Engaging Stages audience development book

Engaging Stages is a new, hands-on reader for theatre-makers and creative leaders to inform and inspire strategic approaches to public engagement. Published by the Theatron Engaging Stages Network Europe, it contains 30 contributions and case studies from 17 leading performing arts organisations in 10 European countries, including Toneelhuis Antwerp (BE), HELLERAU European Center for the Arts Dresden (DE), Young Vic Theatre (UK), TR Warszawa (PL), Det Norske Teatret (NO), Bunker (SI), the European Commission and Clore Leadership Programme.

The book is the result of experiences gained within the European collaboration project ‘Theatron - Engaging New Audiences’. Co-funded by the EU Culture Programme, the project brought together 12 major European houses to explore creative ways of engaging new audiences - and the insights are now gathered and published together for the first time. Engaging Stages, presents and analyses the initiatives and research undertaken by European theatres, festivals and cultural organisations, covering a variety of approaches to audience development including:

Being a public theatre in public service
Creating citizen stages / Bürgerbühne
Connecting to audiences on and off stage
Working with marginalised groups, including immigrants and refugees
Engaging with young audiences and schools
Creating socially-engaged work
Using digital platforms
Conducting audience research
Moving towards audience-focused creative leadership

Not everyone has the opportunity to engage with a network of European fellow creative professionals in long, fruitful debates about audience development. To remedy that, this book aims to offer at least a few of the many success stories. It offers insights and lessons learned from people and organisations working at the forefront of strategic audience development. We hope that their experiences in exploring and developing new and creative ways of engaging audiences may serve as a roadmap and an inspiration to others.

Benita Lipps, Executive Director, DaVinci Institute

Engaging Stages (€12.50, 222 pages, 229 x 152 mm, ISBN: 978-1-912264-00-1) is available for purchase online.