are usually fine.)
• Strobe / flashing lights (can induce seizures for people with epilepsy)
• “if this show were a film what rating would it be?” (helpful to people who may be unsure if they are able to bring children of a certain age – this was one of the biggest reasons families don’t book for new shows, especially in London-based audience groups).
• Is there an interval?
• Running time?
• Is there a social/ political/ religious bias to the show (is it promoting a certain agenda?)
• Who is in the show? (Main cast, technical crew, etc). 
  

Access notes that people like to know

• Where is the nearest carpark?
• Where is the nearest bus stop and what buses run from it?
• Are there “relaxed” performances suitable for people with neuro-diverse family members?
• How is the auditorium accessed? (is there space for wheelchairs, etc)
• Are there captioned or signed performances?
• (from one person) what are good local restraunts for a pre-show meal?
• Is there merchandise from the show available to buy? (one person also requested price list)
• Are there toilets available to use?
• Does the venue have a dress code?

More specialist things that got suggested by several people apiece:

• Has the company created an education pack suitable for children/ students (especially important for Shakespeare/ classical work/ educational works)
• Is there a "social story" available as a downloadable book or video, to show neuro-diverse people what to expect when visiting the theatre to see your show? 
  

We are sometimes asked to take children, and under-18s into our shows, and we have noticed that there is often very little awareness as to what this entails. 

As people will know from our auditions page, there is a section on the basics of casting young people in shows, but this article is intended to explain a great deal more. 
What has to always be borne in mind is that this is a professional, touring theatre company. This means that shows are often toured to venues around the Southwest (and possibly further afield); and actors regardless of age need to be able to keep up to the performance quality, and be safe (and legal) coming to shows in unfamiliar spaces . We don't have the same facilities that amateur or small activity clubs may be able to offer. 

First of all, you need to be certain that the show script, the specific roles in consideration. and the way the show is being staged, is suitable for the age and wellbeing of the young person. 

Next, you need to consider the care of the young person. By law they must be chaperoned at all times, and there are specific rules about this: The very basics are that the chaperoning must be by a parent or a legally licenced and employed chaperone. The child must stay in the line of sight of the chaperone at all times, who in turn cannot be distracted by reading the phone or a book, and needs to be aware of the child's wellbeing.
The child must have use of their own changing space which must not be entered by adults other than the chaperone, while the child is changing.  The child must not enter the space(s) where adults are changing, while the adults are changing. 
The chaperone must ensure that the child has their legally required break times, and if necessary, study-time for schoolwork, and for arranging the child's travel to and from rehearsals/shows. 

If the young person passes the auditions, their involvement in a shows is still subject to the Child Performance Licence that needs to be granted to them by (in our case) Torbay Council. This could be withheld for a number of reasons either from the theatre production or simply that the child has been involved in too much in the past 12 months and there is concern that it may interfere with schooling or allowed work hours. The licence application needs to be filled out jointly by the production producers, and the parents, as well as including a letter of support from the child's school. 

The adults of the company need to be briefed, if they are not previously experienced, on working with child actors; this includes interaction on and off stage, making sure language backstage remains acceptable, and much more. 
The child and the chaperone, need to be aware of company policies, data protection, non-disclosure of intellectual property, health and safety regulations as with everyone else in the company. 

There are, to be realistic, reams of documentation on legislation and good practice, but this is a quick look at the basics, and hopefully an explanation of some of the things that we have to consider, for every young person who is considered for a show. 
It may seem like overkill, but theatre is a complex workspace in terms of production health and safety, and with the requirements for late night working, clothing changes, etc, a lot that has to be taken into account to keep the child's wellbeing paramount. 

This is probably the one political post you will ever see from us. As an organisation, we are strictly non-political, we work without political bias, but on this pivotal day in history, with Great Britain leaving Europe tonight, we wanted to acknowledge how our working with European nationals utterly saved this company.

So last winter, we were in late rehearsals for our production of Shakespeare's Macbeth. It was a "make or break" show for the company after some difficult months.and it was about ten days before the show, when the lead actor found he was unable to continue with the production.

Recasting Macbeth with 10 days before opening night required a miracle. Either an actor who had already played Macbeth, or an actor with an exceptional learning ability who would be able to learn it in time. We usually only cast locally in south Devon, UK, but we had only one place that we could find an actor who could pull this miracle off. French-Italian actor, living in the republic of Ireland, Christophe Lombardi, whom our company director, Laura, knew of, due to being friends with Christophe's wife.
That same evening, an urgent message was sent to Christophe and his wife; and to everyone's extreme relief, he agreed to take on the role.
For the next week, Christophe was learning the role online, and with video conversations, as travel to England was arranged. Christophe was now learning the uncut text, in a "Second language", in ten days.

He arrived at the theatre for dress rehearsal - and had it down perfectly. Singlehanded, he saved the production from needing to be cancelled- and the probable ensuing closure of the theatre company.

The productions of Macbeth continued through 2019, with two tours, ensuring the survival of The South Devon Players, and winning a theatre award in New York, as well as incredible audience feedback.

Following this, Christophe again took a lead role with us, playing local Victorian Brixham trawlerman Bob Sheppeard in our historical production The Great Gale of Brixham 1866, utilizing his unique skills to help bring local Devon history to life.

Working with this highly talented European actor, and maintaining cross border working relationships has, with no exaggeration, saved this small British theatre company, allowing people from across the Southwest of England, access professional acting opportunities, in an area where such chances are hard to find. Without this working link having saved us, it is highly unlikely that we would still be able to exist.

We remain always, immeasurably grateful to Christophe, and hope that as the political climate settles down, we will all be able to work together again.

Find out more about this amazing actor on his website: ​www.christophelombardi.com

This is a tutorial being posted by popular request.

This is something that I have created from a little bit of information, and lots of trial and error.
I will just make one warning, if someone is diabetic, they may not want to get this in their mouth.
As you will see, I have found that this is best prepared three to four hours before it is needed. I apologize that I do not have exact ratios or amounts - I have always done it by eye, usually on set in the middle of nowhere, while also directing (the joys of multitasking on indiefilms!) and not measured it.

You will need:
- Tubes of red food colouring (I get mine from Co-Op) - this gives a strong red colour. Get more than you think you will need.
- Golden Syrup (in the USA, I believe you can substitute corn syrup) - this provides the consistency of the blood.
- A jar of ground coffee - this darkens the blood, to a realistic shade
- Water - needed to dissolve the coffee
- Two receptacles, one for mixing the blood, and one for mixing the coffee.

You will want to experiment with this, a few times. I developed this for our feature film Mordred, which with 6th Century wounds and killings, certainly was going to need blood!

1) Get your blood receptacle. Pour in your Golden Syrup, and the red food colouring, and mix thoroughly, then let stand.
2) Get your second receptacle, and pour in some instant coffee powder. add just enough water to dissolve it. This is your darkening agent. Once stirred and dissolved into sticky glop, add it cautiously to  your blood mix in the first receptacle. Do be aware a little coffee goes a long way in this so be careful how much you add. You can always add more. 
3) Lots and lots of stirring - make sure it is all completely mixed.

For the best result, leave your blood to stand for a few hours - even better if its used the next day. The longer it waits, the more it darkens and gets slightly congealed, and more blood-like. I always get a froth on top that I have to skim off, but the blood underneath is a gory joy to behold. :) Keep your melted coffee gloop in case you need to make your blood darker (remember blood can look a bit different depending where on the body it is coming from)

I am not going to guarantee that this washes out of costumes, i have had mixed results, but your best bet is to soak the costume in water and stain-remover agent, as soon as you can, within a few hours before the blood has dried.

Photos modeling lovely blood with Ryan Hannaford and David Welland, filming Mordred. This blood was freshly made and therefore lighter and more runny than it became later in the day.

If you have refinements, please comment with them - I have lots more projects coming up, needed lovely stage blood.

In light of recent issues in the news with regard to actors being taken advantage of - in a sexual manner  - by a certain famous Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, it seems a good point to highlight the issues faced by actors, and how actors can keep safe, as well as on how production teams can also mimimise the risks.

Now of course, when you boil down to it, there are all sorts of dangers in a theatre or on a film set, and not just linked to people, but in this one, we will be looking simply, at the sexual safety of actors.

Now, as an actor myself, I have encountered problems. In my early twenties, I went for an audition that I found online, it all seemed OK and legitimate, the guy clearly knew all the "right" answers, at a "studio" - turned out to be someones house - and after being locked in a room, I ended up departing through the window. Luckily, that was my scariest experience, though I often get social media messages from guys thinking that messaging an actress, means they are on to some promiscuous woman who is going to do "anything". Nothing could be further from the truth (as they are emphatically informed, a few seconds before being blocked!).

When casting projects, on the other hand, I have, over the years, had applications from ladies, who, (presumably not realizing that I am female) have sent explicit photos of their nether-regions, and comments like "I love to cook for men" and "I will do anything for this role, please see my attached photos". I have also had guys send nude pictures for the same reason (not the laughable dickpics, but posed nudes).
Sorry to say, those applications end up in the proverbial bin, but it has its sad side. People should not feel that they have to prostitute themselves to get a role.

More infuriatingly, again over the years, I have had a small but upsetting number of people join productions  who have been seeking various .. shall we say.. romantic hookups, or who have been unable to respect peoples personal boundaries. They have usually been rather surprised and not a little disappointed, when asked to leave! One person actually told me they had hoped we were a front for a swingers club, and were taken aback, not to mention extremely disappointed, when we proved to be exactly what we claim to be, a team of people creating theatre and film projects.

Sometimes acting - and modeling - does ask for nudity or implied nudity for some roles. They are rare but not unknown with our team. As a director, if a role asks for something like that I am extremely careful to state that upfront, check the ages of everyone involved or present in the scene, and make sure that during filming / performance and rehearsals that we have a DBS-checked safe-guarder (I dont care that we are all adults, safeguarding is still a thing that I think is critically important) present, and that all actors are repeatedly asked to not cross any personal comfort zones, and to say immediately if unhappy or uncomfortable with anything. As an actor, leaving aside the fact I am not in any way a supermodel, I have done these kind of roles, and I consider such jobs very carefully - if I am auditioning for a role that involves these, I check out the company carefully. Do they have an established track record? Who is present at the time? Where is it being done? Only if I am completely comfortable, do I even audition.

In our auditions, I never mind if someone brings a friend the first time they come to meet us. If someone is under 16 I insist on attendance with a parent. When I am going for an audition, I always inform people (usually my mother, and my fiance) exactly where I am going and what I am doing. As a rule for auditions, do not go to a private house or hotel room. (I also know of actresses who have been invited to airports and ferry terminals for auditions - which is a big people-trafficking risk). Our auditions (and rehearsals) take place in a known community centre. Sometimes they happen in theatres, studios, anywhere, but wherever it is, make sure it is a public space. I have indeed been to an audition in a hotel, but it was in a lounge with other people, not someones room upstairs.

The most important thing is communication, and never being afraid to discuss with the production team if you have a concern, or something has happened.  Sometimes we have a new intake of people and someone comes in that intake who does not act appropriately. The admin team need to know - if we spot something we act but sometimes these things are happen away from our attention, and then we need to know , with any screenshots or anything like that if it has been online. Dependent on the situation and evidence, we may speak with the person and give a warning, or remove them from the production entirely. We would involve the Police if needed.
What is really important is keeping everyone safe and happy, and removing the culture where people feel they have to sacrifice their personal self respect in order to get ahead.
If you are in an production somewhere where the production team themselves are the ones causing the issue, and not simply one person, with a culture of disrespect, then you shouldn't feel that you cannot approach the Police with evidence. If it is something where we have taken on external work through our agency, and it is not an issue the production team are willing to tackle, then we fully support our actors walking away from the project.

Its idealistic. I know it is. Plenty of the darker side of the showbiz world happens still and probably will do so, but the more people, both individual actors, and production teams, who take a stand against it, and realise that it is perfectly okay to tell someone "no" and that the production team will support them on that, and have zero tolerance of such behaviour, the better.
The days of the casting couch, still sadly do happen in the showbiz world, and we all need to work together to make sure it gets stamped out and that nobody makes, or  feels obliged to accept, such advances.

And while I have spoken about sexual boundaries being crossed or inappropriate behaviour in that vein, and the ways in which I keep safe in that vein,  the same should go for any kind of bullying.


RESOURCES
For actors, you may find this article on Mandy.com, helpful
For models, you may find Safemodel helpful, and they are always very responsive with advice if you contact them with a question. (while mainly geared to models, actors are also able to approach Safemodel, I have done myself).

How to apply to be cast, is one of our most commonly received inquiries, and I am sure is the most commonly asked question by most actors. Every casting director or production company will have their own preferences, but I am also sure that most actors, and most directors, will have hilarious, or horrifying, tales of where auditioning goes wrong.
Having been away for a few days on tour with our theatre show, I have come back to several inquiries, some of which prompted me to write this post.

I love to see both new and existing talent. Having "never done it before" should never be a barrier, if you wish to learn to do it now, and this is therefore a handy cut-out-and-keep guide for not only what I look for when casting one of our shows, but also summs up how I expect to behave when I audition for a casting somewhere, myself.

I do find that there are many misconceptions around what actors and independent production teams do, so hopefully, this will clear them up. Over the years people have thought we were a front for a swingers club, an ex-offenders rehabilitation team, a children's playgroup, an older-peoples drop-in club, and goodness knows what else, resulting in all sorts of strange situations. These issues may sound comedic, but when shows become disrupted, projects can be ruined, people can be distressed, and it has, in the past, had serious effects  holding back our work. 


The things I look for when I receive a casting inquiry:
- Enthusiasm and genuine interest in the production. Evidence that someone has read the casting call, and/or visited our website or social media, to read about us, is also good.
- Reasonable spelling and grammar. I dont expect it to always be perfect, but to at least show some degree of effort. I like to see this, because if you are cast, you will be working with printed scripts - and lots of reading and lines! A line of txt-spk, denotes, in my eyes, a lack of interest, or a lack of taking the casting seriously.
- Honesty. If you haven't done something before, but you are eager to try for it, and to learn the skills, then I respect that, and will do what I can to help. If you know now that you are interested, but for example, you are inquiring only because you are not sure if your work days will clash with rehearsals, and you want to find out more first, then that is also fine.

What I look for on audition day
- Good timekeeping (if you show up on time, this indicates that you are likely to be at rehearsals and performances/ filmshoots on time.)
- Good teamwork. Without teamwork, a production falls apart. Everyone relies on everyone else to get things done :) And it makes for a pleasant atmosphere.
- Pleasant behavior towards the other people at the audition. Good social skills are desperately important. Rudeness or inappropriate behavior will make other people feel unsafe or at least, uncomfortable, and again affect the production negatively.
- Your audition. I look at effort put into characterization, intonation, and body language. It does not have to be what I had in mind, or fit my preconceptions, as long as I see serious effort being made to express a character and interpretation.  I do not expect you to have memorized lines at this point.
Reading a script as if it is nothing more than a list of words spoken in a monotone, fails the audition.

At the end of the day, only one person can get each role. If you are not cast but you have achieved all of the above things, then it simply comes down to how the casting panel felt that people fit the different roles. Even if two (or more) people gave a flawless audition, we can only go with one person for the role. Please dont then feel that we undervalue your work.

The horror stories (and good examples of how to not get cast). All of these are actual situations I have encountered when sat on a casting panel.

- Bringing badly behaved children or over excited pets into the audition room, with no previous confirmation that this is acceptable, who then run around causing disruption.
- Sexually inappropriate behaviour in the audition room, or sexually inappropriate messages to the casting director. A casting director does not need to see your photos or display of intimate areas, or to have a proposal of sexual favours if you are cast. 
- Asking to be guaranteed a role before you audition. I cannot do that. The whole reason for the audition, is to see how you perform.
- Popping into auditions several hours after the announced time, "for a laugh".
- Aggressively chatting up other people waiting to audition. It is a casting, not speed dating.
- Coming in smelling of alcohol and clearly under the influence of alcohol -  or something stronger and probably illegal.
- Demanding that your child/ friend is given a role completely unsuited to them and against the information given about the specific role in the casting call.
- Wanting to be cast, but not wanting to audition, or to attend regular rehearsals, or learn scripts.
- Aggressive or abusive behavior to other auditionees, or the casting director. We like a happy supportive team. If there is a genuine thing that you are upset about, please talk to us civilly and it will be sorted out.
- Blatant lies about previous experience. I am more impressed by you saying you haven't done something before, but are willing to learn. I have had people provide falsified information about being combat-trained, claiming to be stuntpeople with no such experience, falsify previous experience in film or theatre, claim to be a famous celebrity applying under a pseudonym, etc.  If someone makes claims like these, we will often take time to check the facts. Do also be aware that claiming to have specialist skills in combat, stunting etc, when you do not, can also cause serious accidents to you or someone else, if somehow you slipped through the vetting. We love to hear from people with specialist skills, or impressive backgrounds, but we may ask for evidence, because of the high number of incorrect claims (especially surrounding action-based roles).

Keeping the role
Once you have got your role, we have decided that we seriously would like you in the production. It is very rare that we remove someone from a production once we have started, but there are a few people who have achieved this. The reasons we have removed people from productions, over the years, have included

- sexual, aggressive or abusive behaviour towards others in the team
- drunkenness or illegal drug taking in rehearsals/ shows
- external illegal or strongly antisocial behaviour resulting in concerns about team members well-being, or the offenders actions affecting the reputation of our team members.
- habitual lateness to rehearsals
- no-showing to rehearsals and not letting people know, on more than two occasions.
- habitual disruptive behavior in rehearsals or refusal to adhere to cues "I'll do my scene when I have finished my coffee and had a cigarette" for an actual example.
- lack of interest in learning role (refusing to  learn script, etc)


Problem solving
I am also aware from speaking to other casting directors, especially in fringe and independent performing arts, theatre and film alike,  that we are not alone in having these kinds of situations.
Some casting directors, as a result, only work with people they know, thus making it very hard for new talent. We remain open to new talent, and therefore have to problem solve in different ways.

- On audition days, we begin with a word from the show director about what the actors can expect and what the team expects. This is also open to questions.
- We have audition information packs with information about the show, roles, our expectations, information about our team, available to people applying to audition.
- Because most of our casting calls are "open", we are also very careful to include as much information as possible on all adverts.
- All selected actors, regular or new, are asked to sign an actors agreement, which outlines what they can expect from their involvement in our team, and what we require within the team to make the production a success.
- We have clearly available policies on behavior, safety, environment, social responsibility, etc, all available on our website, alongside a clear and simple disciplinary policy for if something goes wrong.
- Our production team are easily contacted on social media with any questions, day or night. 
- We have a qualified safeguarding officer on our team at all times.

Disclaimer: This post is the personal view of author.

This is something which I feel is heavily overlooked, or which people forget. All of us performers, to a greater or lesser extent can be egotists. In some ways we have to be; we go up on stage or in front of the camera, and get up to all manner of things, to be part of that storytelling miracle that is a film or theatre production. This summer, in various productions, I have to be a pagan priestess (twice), a Victorian prostitute, a social media addict who dies in a housefire, and the owner of a horrifyingly haunted doll. You have to have a certain amount of ego to be able to throw yourself into those performances without embarrassment.

But sometimes, I see actors forgetting the powerful need for teamwork. Now in any show I am directing, I am usually working with a wide range of people from beginner performers to established professionals. But directing allows me to watch very interesting dynamics of teamwork.  I also feel it important to point out that none of this is exclusive to either beginners or established actors.

When people are performing, I find that they achieve much more powerful character dynamics when they rehearse together, regularly.  Sometimes I have heard an actor say "well I know my scenes so I dont need to come to rehearsals". What I often see in those situations where that becomes a habit rather than a one-off born of illness, extra shifts at the day job, or some other unavoidable circumstance, is that they may give a very powerful personal performance, but their dynamics with other people are weaker or one sided.

This is because they and the other actors have not practiced together. The part has been read-in by someone else, so with the best of work in mimicking the body language and reactions of the missing actor, it is not the same person.

Conversely, people often say that when I am in charge of a production, I am too strict about attendance in rehearsals, requiring 75% attendance or I reserve the right to re-cast. But there is a reason for that, and this reason above - and  the actor needing to practice to get their performance to its peak, of course - are the top reasons.

A cast and crew are a team.

We have to work together, in close physical proximity. We each know our roles in that team. If one person does not fulfill that role, or if they create confusion or discord in the team, it not only affects others, but it blows back to making the entire project lesser than it could be, and therefore, affecting the one creating the discord or not having that same level of dynamic as the others.
Safety can also be an issue. In my feature film, my fight trainer, is, quite rightly, insisting that it is a condition of being a fighter in the battle scenes, that actors attend their training sessions. I have myself experienced people wanting to be in high-action productions in the past, and trying to "wing" the fight scenes, and either risking hurting themselves or others because they are to improvise, or performing in a manner that leaves a whole series of otherwise brilliant shots, on the cutting room floor.

We have to tell that story. We have to trust one another.

In theatre there are no second takes. In film, time spent getting a scene wrong, could be costing a production company thousands of pounds. If you are not sure what the other person is doing, you will not be performing to your best.

You cannot make it up as you go along, or walk on stage or in front of the camera, still holding your script.

Simply put in a production, the team stands or falls together, but if it ends up without teamwork, and people pushing/ pulling different ways (often from not rehearsing), then it will fall apart anyway.