lbplayhouse1 Everybody’s a critic, the weary old saying goes, but for the next couple of months the Long Beach theatre community will be encouraging critique from its audiences—although the preferred word in this particular situation may be “feedback.”

Victoria Bryan, a professor at California State University/Long Beach, is collaborating with Long Beach theatres of all sizes and types to research why audiences choose to attend and whether their experiences match their expectations.

“We know that theatre audience numbers are shrinking and, naturally, theatres are concerned about that,” said Bryan. “Talking to people who do attend shows seems like a good place to start to understand how we can build and sustain future audiences.”

Between now and the end of January 2011, audience members at each theatre will be asked to complete a questionnaire after they see a production in Long Beach. Questionnaires are also available on line. At the end of the study the information will be analyzed and reported back to theatres, audiences, and Long Beach arts leaders.

No, these theatres are not gluttons for punishment. Rather, they are hungry for the rewards that come with bigger audiences—obviously, more financial stability, but crucially, a stronger interaction between the performers on stage and the people reacting in the seats.

 “Clearly, without audiences we don’t have theatre—they are our partners in creating an exciting theatre community and we really want to know what they think,” commented Lauren Morris, Managing Director of the Long Beach Playhouse, one of the theatres taking part in the study.

Other participating theatres and companies range from the 1,074-seat Carpenter Performing Arts Center to Long Beach Shakespeare Company’s two spaces in Bixby Knolls; Cal Rep aboard the Queen Mary to The Garage and Found Theatres downtown; Musical Theatre West and the Long Beach Playhouse represent long-time Long Beach theatre institutions, while GO-FAME represents children’s theatre; school theatre programs will include Millikan High School and the Renaissance High School for the Performing Arts; Act Out Mystery Theatre and All American Melodrama and Music Hall are based in the Shoreline Village/Harbor Area while Alive Theatre tours to different venues throughout Long Beach.

The survey takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

“I know that’s  a lot of time to ask, but audience members’ opinions are important to our theatres. We’re looking for more than just ‘I liked it/I didn’t like it’,” explained Bryan.

As well as providing Long Beach theatres with feedback to benefit their marketing, outreach, and programming plans, Bryan will write her doctoral dissertation on the findings of the study.

“I think there’s a really useful discussion going on,” she said. “Theatres are aware they don’t have the quantity or demographics of audience they would like to have. I’d like to contribute by discovering the reasons audience members decide to buy a ticket.

“We know some of the reasons they don’t: There are more alternatives now. Technology gives us ways to do amazing things without leaving our houses. The cost can makes people stop and think whether they really  want to see that play or not. Younger generations coming up may not have had the opportunity to see theater. My hope is that the information we collect with these questionnaires helps to change some of that.”