This past Wednesday from 4 p.m. until late at night, drama enthusiasts and hopefuls auditioned for the yearly spring musical, which this time will be On the Town. New for this year, however, is the significant Facebook presence occupied by the musical. There is not one, but two Facebook pages listed for On the Town auditions: an event that students can RSVP to, and also a page for the production itself.
This Internet presence provides a host of information to students while also making an effort to remain relevant. The Facebook page, which will remain active until the production opens in late February, provides resources such as music cover sheets, audition tips and a director’s synopsis, along with reminders of the audition dates. Similarly, the event page gives students information about dates and requirements, but the RSVP aspect also allows people to see who is attending and builds a measure of community.
The page goes beyond a simple prompting, however, for it also remains active in people’s News Feeds by posting information unrelated to the production. On Monday, the page posted a link about a United States Department of Veterans Affairs event to honor veterans on the holiday. As this event is completely unrelated to the auditions or the musical, this act is courteous but also twofold. For one, it demonstrates the increasing prevalence of social media in ordinary affairs: although it is a government page, the Veterans Affairs event also advertises the hashtag #HonoringVets, displaying their attempts to connect an older holiday to a younger generation. Secondly, by posting the Veterans Day reminder, the group is able to expand their Facebook presence, keep appearing on people’s News Feeds and therefore encourage people to audition.
This is a significant departure from last year’s advertising of the musical Into the Woods, which had only limited Facebook appearances. Theater veteran Julian Gordon ’14 describes the Facebook page as “a change from past auditions” and looks forward to seeing “how this new approach will affect the way auditions are conducted and attended.”
This new advertising tactic does more than serve as a reminder to its students. The drama enthusiast who waits all year for the musical will likely need few reminders of the dates or the materials, and therefore will find new resources in the Facebook page. Gordon notes that the “extremely detailed” page provides useful information, but also “encourages a deeper exploration of the material in On the Town;” he is likely referring to resources such as the director’s synopsis and the period paintings that help to set the mood.
However, the newly public nature of this previously private community could present some drawbacks. When the callback list was announced—presumably a sensitive topic for actors—it was done on the Facebook page. This meant that the game-changing list could be easily viewed by the public, thus allowing anyone, theater-involved or not, to become aware of the production’s inner workings. If an actor was not called back, he or she might not want the entire Facebook community to become aware of this. Several students commented on its nonchalant nature, expressing surprise that a “callback list suddenly appeared in my News Feed.”
This new social media-heavy approach is similar to that of the student-run club productions. Wig & Candle, the College’s student-run theater company, has a Facebook page and specific events to publicize their performances, such as the Disney Cabaret that was performed last Friday. Wig & Candle’s prominent Facebook presence also encourages students who might have less experience to get involved. For example, Wig & Candle recently posted an Actors Wanted page for Ukleja’s Haunted Trail, which invited any and all students to get involved. It will be interesting to see if the theater department’s developing Facebook presence will encourage the same results, making their productions seem more accessible to students who are not as familiar with the department.
Looking forward, it will be interesting to see what kind of role this new Facebook presence develops. The page advertises information about lists for callbacks and casting, demonstrating its intention to remain a relevant resource throughout the life of this production. As February approaches, we can expect to see more advertisements about the performance, this time aimed at the entire student body. It will be interesting to see how the page tries to bridge the divide between the drama enthusiasts and the student population as a whole, and just how successful it will be at this goal.
