Some of it is entered on a keyboard and posted on Facebook. Some is thumbed in on a tiny smartphone keypad and sent to Twitter.
The Festival has embraced social media in a big way this year and is using it to connect with audiences in a way that Shakespeare never could have envisioned more than 400 years ago.
“People used to think of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival as this ivory tower that was only accessible to a few people,” said Aaron Kropf, the Festival’s social and online media co-ordinator. “Now they’re seeing it as accessible to everyone.”
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are a big part of that.
The Stratford Shakespeare Festival Facebook site, for example, has more than 16,000 “fans,” or people who follow it. Some 7,000 fans have been added this year alone. (The actual term is “likes,” but “fans” seems more appropriate.)
Either way, a lot of people are logging in to follow the Festival — posting comments about plays they’ve just seen, making recommendations, asking questions, participating in contests and jumping at limited-time, exclusive promotional ticket offers.
Recent Facebook postings highlights the diverse nature of the dialogue.
In the last few weeks alone, there was:
• An alert about a set of free tickets hidden somewhere in Upper Queen’s Park. It was one of several special offers or discounted tickets promoted on the site.
• Advice from popular Festival actor Bruce Dow on what to wear to the theatre: “Whatever you wear, remember that you are going from hot summer weather into an air-conditioned theatre. Bring a shawl, a sweater, a light jacket.”
• A discussion about the exact age of Christopher Plummer.
• A question about fans’ favourite plays of the season, which prompted dozens of responses.
• Information about the 2011 playbill.
“We try to keep it light,” said Kropf of the Facebook site. “It’s just a fun way to get us interacting and getting involved with those who come to Stratford.”
And those Facebook fans come from far and wide. The largest group comprises Canadians, of course, but the U.S., U.K. and Spain are well represented among those worldwide fans, said Kropf.
What they all have in common is an interest in and a passion for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival that they want to share online.
“The biggest draw with social media is the fact that people just like to voice their opinions and know that someone is listening,” he said.
And someone is definitely listening.
One patron recently complained in a posting about what he thought were Nazi references in the beginning of “As You Like It,” and that comment was forwarded to artistic director Des McAnuff, who responded himself, noted Kropf.
It’s an example of the strong, and in many cases immediate, connection that’s been forged between the Festival and its patrons with these online tools.
“Traditionally you wait until the reviews come out before you know what people think,” said Festival publicity director Ann Swerdfager, whereas now there’s feedback at the first intermission of the first preview performance.
From a marketing perspective, the use of social networking still can’t rival traditional forms of advertising — print, broadcast, radio and direct marketing — said Swerdfager, but it certainly has its place.
“It’s very important not just as a tool to get the same old message out, but because it lets us get different messages out,” she said. “It lets us be responsive and it lets people talk to each other.”
And as more and more people flock to social networking sites, tapping into those resources becomes more and more important for arts organizations like the Festival, said Kropf.
“The conversation is happening. Are you going to get involved or just let it happen?” he said. “We’ve made the choice to get involved in that conversation.”
mbeitz@bowesnet.com
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