Knowledge Exchange Webinars

What does loyalty look like in 2023 and beyond – and how do you find a model that works for your organization and your audiences? Spektrix’s Bethany Nothstein shares inspiration and examples to help you align your business priorities with the motivations of your audiences, replacing prescriptive models like the traditional loyalty pyramid with a more collaborative, customer-centric approach.

Is it time for a new fundraising strategy for your organization? Would you like to have a plan to convert your performance patrons (single ticket buyers) into donors? In this webinar, DonorView will break down a unique approach to develop your relationships with your patrons and donors.

Member Services Director Adam Grosswirth will walk you through the I&E application process, the history of the program, and offer tips on how to select your project and craft your application.

As new platforms and technologies shift audience behavior and expectations, theatre makers and producers have the opportunity to harness their power to meet audiences where they are. In 2023, Potential ticket buyers not only desire to be a part of your theatrical world, but expect it. Brandon Powers will share an approach to creating multi-platform communities with tools and forms such as TikTok, Discord, and extended reality. Join us and learn to treat your audience as a collaborator not a consumer.

During this 30-minute session, Mark Ciglar, founder and creative director of Cinevative, will give actionable tips to help you create engaging, unskippable videos that drive action.

NAMT New Works Director Frankie Dailey will walk you through the application process for this year’s Festival of New Musicals in this free webinar. Registration is required. 

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre is now accepting submissions for our 35th Annual Festival of New Musicals, which will take place on Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27, 2023 in New York City. The first deadline, which allows writers to submit their musical for free, is Tuesday, December 20th (11:59pm EST).

A look through how disabled characters in the media have been misconstrued and what you can do to be more inclusive of the disability community. Led by Christine Burke.

Member Services Director Adam Grosswirth will walk you through the I&E application process, the history of the program, and offer tips on how to select your project and craft your application.

Over the past two years, arts organizations have examined every aspect of their operations for new ways forward. How can we provide safer patron experiences? How can we generate revenue, reduce expenses, and maximize our resources? One trend emerging from this inquiry is the shift from printed programs to digital program books. Join InstantEncore’s David Dombrosky for a closer look at this trend. 

A candid discussion about the over-arching negative effects of racism on all people. Based on the book The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee.

At the Fall Conference we asked the questions What Next and What Now? These are bigger questions than an hour-long conference panel could possibly contain, and the world keeps changing every day, so we’re reconvening our panelists to continue the conversation. What next??

SVOG update with Karen Kowgios.

Join NAMT’s New Works Director for a webinar about the application process for the 2022 Festival of New Musicals. He’ll walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have. 

Join NAMT’s New Works Director for a webinar about the application process for the 2022 Festival of New Musicals. He’ll walk you through the process and answer any questions you may have. 

Hosted by Eric Nelson, Client Engagement Officer.

We’ve learned many things over the last year. From the importance of relationships (organizations who entered 2020 with higher proportions of active patrons in their databases experienced greater resiliency during COVID) to the power of messaging (donors in 2020 were motivated by community impact stories). As we begin to welcome patrons back in our theatres, knowing which KPIs to follow will fuel our success. In this session, TRG will share reopening strategies, examples, and the must-have KPIs to pair with your Patron Engagement comebacks.

Join Azuka Theatre Producing Artistic Director, Kevin Glaccum and Co-Founder & Marketing Director, Mark Andrews for a conversation about the Pay What You Decide ticketing model, where we’ll discuss and answer questions about the structures, successes and hurdles involved in this game-changing ticketing model.

We are delighted to welcome back Karen Kowgios, Partner and Practice Leader for Theatre, Entertainment and the Arts at Withum, for a webinar on SVOG Expense Management and related topics. This webinar will provide information on what’s allowable and what’s not for SVOG grants, and will offer suggestions on how to keep good expense documentation. She will also provide insight into how members can take advantage of PPP, ERTC and SVOG, looking at how they can work together and how to avoid double-dipping.

We have effective theories and strategies that focus on the “lifecycle” of a patron and how fundraising fits into that lifecycle. When we speak lifecycle, we’re talking everything: single ticket purchases, donations (multiple occasions), more single ticket purchases, subscription purchases, events, thank-you activities, planned giving and more. We want to talk about how, when and how often fundraising fits in to the patron lifecycle with the goal of broadening and deepening patron and donor relationships.

Karen Kowgios, Partner and Practice Leader for Theatre, Entertainment and the Arts at Withum, will help NAMT members navigate the newly released SVOG application information. 

Karen Kowgios, Partner and Practice Leader for Theatre, Entertainment and the Arts at Withum, will help NAMT members navigate the newly released SVOG FAQ from the SBA.

After safely filming three productions for patrons during the last year and one new musical workshop, our team has learned a lot that we didn’t know! Each project has had its own challenges and lessons to teach our team and staff. From I Am My Own Wife, a Pulitzer-winning one person play by Doug Wright, to a concert event featuring ten performers where we recorded a group number without having singers the building at the same time, and most recently an original holiday show, Ella’s Swinging Christmas: a Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, WaterTower Theatre has learned a lot that we didn’t know a year ago! We made mistakes (most of which could be fixed along the way), and we are here to share the adventure with you.

What insurance do I need? How do I lower my insurance costs? Who gets insured under workers’ comp? Abuse and molestation? Employment practices liability? Am I paying for anything I don’t need? We will discuss coverage needs, wants and requirements, and how to lower your insurance costs. An engaging and interactive presentation on properly insuring your performing arts organization.

Karen Kowgios from Withum will return to update us on the emerging guidance from SBA regarding the Shuttered Venues Operations Grants (SVOG…aka SOS) and PPP2.

During this webinar, Karen will discuss the currently available guidance, what additional guidance to expect and what information you’ll need to be able to apply.

New Works Director Ciera Iveson and the team that brought you the reimagined 32nd Annual Festival of New Musicals will share details, insights and lessons learned from NAMT’s first online Festival.

This webinar, with Karen Kowgios of WithumSmith+Brown, PC, will include an overview of relevant components of the new relief legislation, including Save our Stages, new PPP and extended unemployment plan.

TRG Arts and data specialists Purple Seven created the free and easy to use International Covid-19 Sector Benchmark. Using automated data feeds between CRMs and Purple Seven’s secure servers, the Benchmark provides near real-time updates on ticket sales, refunds and donations which is anonymized and aggregated.

NAMT New Works Director Ciera Iveson will walk you through the application process for this year’s Festival of New Musicals.

NAMT New Works Director Ciera Iveson will walk you through the application process for this year’s Festival of New Musicals.

Performing arts organizations across the country have been impacted by the cancellation or postponement of their fundraising events during the spring and fall special event seasons. This webinar will help you find creative and practical techniques for hosting your special event virtually, and, even more importantly, it will explore how to raise funds and sponsorships in this remote environment.

In July, audiences traveled to sixteen different locations in the Hudson Valley to experience The Forest of Arden’s American Dream Study, a devised piece of theatre and dance born out of the pandemic that used a variety of techniques both high- and low-tech to tell a story and keep both audience and actors safe. Director Michael Arden will share details about this unique experience and how they pulled it off.

The COVID-19 Theatre Think-Tank (CTT) deliberately draws from as many of theater-making corners as possible, from stage managers to directors, from Broadway to regional theaters. Since March, the group has been in talks with public-health officials, pooling knowledge and letting epidemiology experts steer the conversation about what a post-shutdown theater might look like. Matt Ross, a producer and publicist who put the think tank together, will share what they’re learning as the pandemic goes on.

Many employers are scaling up their work even as the threat from the COVID-19 remains real.  Getting back to work in a COVID world requires rethinking old habits and adjusting to the “new normal.”  This webinar will address the hard questions most employers must ask now.

NAMT will welcome Steven Wolff of AMS Planning & Research, a consulting firm for arts, culture and entertainment. He will discuss a paper they prepared (https://www.ams-online.com/long-runway/) and provide an overview of the opportunity for a cohort of NAMT member leadership (e.g. ADs, EDs, MDs) to meet with AMS every two weeks for a couple of months to explore a range of topics, from interim activity to new business models; from self-care to personnel concerns.

At this webinar, Karen Kowgios, Partner and Practice Leader for Theatre, Entertainment and the Arts at Withum, will help NAMT members navigate the newly passed PPP Flexibility Act. She’ll cover the key components of the bill, some nuances around what the bill does/doesn’t explain (awaiting further SBA guidance) and will offer some suggestions about what criteria theatres should consider in deciding how to proceed.

A crisis in more ways than one, COVID-19 has forced the closure of theatres and live venues around the world. There remains one outlier: The Phantom of the Opera world tour, currently playing in Seoul, offers a working model to theatres everywhere. Join us as we delve into the pertinent case study this production provides and share the approach and guidelines adopted to keep the show running.

Are you navigating artistic and logistical questions around live streaming musical events? Join NAMT members for a webinar featuring case studies of successful member streaming initiatives. We will cover both the technical and artistic decisions made for each model.

Karen Kowgios, Partner at Withum, where she is Practice Leader in Theatre, Entertainment and the Arts, will discuss the next phase of the Payroll Protection Program, particularly focusing on the criteria for loan forgiveness and the documentation that everyone should keep to support their forgiveness claim. If you have specific questions you’d like addressed about the CARES Act and about the PPP, please send them in advance to Betsy (betsy@namt.org).

Amidst a still-unfolding public health and economic crisis, leaders of nonprofit organizations are profoundly challenged to sustain the support of their donors, members, volunteers, and other stakeholders. This 24-minute webinar (presented live, with additional time for open Q&A) offers an espresso shot of substantive & actionable recommendations designed to help you protect the relationships upon which your organization depends.

The National Endowment for the Arts’ Theater & Musical Theater Director Greg Reiner will answer your questions regarding CARES Act funding available through the National Endowment for the Arts.

Karen Kowgios, Partner at Withum, where she is Practice Leader in Theatre, Entertainment and the Arts, will help NAMT organizational members understand the parts of the CARES Act that apply to them. She plans to provide some guidance on the information that needs to be gathered, and she will also walk through some of the nuts and bolts of applying. Please note that federal application guidance is evolving rapidly; this webinar will provide the best available current information.

There’s never been a more important time to utilize digital marketing, especially social media, during times of economic downturn. Emily Ryan, a former musical theatre performer, now turned Digital & Email Marketing Expert will lead a discussion with Broadway veteran, Betsy Wolfe, Founder of Broadway Evolved to discuss how you can use social media and digital marketing for your theatrical organization. 

Tips and tricks for how Slack can help your team work remotely. Slack’s conversational style can feel more like being in the same room than email and help organize multiple groups and projects. And it’s free for non-profits! Get some pointers on how to implement this app, keep it from feeling like yet another thing to have to check, use it to connect with NAMT, and preserve your work/life balance when everyone is reachable all the time.

Join NAMT members in a discussion about how the COVID-19 crisis is impacting your staffing and human resources in general. Facilitated by Associate Member Aaron Sanko, currently Managing Director at UIA Talent Agency, who served in HR leadership roles in large, Fortune 500 corporations along with small boutique businesses, and as a consultant for performing arts companies and service organizations of all sizes.

Are you and your organization exploring short and long-term digital programming alternatives? Apples and Oranges Arts is offering Digitizing the Fourth Wall, a one-week virtual course to help NAMT members grow their technical vocabulary and provide a new set of digital tools.

Join Tim Kashani (Apples and Oranges Arts) and Kevin Merritt (One Foot Productions) to discuss the technical, practical and artistic considerations when sharing live streams or other remote performances with your audiences.

While little is known about what the coming months will hold, many member organizations acknowledge the need to start producing as soon as possible once it’s safe to do so. Casting during a time like this can be a challenge, but many theatres are seizing this opportunity to use new platforms and approaches, in hopes of being as ready as possible for when the time comes.

Member Services Director Adam Grosswirth will walk you through the I&EF application form and share insights into the selection process.

NAMT New Works Director Ciera Iveson will walk you through the application process for this year’s Festival of New Musicals.

In this 45 minute webinar, we will dive into accessibility and inclusion basics, how to create an access plan that works for the artists you seek to serve, and how to take the leap from access to inclusion.  This interactive presentation will equip you with new ideas and free ways you can create an inclusive audition and rehearsal environment starting right now.  

Performing Arts organizations were traditionally behind the curve when it came to cutting-edge fundraising analytics practices until Joshua M. Birkholz and Amy S. Lampi began a pilot predictive modeling project with Tessitura clients. Join Josh and Amy to learn more about fundraising analytics and how this innovative dynamic scoring project is now being used at performing arts organizations across the world. 

Learn about JumpStart Theatre, a scalable pilot program designed to build sustainable musical theatre programs where there previously were none.

Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN wanted to better understand how to engage diverse and underserved communities with their programming. During this webinar, Kate Hagen will outline how TRG Arts helped Guthrie Theater address three questions that they had: Who are the audiences Guthrie Theater serves now? What is the diversity of Guthrie Theater’s community? and, what are the current attendance trends of the diverse audiences that Guthrie Theater has?

Robert Friend (Patron Technology) will present with NAMT members from Goodspeed Musicals and Red Mountain Theatre Company about how to improve your customers’ journey from ticket purchase all the way to their seats.

NAMT New Works Director Ciera Iveson will walk you through the application process for this year’s Festival of New Musicals.

Equity begins internally. How does a theatre activate these principles, and navigate the difficult waters of changing itself? This webinar will dive into “The How” of creating equitable workplaces — with a sense of shared purpose — where people can do their best, and thrive.

This panel session looks at how different theatres around the country are expanding their programming to offer young adults and older audience members on the autism spectrum or with other developmental and cognitive disabilities the opportunity to attend productions with more mature content beyond the family-friendly genre.  Hear about four different success stories with adult-oriented shows with TDF.

This fun, fast-paced webinar features practical advice and big-picture thoughts from @Sree, one of the top social-media consultants and trainers working today. You’ll learn what’s working, what’s not, what to emphasize, what to skip. You’ll also get to ask questions about anything social and digital that you want answers to.

Join NAMT New Works Director Ciera Iveson and NAMT Associate Member Sharon Fallon as they recap the major takeaways from this year’s Writers’ Roundtable, The Next Frontier: Enhancing the Development Process.

Are you ready for significant changes to the financial statements of not-for-profit organizations?

We all know how difficult it can be for new musicals to have productions beyond their premiere without high-end demos or a cast album. Sean Patrick Flahaven (The Musical Company and producer of dozens of cast recordings) will share insights, advice and examples of how writers, composers and member theatres can create recordings that help shows live on.

Apples and Oranges Arts explores the ways in which cutting-edge technologies and processes can offer new opportunities for writers, composers and producing organizations in musical theatre development.  See how we blend technology and the arts in our THEatre ACCELERATOR development program and distribute what we learn for others to replicate.  As mixed, augmented and virtual reality; machine learning; and artificial intelligence revolutionize the entertainment space, discover some of the innovative tools we are developing to support musical theatre development, distribution and production including our Show/Venue Match database application and our AR Set Builder tool.

Most organizations have a fundraising or development team. While it can be tempting to say that these staff members alone are responsible for bringing in donations, the truth is everyone at your organization plays a vital role. From marketing to box office and even front of house, there’s a part for everyone to play and if everyone does your organization will profit.

Kent Nicholson (Playwrights Horizons), Georgia Stitt (Composer/Lyricist and Music Producer, Festival Alumni Writer) and Bruce Coughlin (Orchestrator/Arranger), lead a discussion on how theatres can and should best engage their music departments when beginning a new musical.

NAMT New Works Director Ciera Iveson will walk you through the application process for this year’s Festival of New Musicals.

Using real examples of how research has helped Goodspeed Musicals build its audience and member base, this webinar will teach you the ins and outs of conducing survey research and focus groups with various segments of your audience and prospective audience.

Non-profits face unique challenges when it comes to technology: on the one hand, audience expectation is that everything should work seamlessly; on the other, many organizations have limited staff, resources and expertise to try to meet these expectations. But never fear! Many technology vendors, from large to small, established and emerging, offer considerable benefits exclusively to non-profits. The challenge is knowing where to look, and evaluating which of these offerings can best suit your organization.

“The show must go on” is a phrase we all know, however what happens when “the show can’t go on” and who pays for the loss of the show(s)?

Attorney Saul Zabell, of Zabell & Associates, P.C., gives an overview of the new law, what it will mean to you and what you need to do to comply.

You care about your organization’s health. So do we. That is why SMU’s National Center for Arts Research (NCAR) has created a free online tool, the NCAR KIPI (Key Intangible Performance Indicator) Dashboard, which allows you to see how your organization compares to organizations like yours nationally on a variety of financial and operating performance indices. Zannie Giraud Voss, Director of NCAR, will walk you through this diagnostic tool and show you how it can be used to assess and advance your organization’s health.

For the first time ever, we be streamed a session from one of our in-person networking and education events as a Knowledge Exchange webinar! Amy Cole-Farrell (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley), Bradford Forehand (Red Mountain Theatre Company) and Anya Rudnick (The 5th Avenue Theatre) presented on their theatres’ teen programs, and all of our Education Roundtable attendees participated in a discussion about them and some of their own challenges.

The Children’s Healing Project of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley partners with Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital where Master Teaching Artists visit the hospital and serve patients and their siblings in elementary, middle, and high school. Through improvisation at patients’ bedside, creative drama workshops in the hospital classrooms and comprehensive care unit for eating disorders, as well as monthly special family workshops, these artists shed a special light in patients’ lives. In this webinar, you will hear from the Teaching Artists who facilitate the program about their experience and the tools they use in this unique and vulnerable setting.

Join us for an exploration of the relationship between theatres and mobile apps, and learn about NAMT’s member benefit with InstantEncore.

This presentation offered ways to maximize growth and sustainability and minimize the negative impacts of turnover in education programs.

Mark Hardy (Montclair State University) and Tim Threlfall (Brigham Young University) presented case studies of successful partnerships undertaken to develop new musicals with students.

An encore presentation from the Fall Conference on how to use the “Internet-of-Things” to relocate the early steps of creative development of new musicals into the digital domain.

Are you taking full advantage of your NAMT member benefits? NAMT offers a wide variety of programs, services, discounts and deals available to all employees of member organizations. Membership Director Adam Grosswirth walks you through all of the available benefits, including a tour of the members-only features of our website.

We all have audiences we know well: The tried-and-true regulars who come to everything, who talk to us in the lobby, and who might even be our friends and family. But what about those “occasional audiences,” the ones who only come to the theatre a few times a year? How much do we know about them?

NAMT New Works Director and Festival Producing Director Branden Huldeen will walk you through the application process for this year’s Festival of New Musicals.

The team from Music Theatre Wichita and Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma will share details of how they use NAMT’s Set & Costume Registry to increase their revenues, collaborate with other member theatres, and accomplish their own mission.

You may know the buying and donating patterns of your own audience. But do you know how they engage with the other arts organizations in your community? Does that mean you’re in competition with them or have opportunities to collaborate? And what does that mean for your audience development and loyalty efforts?

Learn what the data says about audience behavior patterns and what they suggest about patron loyalty and organizational collaborations. In this webinar, TRG Arts will discuss a recent study of 17 arts and cultural institutions in the Philadelphia area, which investigated the buying and donating behavior of nearly 1 million arts audience and visitor households over seven years. TRG will discuss the findings and outline best practices for building sustainable audiences and arts communities.

Audiences expect more from us. Due to the rapid adoption and pervasive use of mobile devices, patrons expect immediate access to relevant information and services wherever they are – including the theatre. In this webinar, we’ll chart how the rise of mobile culture is shaping audience expectations

Courtney Kochuba, Marketing Associate at Samuel French, will share the latest trends and tips for success in social media marketing and engagement.

The process of choosing the right technology may seem daunting. The secret is that there are five questions that have almost nothing to do with technology that are the ones that really matter. These questions will help ensure your transition process is coherent and efficient, and that you’ll ultimately make the best decision for your organization.

Michael Blaha (Board President at New Musicals Inc., film and stage producer) presented case studies on bringing shows to Scotland’s famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Take a guided tour of the new NAMT website! Membership Director Adam Grosswirth will make sure you can find all the benefits you’re used to, plus highlight great new features, and existing benefits you may not have been aware of.

Take a guided tour of the new NAMT website! Membership Director Adam Grosswirth will make sure you can find all the benefits you’re used to, plus highlight great new features, and existing benefits you may not have been aware of.

NAMT New Works Director and Festival Producer Branden Huldeen will walk you through the application process for this year’s Festival of New Musicals.

Does your company have the insurance coverage it needs? What happens if you have to cancel performances? If your performers’ personal property is damaged or stolen? Did you know you can be insured for refunds if your star fails to perform? Christine Sadofsky, President of Ventura Insurance, discussed issues of insurance and liability pertaining specifically to theatres to make sure you’re covered!

Learn how online auctions and mobile bidding are working for theater companies across the country, plus a brand new benefit for NAMT members that will help you transform your fundraising.

Learn how Theatre Development Fund’s Accessibility Programs (TAP) advises theatres in NYC and nationwide on theatre access including accessible seating, open captioning and autism-friendly performances to be ADA compliant and build theatre audiences.

A panel of experts from some of NAMT’s academic members shared their experiences developing new musicals with students in a variety of models. Panelists included Amy Rogers (Pace New Musicals), Tommy Newman (Troy University; Festival Alumnus: Single Girl’s Guide, Fest ’13; Band Geeks, Fest ’09; Tinyard Hill, Fest ’07) and Michael Rubinoff (Sheridan College, Canadian Music Theatre Project).

NAMT’s membership in the Performing Arts Alliance gives you a national voice in Washington, DC. At this Knowledge Exchange, PAA General Manager Cristine Davis shared an update on the organization’s policy activities, including highlights from the just-released advocacy report, plus a description of their new task force work that ties into the goals of the former National Performing Arts Convention (NPAC).

Every time arts marketers get together, the discussion inevitably starts: What’s working for your theatre? What advertising are you buying to get the word out? How does one truly know what is the RIGHT type of advertising to be buying? How do I stretch my ad dollars to their maximum value? How can I turn advertising into ticket sales? There are many “correct” answers to these questions. In this webinar, Media Manager Brittany Carpenter (formerly of The 5th Avenue Theatre) discussed the advantages and drawbacks of each major marketing medium as it relates to arts marketing, followed by an open Q&A to answer any of your burning questions about the world of advertising.

The Walnut Street Theatre’s Rebekah Sassi discussed how the Walnut implemented and maintains a thriving planned giving program, including tips on how to get started and how to approach people to remember your organization in their estate planning.

NAMT’s New Works Director Branden Huldeen walked potential applicants through the grant application for this year’s National Fund for New Musicals grants and gave tips and advice for a successful proposal. The grants are given to not-for-profit, U.S. member theatres in good standing to support writers working at theatres at Project Development or Production stages of development.

A panel of NAMT members including representatives from The Fulton Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals and ZACH Theatre shared case studies about organizing successful theatre-going trips (to New York, London, or elsewhere) for their donors and subscribers, cultivating important relationships for their theatres — and having fun!

We are in the midst of a major technological shift towards communication via mobile devices. Audiences expect to be able to access your content, share it with their friends, purchase tickets and more – all from the palms of their hands. Not only do they expect access, audiences also expect your content to be optimized for use on their smartphones and tablet computers.

Many theatres believe that they do not have the resources to engage with mobile audiences. Not true. With NAMT’s new member benefit from InstantEncore, you gain discounted access to the most powerful and affordable mobile solution for the performing arts. In this webinar, we explored how InstantEncore’s mobile suite can help you engage your audience anytime, anywhere.

NAMT Members discuss how and why they started a new works festival at their theatre, how it has changed and grown over the years and its impact on the organization and community. Panelists include Donna Lynn Hilton from Goodspeed Musicals, Kevin Moore from The Human Race Theatre Co., Peter Rothstein from Theatre Latté Da and Robb Hunt from Village Theatre.

Michelle Paul, Product Manager at Patron Technology and co-author of Breaking the Fifth Wall: Rethinking Arts Marketing for the 21st Century, shared tips to maximize the effectiveness of your email marketing and fundraising campaigns.

Are you taking full advantage of your NAMT member benefits? NAMT offers a wide variety of programs, services, discounts and deals available to all employees of member organizations. Membership Director Adam Grosswirth walks you through all of the available benefits, including a tour of the Members Only section of our website.

Social media has upended the entire landscape of theatre marketing and raised a number of hugely important questions. How do we utilize emerging technology with our patrons? How do we measure its impact? And how do we make sure our digital “followers” also follow us in the live performance world? David Munns (Digital Media Manager, ZACH Theatre) provided boots-on-the-ground findings from this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas.

Learn about NAMT’s newest member benefit, a partnership with ArtsReady, a preparedness, business continuity and sustainability planning tool.

ArtsReady cannot prevent a crisis in your arts organization, but as a web-based emergency preparedness platform, it will provide you with a customized plan for post-crisis sustainability. With ArtsReady, your organization will create an all-hazards readiness approach unique to your specific needs, your programming, your personnel and patrons, and your explicit assets for any and all potential threats.

This Knowledge Exchange provided an overview of ArtsReady’s services as well as some best practices for preparedness and case studies from NAMT members who’ve been affected by sudden emergencies — and came out the other side.

New Works Director Branden Huldeen walked through the process of submitting a show to the 25th Annual Festival of New Musicals and answered questions about the process.

A panel moderated by Dana Harrell (La Jolla Playhouse), with Kevin Moore and Kryss Northrup (The Human Race Theatre Company), Leslie Martinson (TheatreWorks) and Jason Najjoum (New York Theatre Barn and independent casting director) discuss issues related to casting both locally and out of town.

Members of the Festival of New Musicals Committee shared insights into how and why this year’s shows were chosen, plus the inside scoop on the Festival for our members only!

Last year, Goodspeed Musicals completed construction of seventeen new homes for artists on their campus, the largest capital project in their history. Learn from General Manager Hattie Kittner and Director of Marketing and Communications Dan McMahon how Goodspeed raised $5.5 million, worked with state and local governments, got buy-in from their community, and implemented state-of-the-art green technology to make this dream a reality.

Brian Meece, Co-Founder and CEO of RocketHub, shared expert pointers on raising money for your project through crowdfunding, with success stories and concrete ideas you can use to help fund your next production or project.

In February, following the run of their production of Oklahoma!, The 5th Avenue Theatre launched The Oklahoma! Project, remounting the show with an entirely student cast and crew under the mentorship and close guidance of theatre professionals. The production was coordinated, marketed and produced by a student administrative team under the coaching of 5th Avenue Theatre staff. Through this project, a collective of students with diverse interests met and worked together with the singular goal of creating a show for the historic 5th Avenue stage. Students were immersed in authentic experiences and gained an appreciation for collaboration, in addition to real skills used in the professional world.

The 5th Avenue Theatre’s Education Director Anya Rudnick lead a presentation on how the project came together and achieved its goals.

Paper Mill Playhouse’s Director of Education Lisa Cooney introduced their new “Sensory Friendly” live theater performances for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. At these performances, the theater’s physical and aural environments are altered providing a sensory-comfortable and judgment-free space that is welcoming for all families. In preparation, Paper Mill works closely with notable children’s theatre company Pushcart Players to adapt their scripts to be more easily accessible to kids on the spectrum, and creates resource materials to help prepare children for their outing to the theater.

Pittsburgh CLO’s Education Director Kiesha Lalama discussed “New Horizons,” a musical theater training program for children and adults with developmental and/or physical disabilities, offering students the opportunity to take center stage in fun-filled acting, dance and vocal classes. Fueled by the idea that there is no end to the skills and talents of our students, Pittsburgh CLO’s professional faculty design tailored learning experiences built around students’ gifts and contributions. Students spend class time honing their craft, rehearsing performances and exploring new ways to express themselves creatively. Beginners and more experienced students alike thrive as their strengths are showcased and their challenges eased by camaraderie and respect.

What to post? How often? What tools can you use to make it easier? Social media marketing expert Alli Houseworth showed us real sites, real campaigns, real tweets and real status updates to help you put the “social” in social media and start conversations that will bring audience members to your theatre.

Have cultural institutions turned our loyal fans into casual buyers? When did “customer relationship management” turn into giving less to our most loyal customers? Are we letting the single ticket buyer define our institution or are we building longer lasting relationships? Mark D. Sylvester, Managing Director and Ralph Weeks, Director of Marketing and Public Relations from the Walnut Street Theatre, shared how America’s Oldest Theatre, using traditional marketing tools and techniques that actually work, has engaged over 56,000 people who purchase subscription packages every year.