Theater and Social Media Theatercamp – Social Media for the Stage

Karin Janner is no stranger to the world of cultural marketing: I first noticed the blogger as one of the organizers of the startConference, which I attended together with Michael Wald in 2009. Some time ago, I had already spoken to her about an unusual project at the interface between the new world of the internet and established culture: a board game for and from the community. So now a new project: an audience-specific event tailored to theater people.

Theatercamp – a barcamp for theater people

“The first barcamp on theater and social media” is the title on the website, but that is not entirely true. “Theater people are not used to the barcamp format and have to present a program to their directors,” says Karin Janner. The result: the sessions are registered in advance and presented in a blog. This is unusual for barcampers, who tend to discuss in wikis and then design the program on site. However, it is important “not to shock people with a new format and to make it clear that you can also participate without offering a session”.

The other conditions:

• Date: November 11, 2012, 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Thalia Theater Hamburg
• Cost: 25 euros or a combination ticket for 35 euros (including a theater performance in the evening), simple catering included
• Registration: information available here

Theater marketing in the social web

Our conversation quickly turns to the eternal social web topic: marketing. “Marketers are always the first to be interested in a topic like social media,” says the organizer, but she also emphasizes that she is of course also happy to welcome visitors from other areas of the theater. “But the first consideration is always: How can we attract a new audience group to the theater? Is the social web a way to get young people into the theater?” And in times of budget constraints, it is of course always a matter of approaching sponsors.

Karin Janner also has a few case studies of successful social media marketing work in the theater environment: the Theater Heilbronn is very active (e.g. on Twitter), and of course the Thalia Theater itself. The latter also shows that not everything always runs smoothly – for example, the choice of the program at the Thalia Theater, in which the audience was allowed to vote on four plays last year, and the result was not at all what was wanted. Ulf Schmidt’s comment on the background is well worth reading:

• the Thalia Theater and the spoilsports
• the Thalia und the spoilsports 2 – Suffering makes you a democrat

Another example: the online stage of the Maxim Gorki Theater (in cooperation with Jung von Matt) and their Facebook experiment “Effi Briest 2.0”. Patrick Klebba has made a short teaser published as CC BY NC:

“Effi Briest 2.0” also shows another way in which social media could be used in theater: away from pure marketing and towards an equally valid stylistic element for the stage.

The other side – social media only in marketing?

Sounds difficult? It is – after all, a functioning concept would have to be developed for how social media could be integrated into theater. Jochen Strauch’s session on “Dramaturgy 3.0”, which will focus on second screens in the theater, should therefore be exciting. The idea: in addition to what is happening on stage, the audience has another screen in front of them – for example, to interact with what is happening on stage.

What is often found in education and is on the rise in television still poses major challenges for theater. “Second screens could work in improvisational theater,” estimates Karin Janner. “However, they would place very special demands on the actors – they would have to react spontaneously. I haven’t done anything like that yet, but it would certainly be an exciting production.” One example of this approach is the Berlin theater group Antigone 2.0.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to make it to the Theatercamp myself – Hamburg is a bit too far away from the area where I live. However, I am looking forward to the documentation: a Slideshare group and Twitter account are planned, along with a written documentation in an as-yet-undetermined form.