Securing Everyone's John Hancock

If you have been to the theatre before you must have walked through the lobby and had a chance to see all of our lobby posters.  We create a poster for just about every show that just lists the date and time of the show, hoping to get people who are already in the theatre to come back to see another performance.

What many of you may not know is that these posters serve a second purpose.  As we approach our 5-year anniversary we have been brainstorming ideas on how to make the year truly spectacular for our patrons.  One thing that is in the works is an auction of autographed lobby posters.

Before each show, I sneak upstairs to pull the lobby poster down from it's frame and I sneak behind the curtain.  In the green room backstage we have three frames - each holds a season poster which has already been signed by some great stars - including Brian Regan, Jodi Picoult, and Peter Frampton, to name a few.  For the Broadway shows, the season posters are replaced with three copies of the lobby poster and each cast member has a chance to sign it!  For non Broadway shows we ask the artist to sign the season poster and their individual lobby poster.

By the end of this season we will have over 30 acts who have signed the season poster, three copies of each Broadway tour poster signed by the entire cast, and many other singular lobby posters signed by their featured act.  Tonight is Hugh Masekela, world renowned trumpeter and political activist.  I just brought up his lobby poster to be signed tonight!

I will keep you posted as we determine exactly how each of our posters will be auctioned or raffled off.  All proceeds from the auction/raffle will go directly to maintaining the theatre so that we may remain a cultural establishment for many years to come.

Sneak Peek

Happy Friday!!  Today I thought it would be cool if I could share a sneak peek of what is about to be delivered to your house (that is, if you have opted in to receive our mail)... It's our annual Winter Brochure

The theme this year is travel!  We want to take you on an adventure of a lifetime.  This year we chose to highlight some of the more exotic acts like Recycled Percussion and Jack Hanna's Into the Wild!  And we kept some of the standard favorites in there too - Dr. Maya Angelou and Bill Cosby round out the bunch!

Keep an eye out for Hugh Masekela's wide spread arms in your mailbox so that you can learn all about the great line up we have.  

And in case you were wondering - which I know you are - we mail 100,000 brochures out every time we do a mailing. And we distribute another 15,000 throughout Worcester County with the help of our Street Team.

If you know someone who likes to drive around and pass out materials all while making a little money doing it, have them email marketing@thehanovertheatre.org to inquire about Street Team position openings.  With our exotic acts coming fast we will be using the street team more than ever.

Speaking of our exotic show list - have you had a chance to check out the video of Recycled Percussion?  I have never been a huge fan of America's Got Talent, but I do watch the show on occasion, and I distinctly remember seeing the group rock out!  If you haven't seen the video yet, turn up the volume and check them out.  They have a similar act to the Blue Man Group, but they do it all with "junk" and they don't paint their faces.

Shrekify me!

One of the coolest things about working for a theatre in the marketing department is that I have the chance to look at all of the tour's promotional materials.  Today I would like to share with you one of the absolute coolest promotion I have seen (besides flying with Cathy Rigby)  This promotion came with Shrek the Musical.  Shrek is playing at The Hanover Theatre from February 24 through the 26th.  

The video below documents exactly what this promotion entails - a behind the scenes look at how the star of Shrek the Musical goes from human to ogre!  Of course this video is sped up greatly so you don't have to watch it for hours, but the process is so unbelievably cool.  Hard to imagine sitting in a make up chair for two hours to become Shrek, but this guy does it twice a day on Saturday & Sunday... or maybe he keeps the make-up on in between shows, I'll have to find that out!

Now, all you ladies out there, take a moment to think about what your life would be like if it took you two hours every morning to put your makeup on!  I know I would be late to work all the time if it took me that long!  Yikes!!  I can't help but to think the person who plays Shrek must fall asleep in the chair some days!

Take a look at the video, and if you would like to be able to see Shrek go from human to ogre before the show, visit our Facebook page and look for Gingy to learn about how you can win an all access pass to witness the transformation for you and three of your friends PLUS tickets to see the show.

In Case You Missed it...

If you have ever seen a Broadway show at The Hanover Theatre, you know that our ticket-takers always are dressed to impress!  Since the opening of the theatre Meghan Patrick, Operations Manager, has done a great job of outfitting our volunteers with the best costumes to reflect the nature of each show.  For Peter Pan the ticket-takers wore pajamas, for Young Frankenstein they wore Frankenstein masks, and for Mamma Mia they were decked out in the best 70's gear!

I love going upstairs (the theatre offices are all located in the theatre basement) on a Broadway show night and seeing what the volunteers will be dressed as.  For Rock of Ages I was very curious to see with Meghan would come up with.  It could be anything - grungy jean jackets, leather, tie-dye... but no, their costumes were WAY better than just a leather jacket!

If you did see Rock of Ages then you already know how great the volunteers looked, but if you missed out here are a couple shots to illustrate the brilliant costume choice!

Photo Credit - Charlene Baron

Photo Credit - Charlene Baron

Photo Credit - Charlene Baron

Photo Credit - Nadia Naco

Photo Credit - Nadia Naco

Can you hear the sound of hysteria?

It's calling out to Idiot America!


Even though the goal of this blog is to give you a behind the scenes look at The Hanover Theatre, there are times where I feel the need to share other theatre-related content.  In this case, I made a trip into Boston tonight to see American Idiot and was blown away.  To relate this to our behind the scenes look at the theatre - I can say it is one of the Broadway shows the theatre is looking to book in the next few seasons. No answer as to when it will debut at The Hanover Theatre but I cannot wait to see it again!


For me, seeing live theatre - especially a musical, is an experience that can never be replaced.  Durring a regular concert often times the audience doesn't get the chance to make a true connection with the artist - many times the feelings behind the words are lacking...  But with live theatre you can feel the passion behind every lyric.  If you haven't seen a musical before it is a hard sensation to explain but I always feel a strong connection with person singing and American Idiot was no exception.


The cast was exceptional at this show.  I am slightly biased as I knew one of the main characters from one of my favorite teenage TV shows - but even without him, the singing was amazing.  I am a huge fan of Green Day ever since Dookie was released, and as they have grown and I have continued to love their new material.  And when I heard about American Idiot on Broadway - I knew I had to see it. The Broadway interpretation of the AI album was fantastic, adding violen, cello, and accordion to the instrumentals to add new dimension, with beautiful vocal harmonies throughout the score.


For Green Day fans the show is perfect, and for someone who has never heard any of their music it is just as great.  The story told, is a post 9/11 look at youth trying to figure out their futures.  Three young friends who start off together but choose very different paths - pregnancy at a young age, drugs and city life, and joining the army.  There isn't much dialogue through the show, but you don't need it!  The lyrics, dancing, and gestures tell the story in a way that was so powerful.  When the ensemble came together to belt out "Are We the Waiting?" I got goosebumps!


Here is a clip of the above-mentioned song performed by the Broadway Cast on AOL Sessions:

The show has a little bit of everything - rock, interpretive dance, acrobatics, sex, flight, fights, heart and soul.  Again, I really can't wait for this show to come to our theatre.  I wanted to give one more teaser clip of what this show really has to offer, this is one of my favorite GD songs - 21 Guns.  Again - you will have goosebumps!  Enjoy:

Bodacious Bracelets!

Time for some 80's nostalgia!!


Hopefully by this point you have heard that Rock of Ages is coming to The Hanover Theatre!  As a matter of fact, the opening night is THIS Friday!


As a special treat for all of you 80's music fans out there, we have coordinated an 80's Karaoke Contest at both The Lucky Dog in Worcester and The Celtic Tavern in Northborough.  Each contest will have one winner who recieves two tickets to opening night of Rock of Ages, cast party passes to the post show party at Ceres Bistro & the soundtrack to the show.  It's a pretty sweet prize just for getting on stage and singing a classic 80's tune.


I happen to LOVE karaoke so I am especially sad that I cannot enter to win in this contest - after all, it probably wouldn't be fair for a theatre employee to enter a theatre contest...  But I will still be their to cheer on our contestants.


Perhaps what I am most excited for at these two karaoke nights is the special gift we have for all participants and audience members.  I should probably let this remain a surprise, but I can't contain myself given the fact that the gift is so totally 80's!  We got Rock of Ages SLAP BRACELETS.


Thats right - those bands that were banned from schools, that you spent hours slapping and straightening out all over again, that never loose their shape no matter how many times you slap them!  I literally have been slapping one every moment my hand is not typing on the keyboard.  They are so addictive and fun, but most importantly they are so totally tubular and awesomely rad!


So get your 80's on at our karaoke nights.  Even if you don't want to get on stage and sing, come out and have a good time slapping your band all night long!


Check out the promotion section of our home page to get full details on the contest!


January 25, 2012 at 8:30pm
Lucky Dog Music Hall- 89 Green St, Worcester
(21+ venue, requiring valid photo ID)


January 26, 2012 at 9:30pm
Celtic Tavern- 45 Belmont St, Northborough

PS  Just in case you missed out on this fabulous fad of the 80's here is a picture of a slap bracelet. I was going to post an image of our slap bands but there has to be some element of surprise with this gift.  

20,000 Envelopes

As many people know The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts is a non-profit organization, depending on the generosity of many to build, run and maintain the theatre.  The theatre relies on the membership, annual campaign contributions and corporate sponsorships to sustain operations and ensure success.  Long story short: without raising money to run the theatre- I wouldn't have the job I have today, which is why our annual campaign is so important to me.


Our mission at the theatre is to foster a love and appreciation for the performing arts in audiences of today and tomorrow.  I have always been a theatre lover, since the first time I was on stage, but I was never afforded the opportunity to see real Broadway caliber theatre until much older.  Each time I see a show, the spark I used to get on stage reignites, and I love knowing that the theatre mission is to help spread that joy to others.

The theatre supports this mission directly with our annual Access to the Arts fund.  The Access to the Arts fund supports many programs including the internship program which takes on at least four local college students each year and the motivational speaker program which brought in Erin Gruwell (Inspiration for the film, The Freedom Writers) to speak to Worcester Public School Students.  It also funds the donation of 1,500 tickets to A Christmas Carol every year to kids and families in partnership with the United Way.


With all of that said, one of the main components of this campaign is to raise awareness of where the donation dollars go to and ask for a donation for the next year's operations.  This includes writing a personalized letter to current members and past donators, mailed with an informational rack card and a theatre-addressed envelope.  


One might think this is a small task, but it is a lot more complex than I had ever imagined.  I have been involved with this mailer since the very beginning and I am responsible for much of the design of the piece.  This is a small task for a single printed piece, but when it is being mailed to such a large list - the stakes are much higher.  


Now, most of the letters never actually make it to the theatre, the get printed and mailed from the mail house, but the envelopes and rack cards on the other hand are sent to the theatre as only a portion of that supply needs to go to the printer... In today's case, the envelopes were delivered: 20,000 of them.  That is a TON of envelopes.


I am happy to say 10,000 of the envelopes will be mailed out in the next few weeks, while another 10,000 will be distributed at both Rock of Ages and Shrek the Musical.  So the supply closet will empty our quickly.  In the mean time its a tight fit for all of our promotional materials and stationaries.