Arts Tour Minnesota

We performed six shows, two workshops in senior centers, two puppetry workshops for children and families, and one music theater workshop for adults. We had audience members fill out surveys at the end of the show, we had surveys for the presenters to give feedback, and surveys for Margo to assess the presenters. Evaluation of Diggity Dog Days with surveys distributed at each of the six shows. I had 96 respondents out of a total audience of 153 for the six shows. One of the hopes I had in presenting my puppet show was to expose more people to the art of puppetry. 34% of the respondents had never seen puppetry before, 51% had occasionally seen puppet shows and 9% had seen puppetry often. Though I did not ask directly whether people who had not seen puppetry would attend another show, I gleaned from their subjective comments that they enjoyed the show. (i.e.: “wonderful, just wonderful”; “I was really caught up in the movement.”; “It was excellent.”) As it turned out, half of the people who had seen puppetry “often” attended the show in Grand Marais where there is a strong interest in the art of puppetry. I performed the show in four very different venues; I asked the question, “Did attending this production foster a deeper connection for you with your community?” The results were that 54% responded yes, 8% responded no, and 37% were unsure or left the space blank. At the two most grass roots venues, Dream Acres Farm and Betsy’s Studio: What’s Upstairs, 65% and 75% respectively responded positively about the sense of community fostered. The Playground in Duluth, 45% responded positively, and in New York Mills 40% responded positively. As far as the response of my presenters, it was very positive, and I was told that I would be welcome to come back at Dream Acres and New York Mills. 2: Margo McCreary toured to four locations where she has never performed before. She performed a total of six shows and with the help of Marya Hart, offered six workshops one of which did not happen for lack of participants. (Margo made up that workshop by teaching a puppetry workshop in the library in Spring Valley the town next to Wykoff.) She provided opportunity for two musicians to tour with her, along with lighting technicians. With help from evaluator, John Munger, who developed tools, Margo provided surveys at each performance for audience response. Presenters and Margo were also given surveys to assess the program at each site.