With the Madison Repertory Theatre season in full swing, a number of students on campus have gotten involved in promoting what is to be one of the best showcases of theatrical performances this year. Known as the Rep. Ambassadors, these students have taken the initiative to promote their love for the theater with the rest of the campus community and spark a trend among students to frequent the Rep. and its run of performances.
The Rep. Ambassadors, who span different age groups and majors, are in charge of spreading the word around campus about upcoming shows and special events. Dorm and union committees began to reach both underclassmen and upperclassmen through flyers, chalking, raffles and classroom announcements on campus.
The Ambassador Program has also spread to other area campuses, including MATC and Madison Edgewood. These volunteers, whose only reward for their hard work is two free tickets to every Rep. show that they publicize, do not look for payment or compensation. Rather, the reward is found in the rise in student audiences that has occurred as a result of their work.
According to the Madison Repertory Theatre, student attendance increased by 200 percent as a result of the Ambassador Program and its work. Due to the success of the program, student tickets this year are half-price for all shows.
The Ambassador Program began last fall with a small group of students collecting data from surveys handed out to a random sampling of University of Wisconsin-Madison students. From these surveys, the Rep. realized that, although it had a good community outreach, its university interaction was lacking.
Common misconceptions and concerns abounded among students about the Rep., according to the surveys. Many students felt that the Rep. had a “not-so-convenient” location, that tickets were too expensive and difficult to purchase to be worth their time, and that, since the Rep. is a professional theater company, it must be a black-tie formal affair. All of these comments are incorrect.
According to one Rep. ambassador, Allison Matso, “tickets for the Rep. are not that hard to come by. Most of the time you can get great seats at the door. And with a valid student ID, all UW students can get a half-price ticket.”
Many students come to the Rep. in casual attire; there is no need for a suit and tie or a dress. And as for the inconvenient location, a walk down to the Isthmus Theater in the Madison Civic Center takes no more energy than it would to walk to a house party blocks away on a Saturday night.
Ambassador coordinator Katie Knutson said one of the main goals for ambassadors this year is “for students to come out and see the Rep.’s shows, for theater lovers and others, as an alternative to parting on the weekends. The Rep.’s shows would be an alcohol-free option, as well as a perfect date.”
This year, under the guidance of artistic director Richard Corley, the Rep.’s mission statement has been reworked, as public relations manager Heather Stickeler commented: “The Rep. is moving into a national scene. We want to bring in and focus on Midwest, American and World premieres. As Richard Corley has said, we should be and will be treating classics like new works and new works like classics.”
This in itself should draw in more interest to the theater, not only from the student population, but also the Madison community. Some major goals in the coming months include commissioning new works and developing new plays, making every production performed its own major theatrical event.
Talks are in the works among Madison Repertory Theatre Representatives of a new playwright festival and a possible high school student-playwright outreach.
As Stickeler said, “The university is vital to the Madison community, and it is vital to the Rep.”
Plans continue to flow from the hearts and minds of the student ambassadors. Currently, they are concentrating on dorm outreach, primarily in Chadbourne and Bradley residence halls, to bring in actors and directors for workshops before shows commence.
“Dorm interaction is a main goal,” Knutson said, “and we are also going to look into sponsoring pizza pre-parties for shows that students at dorms will be attending together.”
Look for ambassadors this Friday at a booth in Memorial Union from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ambassadors will be publicizing “Blithe Spirit,” which opens this Friday night. A drawing will be held for two free tickets to the show.
