Life in the Arts.....

.....or how not to grow your community theatre (thereby insuring it's just you and your buds, undisturbed.)

A new calendar year dawns. You are contacted, out of the blue.....

Newbie: "Hi, I'm new in these parts, and I'd really like to come help out at your theatre. I have experience. Can I come play?"

You: "Are you a member? You have to be a member. It's $15 a year. Here's your membership form. It includes a place to mark what areas you want to volunteer in."

Newbie: Sends in membership form with money and areas marked.

You: "Thanks, you're now a member of our theatre for the next six months." [We didn't mention that our membership year is by season, and there's no discount, no matter how far into the season we are? Too bad, we have your money now.] "By the way, here's the form to order season tickets." [They're on the same basis: half the season's over, tickets are same price they were last summer before the season started.]

Newbie: Once bitten, twice shy, does not order "season tickets" for the back half of the season.

You haven't said they have to buy tickets to come and play, and they probably don't---you're just hoping in their enthusiasm they will.

You: Add them to the mailing list for new shows and auditions. Never contact them again. When they don't re-join, either don't notice at all, or mutter about how "they must not have been VERY interested, after all...." and feel self-righteous about not having wasted the time actually responding to them.

Just a hypothetical scenario, of course......no real community theatre would act that way, would they? Certainly not any here in beautiful Indianapolis.......