When I set out on this project my goal was to get a large variety of an audience, to extend Southwestern’s reputation out into the community, and get a wide diversity in the cast.

I begin work before auditions. I posted flyers all around Georgetown and in the surrounding communities. I released a press release and sent emails to the campus. I also talked to some teachers at the high schools and junior highs. The publicity for the show was successful, because we had a wide variety of people audition for the show. We had many different ethnicities and an age range of fourteen years old to seventy-seven years old.

My next work came to publicizing the show. I set my goal in this area to fill up the Alma Thomas theatre because this is rarely done. The house holds about 550 people so I wanted to have at least 400 people a night. I had posters posted again on campus, in Georgetown, and surrounding areas. I put an ad on SUTV, got an ad in the Williamson County Sun, and ordered large banners to go on campus. The first night I did not quite get 400. The house count was 347, but I was pleased because we did open on Valentine’s Day. The next two evenings were well above the goal. Saturday was 504 and closing day was a 517. Again we reached a diverse range in our audience. There were toddlers and infants there to enjoy a show and a very pleased ninety-eight year old audience member. The total count to see the show was 1,368. I was pleased and glad to have helped to attribute to such an entertaining show. I think that having a large audience really added to the excitement of the show. Having a full house both encourages the performers to operate better and pushes the audience to be more interactive and enjoy the show all the more. I was pleased with both the large number and the wide diversity we had both on stage and in front of the curtain.

Andrew Richey
Public Relations Director
1940s Now