Art & Culture Live!: Community Collaborations - The Great River Shakespeare Library Ticket Program
The Great River Shakespeare Library Ticket Program was designed by the Great River Shakespeare Festival (Winona, MN) to allow local Minnesotans the opportunity to enjoy Shakespeare’s works. The Festival partnered with 15 libraries to provide complimentary tickets to weekend performances and transportation when distance could become an obstacle. In addition to attending the performance, the Festival scheduled special Company Conversations for attendees of this grant. This program was meant to supplement the Festival’s listing in the SELCO Vetted Arts Catalog.
Note: This subgrant project was initiated during FY 2010 and carried over into FY 2011. Due to timing, this FY 2010 final report contains a summary of the all programs, outputs and outcomes, June – August 2010.
Event Dates and Locations:
June 23-August 1, 2010 – Great River Shakespeare Festival performances (Winona, MN)
Partner Organization(s):
Austin Public Library
Caledonia Public Library
Houston Public Library
LaCrescent Public Library
Lake City Public Library
LeRoy Public Library
Northfield Public Library
Rochester Public Library
Rochester Public Schools
Rushford Public Library
Spring Grove Public Library
St. Charles Public Library
Stewartville Public Library
Winona Public Library
Zumbrota Public Library
Partner Organization(s) Contribution/Role in the Program: Partnering organizations determined the best usage of the tickets for their respective communities by identifying a target audience. Common target audiences were seniors, teens, and families.
41 programs brought in a total of 1,184 people, an average of 29 people per performance. A total of 428 people responded to the survey created by the Festival. 59.4% of respondents had never been to the Festival before and 23.9% had never heard of it. The reasons for having not been were (in order of greatest response): not heard of it, ticket prices, distance from Winona, other, and not interested in Shakespeare. 5.8% responded that they had never been to the theatre (in general) before.
Measurable Outcomes may be collected by survey, anecdotal responses, post-test; End user change in Behavior, Attitude, Skills, Knowledge, Condition and/or Status
Feedback from library patrons strongly supported the fact that providing tickets and transportation through the library was the only way that many of the recipients would be able to attend a play at the Great River Shakespeare Festival. In particular, senior citizens expressed their gratitude that transportation was provided, making a trip to the Festival possible where it wouldn’t be otherwise. Survey feedback also demonstrated a heightened level of discovery and excitement from this particular audience, as the experience in most cases exceeded the expectations many library patrons brought with them to the theatre, particularly those who had not heard of or had never been to the Great River Shakespeare Festival before.