Actor and director Michael Rice, host of the The Cool As Hell Theater Show, tells us about his favorite interviews, why Tony award winning actor Bill Irwin is so cool, and what it takes to get on the extremely popular podcast.

Listen now:

Michael Rice of the Cool as Hell Theater Show

Or get on iTunes (free).

There’s a great big Internet out there chock full o’ resources for running your theater or venue. And the good news is many of them are free or inexpensive. (Like our very own information-packed podcast, ahem.)

While none of these solutions are specifically designed for arts organizations, they are easily adapted to your org’s day-to-day needs. Business is business, as they say.

These resources will have you up and running in no time, looking like the professional venue that you are (or long to be) with very little, if any, money out of pocket. And that’s something any board can approve of.

Have a better suggestion? Let us know in the comments.

On to the list…

Microsoft Office Replacements

Web Sites
Zoho – The mother of online application suites, Zoho offers browser-based word processing, spreadsheets, invoicing, and much, much more. Free & paid versions.

Google Docs & Spreadsheets – Not as feature packed as Zoho, but good for basic word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. New features added regularly. Free.

Software
Open Office (Windows) – If you know MS Office, you know Open Office, the open source productivity suite. Includes a word processor, spreadsheet, database, and PowerPoint-like presentation tool. Free.

NeoOffice (Mac) – A version of Open Office adapted to run on Mac OS X. Same MS Office compatible features as the Windows version. Free.

Photo Editing

Web Sites
Adobe Photoshop Express – Crop, rotate, edit, and tweak your pictures with Adobe’s online version of its popular Photoshop software. Free.

picnik – Crop, rotate, resize, and add special effects to photos in your browser with this easy to use image editor. Free & paid versions.

Software
GIMP (Windows, Mac OS X) – Photoshop-like image and photo editing. Free.

Paint.net (Windows) – An intuitive, powerful image and photo editor. Free.

Images

flickr – Tons of photos on flickr are made available for public or business use by photographers. Go to Advance Search, enter your search words, and select “search Creative Commons-licensed photos”. Free.

iStockphoto – Thousands of great looking, professional images at incredibly low prices. Starting at $1 each.

To Do

Sandy – A personal online digital assistant. Send the site an email about your next meeting or to-do and it will automatically send you a reminder email at just the right moment. Free.

Backpack – Easily centralize and share information across your organization with group calendars, to-do lists, announcements, and more. Free & paid versions.

Hiring

JobScore – Self-service job management. Market your jobs and track applicants through the site. Free.

Money Management

Quicken Online – The online version of the popular money management software. $2.99/mo.

Web Site

Google Apps – Total web site management. Multiple email accounts, group calendars, instant messaging, and web page design and publishing. Free & paid versions.

WordPress – Easy to use, award-winning blogging service. Free & paid versions.

Internet

GetNetWise – Web industry sponsored public service site that provides information every web surfer should know, like how to stop spam and keep personal info private. Free.

So you’re happily eating your lunch at the local mall food court when, suddenly, one of the girls behind the counter at Hot Dog on a Stick starts singing woefully about her troubles finding a napkin. Then things get weird. Workers come out of nowhere and join in, performing a full-blown napkin centric musical.

Awesomely good theatrical fun from the folks at Improv Everywhere.

You Tube: Food Court Musical

Are smart people drawn to the arts or does arts training make people smarter?

Neuroscientists from seven leading universities across the United States are trying to find out. In a three year study they used brain imaging and behavioral assessment of arts enthusiasts to understand the effects of music, dance, and drama education on other types of learning.

The conclusion?

The arts probably make you smarter.

Among the discoveries: Training in acting improves abstract thinking, and children who practice music appear to have improved geometry skills.

Looks like all those hours singing “Memory” from Cats in front of the mirror finally paid off.

What if your patrons gave you enough money to produce your next show?

It sounds far-fetched, but it’s happening at Misnomer Dance Theater.

Chris Elam, Misnomer’s Artistic Director and Choreographer, has set up a donation page on Fundable, a web site that simplifies fund raising, to collect money for their next production.

As he puts it:

“This Fundable project helps commission the creation of this new choreography by pooling small contributions from a large group of individuals interested in our work (that includes you!).”

In just under a month they raised enough money to meet their goal.

I came across this startlingly clever bit of business in an article by Wired magazine founder and former editor Kevin Kelly called “1,000 True Fans“.

Kelly’s premise is equal parts simple and powerful: Collect enough True Fans–the kind that attend anything and everything you produce–and ask them to help out with production costs.

“Assume conservatively that your True Fans will each spend one day’s wages per year in support of what you do. Let’s peg that per diem each True Fan spends at $100 per year. If you have 1,000 fans that sums up to $100,000 per year, which minus some modest expenses, is a living for most folks.”

And more than enough funding for most stage productions.

“One thousand is a feasible number. You could count to 1,000. Pleasing a True Fan is pleasurable, and invigorating. It rewards the artist to remain true, to focus on the unique aspects of their work, the qualities that True Fans appreciate.”

He gives further examples of fan-funded art, including singer Jill Sobule collecting money to record her next CD ($50,000 so far!) and half a dozen authors who successfully use the strategy.

If you’re struggling with paying for your next production (and who isn’t?), I urge you to read both Chris Elam’s explanation of his money raising efforts and Kelly’s article. They just may change the way you look at raising money for your next show.

—
Kevin Kelly: 1,000 True Fans

Misnomer Dance Theater on Fundable

Misnomer’s Web Site

Illustrious jugglers the Raspyni Brothers show off their uncanny balance, agility, coordination and willingness to sacrifice (others) at the TED conference in Monterey, California. Don’t miss the amazing  “jump over my partner’s head and catch the flying razor sharp sickles” bit about 10 minutes in. [Link]

It amazes me how, in this age of the Internet, there are still theaters and venues that don’t go online to drum up interest in their shows.

Maybe it’s a lack of know-how, which is not an excuse, really, since there are loads of free resources out there.

Maybe it’s a fear of the new. However, the Internet isn’t new anymore (20 years and counting!).

Maybe it’s because they think most of their patrons aren’t looking for them online.

If that’s what you think, then think again.

A while back, on our third show, I interviewed Eugene Carr, President and CEO of Patron Technology.

In an effort to better understand arts patrons’ preferences, Carr’s company surveyed 50,000 customers of their PatronMail email service.

Of those arts patrons who responded to the survey, 52% said they spend more time on average on the internet and less time with radio, television, newspapers and magazines, stating they would rather receive marketing emails directly from arts venues or visit a production’s web site.

“An organization that has been doing direct mail and print could continue to do it, but I would say that it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee. We are now living in a world where their customers are taking in information on the web and by email and our research shows that a large portion of those people actually prefer web-based marketing to offline marketing,” Carr said in the interview.

The finding is in keeping with the growing trend of consumers spending more time on the internet and less time with traditional media like television.

A fact not lost on marketers who, according to Forrester Research, will increase online marketing spending to over $61 billion by 2012.

“Is direct mail and radio and print enough? Not anymore. Today, if you want to have a marketing program, email and web marketing must be a part of it if you want to be effective and, most importantly, if you want to develop a newer and potentially younger audience for your arts organization,” Carr said.

So, if you’re not marketing your venue online, why not?

Your patrons are looking for you.

Venues face more competition than ever for their patron’s attention and, in turn, their dollars. And let’s face it, no money equals no venue. It’s a business reality and an arts reality.

Consumers have seemingly endless ways to spend those entertainment dollars. Why go out to see a play or concert when they can stay in and enjoy entertainment in the comfort of their own homes in the form of the Internet, DVDs, Cable T.V. and Video Games?

It’s a daunting question. The obvious answer is to give them something they can’t get at home: The thrill of a live performance, passionate actors on stage, musicians riffing within arms reach, the communal experience of being in a crowd enthralled by the performance.

But those inherent aspects of live performance haven’t stopped a steady decline in ticket sales nationwide.

What’s a venue to do?

In an early episode of the In The Box podcast, I talked to arts marketing consultant Joanne Scheff Bernstein about structuring shows around patron’s lifestyles. She described one venue that scheduled performances during commuter hours to better accommodate working professionals. It was a rousing success. (InTheBoxPodcast.com/iTunes)

One clever organization has found another answer: give patrons more than an experience they can’t get at home, give them one they can’t get at other venues.

In this case, it’s a performance piece called “Etiquette” in which the audience are the actors. It takes place at a deli in New York’s East Village as part of The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival.

Audience members sit at a table, wear head phones and follow a script that takes them through a conversation, each person hearing a different part of the scene.

“It’s about being here in the cafe and then finding yourself taken away. The idea was to think of conversation as a theatrical experience at the same time as performing it yourself. You’re the audience,” says Anton Hampton, co-founder of Rotozaza Theater Company, the troupe behind “Etiquette”.

“It’s like being in a good art film,” said one audience member.

Innovative productions like “Etiquette” and the aforementioned commuter series are an interesting strategy when it comes to competing for the public’s attention in this age of endless, fractured entertainment options.

Small theater and production companies like Rotozaza may be among the first to recognize this and the first to experiment, but sooner or later larger organizations must realize that innovation, as difficult as it can be to sell to board members, just might be the ticket for increasing audiences and revenue.

The New York Times site has a great video report on “Etiquette”. Watch it at NYTimes.com: Theater and Pierogies

You have, no doubt, heard of YouTube, the insanely popular Google-owned video sharing site. And I’m guessing you are familiar with blogs too–you’re reading this after all. Maybe you’ve even Twittered a few times (in public no less!).

But did you know you can use these online tools and others like them to reach patrons?

In the latest episode of the In The Box podcast I interview arts marketing consultant Maryann Devine, who tells us how to get the most out of these popular technologies and use them to create lasting relationships with patrons.

Oh, and did I mention most of them are free?

Listen now:

In The Box: Blogs and Twitter and YouTube! Oh My!

Or get on iTunes (free).