Springtime means one thing: It’s time to start planning your art program’s open house! Whether you’re involved with a school program, a community theatre, a professional non-equity entity or something in between, open houses are an excellent way to promote your program and get people talking about your offerings. Additionally, theatre open houses can assist in:
With so many perks, it should be a no-brainer to host an open house for your program. That said, the process can be stressful, especially if planning isn’t your strong suit. Worry not! On The Stage offers a few tips to get you started in planning a successful open house for your arts program.
Planning: Sound advice for any event, but especially important here, because the last thing you want at a theatre open house is an empty house. Planning ahead for an open house entails:
When it comes to choosing a date and day of the week, consider the day you’ll likely have the most availability from your visitors, allowing you to get the most people to your open house. Thus, avoid the middle of the workday, right during rush hour traffic, or later at night than many parents can leave the house. Additionally, make sure the date is far enough in advance that people can make the proper arrangements to be there.
As well, don’t forget to peruse community calendars and ensure your open house isn’t conflicting with any major social events, fundraisers, or performances that would hinder your attendance.
How long do you want your theatre open house to run? A structured open house can last for just an hour or an hour and a half if it’s organized well and you have a confirmed, steady attendance. That said, you can also open up your open house to run for several hours with repeating presentations/activities to maximize the number of guests you can accommodate.
Decide how you want your event to flow and what activities and offerings you definitely want included in the itinerary, and nail them down early. Will you be giving a presentation? A speech? Will students and patrons be getting involved? Will you be giving a tour? Have all of this decided upon and planned before you start marketing your event.
If you plan for your open house to be a rousing success, it will likely be busy, meaning that you won’t have time to sit and talk with every single person who enters. That said, make sure you’ve created clear directional signs if your theatre is larger, so your visitors don’t get lost and know where to go. Additionally, ensure your staff and volunteers are trained and ready to help out with tours, answering questions, or giving the “schpeel” at informational booths you have set up.
You can train your employees and plan all you want, but if you don’t promote your open house, it will all be for naught. That said, make sure you’re blasting information about your event out into the world to maximize attendance and create some buzz. A few ways to do so include:
Free, quick, and easy, promoting your open house on social media is a great way to spread the word about your event. Make sure you’ve got snappy graphics that give visitors all the most relevant information they need, and that your theatre’s website is as up to date as possible.
Perhaps your entire email list doesn’t need to know about your open house because many have already confirmed they’re coming, or you’re just trying to recruit specific demographics with this event. No matter the reason, email segmentation is a great way to create tailored and targeted messaging that feels more personalized to those you want to entice.
If you’re gunning for one-on-one connections, calling potential open house visitors to personally invite them to your event is a surefire way to network.
It’s no secret that many people dislike phone calls, or will ignore a number they don’t know. If your phone marketing efforts aren’t popping off the way you want them to, text messages are a quick, effective, and low-effort tactic for reminding people about events like a theatre open house.
Go old school and mail flyers about your open house to prospective visitors. While digital marketing can often only stay top-of-mind for a short while, a physical reminder like a flyer hanging up on the fridge may be the key to increasing your attendance.
Don’t forget to add your open house to community calendars and online forums. Additionally, if you have local media outlets like newspapers, magazines, and TV stations, see if they’re open to promoting your event, too!
If you have community partners or are still working on that networking journey, now is the time to leverage relationships to ensure cross-promotion and that your event reaches more folks.
Pro Tip: On The Stage’s built-in marketing tools can help you accomplish all the above and more.
This nugget of advice loops back around to suggestion No. 1, ensuring you’ve got a full schedule of events lined up during your open house. We repeat: Your open house should not just be a social hour; it should have engaging events planned to increase community enthusiasm for your arts program. A few ways to create an engaging experience include:
Adding an educational element to your open house is a great way to keep things engaging. Integrating a workshop into your event that focuses on a specific arts-related topic can help entice more guests and keep them at your open house longer!
The proof is in the pudding, right? If you want to show your guests just how great your programming is, why not perform for them? Get your actors and crew members together to showcase your talent in a short performance – that won’t mess up your rehearsal schedule or planning, of course.
Give your guests behind-the-scenes, VIP experiences by offering them tours of your facility. From your backstage area to your lighting booth and your classroom, let your guests see where the magic happens – and allow them to imagine themselves there, too!
Creating a welcoming environment during your open house is crucial in making a great first impression. The last thing you want to do is seem clique-y or exclusive. After all, the arts are for everyone!
If you plan on running a presentation about your program during your open house, make sure it doesn’t take up much time and that you open the floor to questions after you’re done. After all, guests didn’t come to your event to hear a lecture – they want to make connections with you and your team!
Arts education is crucial to the success of students everywhere, and your open house should highlight your specific program’s many offerings and values. In short: don’t be afraid to brag! A few ways to go about this include:
If you’re a part of a school program, bring in graduates to speak who truly benefited from your programming, or invite their parents to talk on their behalf. If you’re involved with a community theatre, allow current or past members to talk about how your theatre changed their lives for the better. In short, it’s great to hear from employees and staff, but people are more likely to trust peers – those who don’t have any skin in the game – when it comes to word–of-mouth advertising.
Do you have successful alumni from your arts programming, or a student who made a major 180 thanks to your offerings? Don’t be afraid to brag about those success stories, and don’t forget to create compelling marketing assets about them to draw in more patrons.
Do you and your employees have impressive credentials? Have you focused on continuing education to ensure you’re offering your students/cast/crew the best possible education? Make sure your open house guests understand your expertise and just how great you are at your job!
Pro Tip: A membership program through On The Stage can help retain engaged audience members and supporters beyond the open house!
Your open house has the potential to be incredibly helpful for your theatre, but you need to put some extra effort in after the fact to ensure that it happens. Gather feedback from your open house guests, and follow up with them later on, to ensure you know what went right, what went wrong, and how to course-correct for your next event. A few ways to be proactive about this last step include:
Make sure that you have an organized sign-in sheet for open house guests, and that sheet requests all the relevant contact information you need to follow up effectively. Encourage everyone who enters your event to sign in, and incentivize these guests to put in their actual info (instead of dummy emails/phone numbers) by offering a free gift or raffle ticket.
Surveys are a surefire way to get some constructive criticism and help improve your event for next time. Make sure your open house guests feel seen and heard by asking for their opinions and advice.
After the theatre open house, personally reach out to interested guests to make connections, network, and facilitate more conversations that can help these folks become more invested in your programming.
Invite your open house guests to a dedicated social media group for detailed and interactive updates. Also, make sure you’re touting all your social media handles to gain new followers and keep guests up to date.
Open houses are often stressful due to the myriad organizational components, but with On The Stage, planning and executing an open house will be a dream. If you’re ready to elevate your arts program, partner with On The Stage and book a personalized demo today.