Development of Theater Playbills - Research Paper Example

Development of Theatre Playbills Playbills or programs start out as small booklets having four pages which include the front and back cover (ebay, 1). Some of the first playbills are works of Percy Fitzgerald in 1900; his collection however, does not gain recognition by the British museum. Nevertheless, use of playbills in advertising plays and musical concerts in theatres continues mostly in America and England. In addition, theatregoers mostly relate to playbills as part of theatre entertainment even through their evolution. Despite not receiving maximum attention from researchers; playbills are important aspects in theatre development, thus the concept remains relevant in contemporary society. Before the increase in production of playbills; they initially cater for large city theatres presenting prestigious production. Most of these theatres host plays featuring famous lead actors. As such; early production of playbills mainly target middle and high income earners, who can afford their rates. However; during the first half of the 19th century, playbills concentrate on information of plays, production crew, time and their location. This gives people a background of the play itself while providing minor details about actors and production crew. In the late 1920’s, theatres such as Orpheum open to start production of plays. These theatres produce stage plays that attract people from different areas of the world (Collector’s Post, 1).The most interesting part of the play shows on the cover of playbills as well as their headlines which appear in bold. Figure 1 Sample of playbill by Orpheum 1925 (ebay, 1) Ancient playbills have a lot of explanations on plays and characters, as well as production team. It minimizes use of pictures and mostly appears in hardcopy produced on paper (Kobialka, 96). The playbills give minimal information about plays leaving room for imagination. Limiting use of pictures is a result of world war one, which cuts supply of paper mainly in England. The country consequently suffers from low production of playbills; this as a result affects theatre business and development of plays. In addition, the numbers of pages in playbills consequently reduce from four to three and sometimes two pages. However; the use of playbills in theatres continues, as America does not suffer from paper supply shortage. Playbills evolve with time depending on the need to integrate different aspects of theatres, as well as improve theatre attendance.In 1934, playbills change their features, replacing cover colours with sepia colours and including pictures of members of the cast. Figure one changes in playbills cover over time (Higgins 1). This improves distribution as well as appearance of playbills .The playbill production remains in market even during changes in the management of theatre organizations (Higgins 2009). In addition to the previous features of members of cast and play details, playbills improve on their appearances by including advertisements. Such advertisements show products from different manufactures including drinks, beauty soaps and lotion oils. The use of advertisement in playbills is to reach out to many people at a given time. Moreover, people access playbills to get information about new openings and available products in the market. As such; playbills are important not only for social development, but also for economic development. Figure 2 Sample of playbill page (Bijou Theatre, 5) Playbills mark a memory of theatres; they evolve from four page sheet of papers to magazines (Playbill Store, 1). However, their contents remain more or less the same. As far as playbills evolve to magazines; the cover page advertises plays, showing pictures of the main characters. This is different from the ancient playbill which mostly comprise of tittle of the play and numerous explanations of the characters. Use of playbill magazines is a way of identifying with the current generation, as well as creating room for more information.Such information includes restaurants from which one gets refreshments while visiting theatres.In addition, theatres show their progress over the years in terms of developments and renovations. The magazine equally provides comprehensive information on means of transport that one uses to reach the location of play cast. This enhances awareness about the available theatre opportunities, making it possible for people to try new undertakings. figure four cover page of the current playbill (ebay 1) Despite few changes in the playbill over time, most of its content do not change; such as advertisements and mode of presentation. Playbills still use bold fonts to show location of a play as well as its headline (Deutsch, 1). In addition, playbills continuously portray lead characters on the front page. This promotes purchase of playbills and attracts people to watch such plays. However, productions of playbill magazines add economic value to production houses as people purchase them from different parts of the world. Use of magazines enables large scale release of shows and concerts available over duration of time. This gives theatregoers an opportunity to choose from the variety. Despite changes from folded pieces of paper to magazines, the concept of playbills remains relevant to the contemporary society. This is because; playbills create a link between the old and new generation as they recognize efforts of such actors, as well as creativity of different writers (Brooks, 394). Changing technological innovations in the world not only affect economy but also the social aspect of life. This equally impacts on mode of advertisement and film production. This is because; a number of people resort to use of internet in contrary to paper. This eases mode of communication, making it faster and reliable. As a result, entertainment industry equally adjusts to trends of innovations both in play productions and advertisement. This enhances digitalization of the current playbill on the contrary to the initial playbill, which appears on paper. Current playbill appears on a website from which people are able to access information concerning different shows. The website provides for playbill vault from which people access theatre history; as well as a memory bank, which informs one of their show attendance. As much as the website promotes consistency of the playbill in the market; it is an improvement of the initial one, as it is also a marketing strategy. From the website, administrators are able to identify those who miss their widely praised plays and offer to show it again (Leaders Magazine, 1).Currentplaybills act as monitoring and evaluation tools depending on information people give on the website. This gives theatres a direction to follow in terms of play production and selection. In addition, they help identify gaps within different productions and allows for improvements. Technological advancements in the contemporary world equally results into a new approach to use of playbills. This is through formation of a playbill club where people subscribe as members (Leader’s Magazine, 1). These members receive special information concerning plays and beautiful recreational and leisure destinations which are adjacent to theatres. Shows also get opportunities to send people information about their casts and play synopses at a discount. However, a marketing strategy, use of playbill club encourages visits to theatres and open shows. Playbills are important both in the traditional and current theatres. They help create awareness on social and economic aspects of life as well as, market works of art and culture. The change in their appearance is to help playbills remain relevant to the dynamic social and economic set up of our society. As such; traditional playbills are less effective in the contemporary society, as their marketing is limited and their format of presentation is not adequately effective. In addition, such playbills are less attractive as they have more written information than pictures which appeal to many. This limits the wish by audience to visit such destinations. In conclusion, playbills play an important role not only in reaching people through advertisement, but also in connecting us to the history of theatre. It opens doors for recreational activities and points out the beauty of arts and culture. Just like other forms of innovations, playbills are dynamic but fail to lose their meaning and content over time. This makes them continuously available in the market and recognizable to different generations. Despite the current change in the mode of using playbills; it is important to ensure their availability as a reminder of the successful actors, who constantly grace our show rooms. Thus, playbills are important for connecting different generations and restoring history. Works Cited Bijou Theatre. Rare Books Division, Library of Congress. Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/vshtml/vsply10.html Brooks, Daphne. Bodies in Dissent: spectacular performances of race and freedom 1850-1910. Durham: Duke University Press, 2006. Print. Collector’s Post. A history of playbills & Theatre programs. 2009. Retrieved from http://www.collectorspost.com/playbills.htm Deutsch, Karl. How to Design Playbills. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/video_7369062_design-playbills.html ebay. Playbills Buying Guide.August 20th 2013. Retrieved from http://www.ebay.com/gds/Playbills-Buying-Guide-/10000000177627451/g.html Engle Ron and Miller Tice.The American Stage. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Print. Higgins, Sydney. A History of Playbills and Theatre Programs. 2009. Retrieved from http://www.the-camerino-players.com/Playbills/index.html Kobialka, Michal (Ed). Of Borders and Thresholds: theatre history, practice and theory. Minneapolis:University of Minnesota Press, 1999. Print Leaders Magazine.The Universe of Theatre. Retrieved from http://www.leadersmag.com/issues/2013.4_Oct/New%20York%20City/LEADERS-Philip-Birsh-Playbill.html Playbill Store.Collectible Limited Edition Official Opening Night & Special Event Playbills. Retrieved from http://www.playbillstore.com/playbills.html Read More