Thursdays show was cancelled at Comedy City due to no audience...grrr. I am so sick of driving somewhere just to turn back around and go home. Why is it so hard to get an audience to come and see improv in Kansas City. Are we just not tapping the right market? Do people just not like it? Is there something better to do? Do we suck?
I keep telling myself to be patient, that soon there will be some buzz in Kansas City about all of the good improv to see...but honestly I have been waiting for about 5 years now for the buzz to grow. It honestly seems like it is actually decreasing...not increasing. The festival was such a huge success and we also have a writer from the pitch reviewing our shows...but still no turnout. We have a board in place at City3 that is trying to create and promote an improv community, so again I will just be patient and do what I can to help grow improv in Kansas City.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
7 comments:
I think frankly people can only go see improv shows every so often. And when there are three or four shows every weekend, you can't expect them all to do well. People just live very crowded lives, and they would rather go see the latest movie so they can talk about it around the water cooler than to go and see some comedy act that may or may not hit their stride on a particular night. I mean, think about it--Whose Line is routinely funny, but it still doesn't draw a large audience. I used to go to Comedysportz a lot, but frankly, it started to get stale after a while. There are so many other options for entertainment every weekend that I have a hard time thinking CC will be the biggest bang for my entertainment buck.
It's hard to say. I think in KC. Have a consistent show on consistent night at the same venue would be important. That way when word of mouth gets around, people know when to say where and when you perform and have a chance at being right. If you keep changing nights, it's going to be hard to build a following that way. Also, I would pick a format of comedy and stick to it, whether it be longform, sketch, shortform, or stand up. Is it a standup that MCs, with long form groups? Is it a short form up front to warm up the crowd with long form on the back end?
if you mix longform and sketch however, the crowd is probably going to be confused about what's preplanned and what isn't. they're going to think your longform is preplanned at some level even though you might tell them differently.
That's my advice. Keep your nights consistent with the style of comedy and stick to a consistent venue format.
Also as it relates to venue. It helps to pick a venue that has some semblance of a stage. Even if it's just an elevated area with no lights. A little thing like that can make it seem very professional.
The WCH space is a great space, but I understand might be more expensive than others.
You might think about to be more creative with your space and promotion. How do music clubs promote their stuff?
Is there some youtube video that you can use to promote your groups? Put the video on a dedicated web site, and then blanket your target demographic audience areas (i.e. young people and college areas), with ominous or vague flyers with your web site. On your website have a link to your shows.
I think in KC, you're going to have to above and beyond in a creative, persistent fashion to draw people in.
Also, continue reaching out to people from KC that live in other improv communities. There's no reason you should just have people in once a year. Foster those relationships. Even if the KC people can't come in, I'm sure they can recommend others to bring in groups to do shows and workshops. If you do that, again on a consistent basis, you need to really wratchet up the publicity arm and blanket the city in a smart way. Educate the public on why the group visiting is a must see along the lines of Wilco playing at Grinder's or some band playing at Liberty Hall.
Those are just a few ideas off the top of my head.
Funny guerilla video can go a long way.
Also, all of my ideas could be wrong.
Especially about viral videos...but pretty much everything else too.
There are some successful variety shows up in Chicago, or faux-talent shows with a big premise, and funny bits and what not that allow a wide array of show content. But they structure around it is pretty strong.
The other thing(s) that has popped into my head is show flyering. You might need to hit the streets the night of a show to flyer. There might be a ton of people walking by your venue that has no idea what's going on, especially in heavy foot traffic areas such as lawrence and westport. If your venue doesn't have heavy foot traffic, find an area nearby that does and flyer on day(s) preceding. It's a lot of work and a grind, but it's worth it. It'll work even more so if you can say "yeah, we're here every Saturday. check us out. Or, yeah, we have great drink specials, or hey, you can bring your own beer." something to entice them that it's a fun evening out. If shows are consistently low attended, you can probably assume your regular methods of publicity aren't working (by themselves) and it's time to try something else and/or addition to. You can't rely on the press to get butts in the seats.
Crazy, I posted a thread to YesAnd.com about this about the same time you did here.
http://forums.yesand.com/showthread.php?t=8055
They said:
"There is your story you sell to the media: The Improv Renaissance."
"If you have a public radio station, and they have a "member card" program, get on it."
and
"give them some gateway improv for free or cheap. Then, when they get hooked on that, start them on something harder - and keep charging more, because they have a habit now."
Related:
http://forums.yesand.com/showthread.php?t=6605
http://forums.yesand.com/showthread.php?t=1652
Those are all good suggestions, Scott.
The member card thing gets your name out in public more. I don't know about making it free. But cheap and affordable is good to not make price a hindrance. I think if you offer stuff like that for free, people will think the quality isn't good and not take you up. 2 for 1 deals, however, are good. It makes people thing they're getting something of value.
" ... It makes people thing they're getting something of value."
And they are! I also think consistently GREAT shows, not OK shows, are the way to earn a loyal following.
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