The Sold Out Run Podcast: Theatre Marketing / Promotions

Very helpful podcast and a great way to keep this always at the top of my mind. As a magician, marketing theater is something rarely discussed and this makes the information so easy to digest. Thanks Clay!

We theatre artists are used to thinking of it all as "Theatre Magic," as we assess why that vast impenetrable public did or did not come to see our show. Or perhaps we see that whole marketing thing as a pander and cheapening of our art. Or maybe dirtying our hands with "PR" takes the whammy off of our preternatural talent. But mostly we quietly despair of being the popular kid we always wanted to grow up to be. Clay Mabbitt comes armed with strategies, techniques, understanding, and most of all... hope. While every ounce of my dignity may strain against putting up more posters or tweeting or chatting, or reaching out to that untouched holdout, Clay reminds me that this theatre thing is a big ship, and it takes some energy to turn it around. Drip by drip, we displace the water that enables us to push off in another direction. And perhaps, the thing that interrupts the grand success (that I TOTALLY deserve) is me. And my unwillingness to share, post, chat, tweet, recruit, engage, promote, trumpet... and shape the ultimate message that will get this thing into the heads and hearts of a larger public. I don't listen to this podcast for THE ANSWER, of what strategy is going to spell success. I let the perspective take me over... the perspective how it is to be somebody who has something worth sharing, and gradually I become acquainted with all of the avenues of public awareness available to someone with a show worth sharing.

I recently discovered "Sold Out Run" after searching for show marketing ideas. This podcast (and the associated blogs) are exactly what I wanted! Putting on a performance - no matter how good - without an audience is ... a rehearsal! I'm a performer, not a sales and marketing guy - but Clay has given me a lot of great ideas to improve that ability.

I discovered Clay Mabbit's show back in January when the task of marketing a black-box theatre series was placed in my responsibility. After listening to the interviews, taking advantage of the marketing calenders, and reading all of the articles and keeping up to date with the new posts I feel equipped to tackle the challenges that come with promoting a show. Over the course of the last few months we have gone from sparsely attended houses to having to full houses. We even had to extend the last show another week because of the high demand. Clay Mabbit helped us find the audience we didn't know was out there. 5/5 stars, I recommend this for anybody who ever wants an audience to come to their show.