Top Reasons to Go to the Theater

Derrick Turner Blog
Top Reasons to Go to the Theater

The theater has been a favorite type of pastime for many years. There is so much to love when you decide to spend the evening at the theater, whether you decide to go and see an old favorite or something that is new. We can marvel at the many hours that are put into the performance, the scenes, and everything else that puts it all together. While you may have some of your own reasons for visiting the theater, some of the biggest benefits include:

  • Helps us to see a new perspective: When we go to the theater, we are shown conflict and resolution, motivations, psychology, and humanity all in one. We get to see so many emotions and thoughts all on the stage. Theater can help us to see things in a new light, while giving us some of the entertainment we are looking for.
  • Reminds us that we are not alone: Not only do we get a chance to share the space and experience with the wonderful artists who put on the show for us, we also get to share this whole experience with the other members of the audience around us. This intimacy is not the same as what we see at the movies or on television, making the theater a truly unique situation for everyone.
  • Theater is always different: If you put a movie on your computer or television screen, it will be the same, no matter how many times you choose to watch it. But when you go to a play or another performance, it will be different each time you walk in. It can be truly magical to see a play or another performance multiple times and have a chance to see it a little differently each time.
  • Helps promote social change: in some cases, going to the theater can help to promote social change. It will depend on the situation and the play at hand. We are able to study a variety of societal problems and work to find the necessary solutions along the way. Opposing views are sometimes shown as well.
  • Promotes literacy and education: Studies have shown that when students are allowed to participate in the theater, they are able to do better in school. This is because the theater that the rest of us may view as entertainment can provide ways to promote literacy and a different education than the student will be able to find in the classroom, regardless of their age at the time.

Minnesota is a great place to go and catch a show and be a part of the theater community. Whether you wish to perform or you would just like to see some of the performances, the work of the Minnesota Theater Alliance helps make this a reality. From help with scheduling, fundraising and more, many of the theater companies in Minnesota are now part of this alliance so that they can grow and continue putting on the great performances that audiences love.…

Where Do the Funds Come From?

Derrick Turner Blogging
Where Do the Funds Come From?

While the Minnesota Theater Alliance has many roles within the performing arts community of Minnesota, one of the things they do is help provide financial aid to many different theater companies. At the start, they were funded through a two-year, $50,000 grant from the McKnight Foundation. This money helped kickstart the alliance and made it easier for them to start their goals.

Once that grant was done, the alliance worked to fundraise to help them get some of the funding necessary. Those theater companies who decide to benefit from the Minnesota Theater Alliance are also charged membership fees to help them meet some of those goals. 

The Minnesota Theater Alliance Conference 

Since its inception in 2010, the Minnesota Theater Alliance has hosted a conference as a way to foster collaboration and cooperation between the different theaters in the state of Minnesota and the different professionals in the industry. This is a great opportunity for different theater professionals, and others interested in the theater industry, to come and learn more about the different theater companies, the issues that are plaguing the industry, and more.

There are a lot of different topics that are brought up during the conference and attendees can choose which of the speakers they would like to talk about. The event typically lasts three days and some speakers will give more than one presentation if popularity is there. Some of the topics that are often available to help attendees learn include:

  •   Different areas of theater expertise
  •   Artistic topics
  •   Administrative topics
  •   Production ideas
  •   Managing a theater company

Attendees are able to choose the types of sessions they would like, with some being keynote speakers, hands-on sessions and more. One of the best parts of these sessions is the ability to socialize and network, which can be great for anyone looking to break out into the Minnesota theater scene. If you are trying to get your foot in the door and meet more people, then this is the conference to go to.

Supporting the Performing Arts Through the Minnesota Theater Alliance 

There are so many things that the Minnesota Theater Alliance is able to provide to the 100+ theater companies in the state. These companies provide some of the best in entertainment and specialty arts to those in the state and they need the necessary support to make sure they get it all done. Thanks to the Minnesota Theater Alliance, established in the state in 2010, this is now possible. Members of the performing arts and others interested in supporting the industry can utilize some of these services at any time.…

Central website with full schedules

Derrick Turner Blogging
Central website with full schedules

In the past, it was difficult for these theater companies to come up with their schedule. They want to save some of the big productions for nights when potential audience members are free and will want to come see it. It can be disastrous for both theater companies if they end up having an opening night on the same evening. Unless they wanted to call all of the local theater companies and spend hours on the phone, it may be impossible to know whether this would happen or not.

The Minnesota Theater Alliance has created a centralized website that includes a full schedule for each of the member theater companies in Minnesota. This makes it easier for any member company to take a look at the schedule and see what else is going on every night of the year. These companies can take a look at the schedule and if there are several other big productions in the area on the same night, they may make some adjustments to their own plans to get the biggest impact.

This works well for all member theater companies. There is less overlapping, making it possible to share the audience, rather than competing over the same audience. And since many of the supporters of the performing arts want to support more than one production, having that schedule open for everyone makes it easier to increase ticket sales for both.

Financial assistance

The Minnesota Theater Alliance works hard to fundraise to come up with the necessary funds to help many of these theater companies succeed. While ticket sales have done well throughout the state of Minnesota, there are times when these theater companies may need additional funds to help them put on a production, pay the performers, expand, or do other tasks that help them provide the best shows to their audience. 

While it is possible for these individual companies to do the fundraising on their own, most are small and localized, which can make it hard for them to have the reach that the statewide Minnesota Theater Alliance can have. Rather than wasting resources towards fundraising, rather than to great productions, these companies can become members of the Alliance and submit an application for some of the funding they need.

The Minnesota Theater Alliance works to provide some of the best funding that is necessary. They have the necessary tools and marketing to fundraise on behalf of all the theater companies in the state, making it easier to support the arts, rather than having all the companies use the resources or compete against one another. 

Trade publications

The Minnesota Theater Alliance helps to produce a trade publication for anyone interested in the performing arts in the state. Whether you are currently in performance positions or just want to see what is going on in this industry, the Minnesota Playlist can provide some of the information you need to stay up to date.

Awards program

The Minnesota Theater Alliance is working with similar groups in San Francisco and Chicago in order to provide some unique services to the performers in Minnesota. One of these is the award program known as the Iveys to help recognize the hard work that the different professionals in the industry are able to do each year. Eventually, the Alliance will be able to handle some of their own awards, but this agreement with the other groups helps to bring the service to Minnesota performers earlier than could be done on its own.…

Overview of the Minnesota Theater Alliance

Derrick Turner Blogging
Overview of the Minnesota Theater Alliance

 Minnesota has a beautiful theater community. Individuals all across the state, from school-aged kids to adults come together to do the performing arts and provide productions unlike any other in the Midwest. Thanks to the Minnesota Theater Alliance, the performing arts community is able to get the connection, support, and advocates they need, no matter what.

The Minnesota Theater Alliance was originally the Springboard for the Arts but changed its name in 2010. This organization works to become an independent nonprofit that will provide audience development, scheduling, marketing, and other professional services to all of the theater companies found in the state of Minnesota. Since there are currently more than 100 of these companies in the state, this is a big undertaking. 

While there is a huge art community in Minnesota and many people enjoy the performing arts, getting coordinated enough to have the right funding and marketing for the individual companies can be almost impossible. But thanks to the efforts of the Minnesota Theater Alliance, these individual theater companies can come together and get the recognition and help they need.

How the Minnesota Theater Alliance Helps the Performing Arts of Minnesota

There are many different ways that the Minnesota Theater Alliance helps the performing arts in Minnesota. While these individual theater companies can maintain some of their independence while being part of the alliance, they do get a number of benefits including:

Centralized ticketing

When each theater company has their own ticketing system, this can become a mess. It is not only expensive for each company to have their own ticketing website to maintain, but then audience members need to run to a different website for each production to see the dates and figure out when they want to go.

The Minnesota Theater Alliance provides a centralized ticketing option for members to use. They can provide information on ticket prices and more on this website and get paid when someone buys a ticket. Rather than having 100+ competing websites with the ticket information, the individual companies can utilize the centralized system and actually see an increase in their ticket sales thanks to the convenience.

Connections with the tourist convention centers

Having connections to the local tourism board makes a big difference for many theater companies. This helps open the door to more marketing and advertising, often for free. The Minnesota tourism board wants to showcase all the talent and bring plenty of entertainment to anyone who comes to visit the state on vacation. But it is hard for them to get in contact with all of the different events and companies through the whole state.

Thanks to the Minnesota Theater Alliance, these theater companies now have a connection with the local tourist convention centers. This helps them to market some of their big productions and dates to any locals and tourists who may come into the state, increasing ticket sales and improving the guest experience for all visitors.…