Well the Theater Bloggers are a buzz. Today's New York Times featured an article today about Nielson (yup the TV Nielson's Ratings) It's all about how Broadway is starting to use some data mining techniques to determine how a show markets to theatergoers. The responses of the Thespian Bloggers is all over the place. Some are outraged, some are apathetic, but almost everyone has weighed in on the issue.
I think the measurement part is good. With millions of dollars being spent to put on Broadway show, I think some research is in order. This need not effect the art itself, just determine who would be best served by the play and help producers target the right groups of people.
However, I can see the abuses that the system may bring about. Imagine playwrights being told that they had to change a character because the audience didn't like him. I don't believe this extreme will occur.
Broadway is now competing with so many other medias. Younger theatergoers view it much as any other entertainment, not in a category apart like culture. So to continue to serve the public it needs to evolve. My hope is that it will strike a balance between the art that we all love, and something that will continue to appeal to future generations.
I encourage you to see what other bloggers have been saying:
The Nielsens of Theatre (i.e. Nielsen) - Playgoer
The Masscult, Branding and Marketing - On Theatre and Politics - Matthew Freeman
Nielson Ratings & Commercial Attributes II: Steven Gridley and Supply & Demand - Jamespeak The Quantification of Quality - Superfluties by George Hunka
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