Part II – Research

1. Part II – Research Situational Analysis Organization’s Cultural Product, Price, Place and Promotions Audience Analysis Existing Audience (maintenance, escalations) Target Audience (new, current, prior) Competition for Target Product/Service Analysis Description (analysis, uniqueness, appeal, sales opportunities, Competition (describe, analyze, strategies, opportunities) SWOC Analysis is an effective tool for uncovering Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Challenges.

2. Situational Analysis - Place • Place: Studies have shown that people with high educational attainment tend to participate in the performing arts. Lane County has a population of approximately 322,959 according to the U.S. Census in 2000. For the population of 25 years and older the study indicates that 61.6% have and education attainment some college to graduate or professional school, and 25.5% of those people have achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher. These statistics indicate that there are a large number of “educated” people in the Eugene/Springfield area. If it is true that more educated people attend and support the performing arts, it can also be evidenced in the number of performing arts groups within the size of this medium sized metropolis. This will be discussed in more detail under Competition.

3. Situational Analysis – Organization • LLTC The overall budget for LLTC is $151,000 for this year and $130,000 for next year (the reduction from 6 productions to 5 and paring down the office expenses). The company employs a full time Managing Artistic Director, and 0.65 General Manager who is contracted for 10 months. They also employ a Box Office Manager, Technical Director, and House Manager as part time positions for the season (about 10 months).

4. Situational Analysis - Audience • Audience: Part of LLTC’s image is that it provides quality thought-provoking theatre in a professional yet non-decorative manner. It has been voted “Best Live Theatre” in the Eugene Weekly reader’s poll for 6 years in a row (currently) and has been nationally recognized by American Theatre magazine for its production of Primitive World.

5. Situational Analysis – Programs Programming for LLTC is focused on contemporary work with one classic and sometimes one “chestnut” (modern classic, i.e. The Skin of Our Teeth). The 2004-2005 season includes 2 new well-known plays, The Goat and Copenhagen; one new unknown play, Three Days of Rain; one “chestnut”, Loot; and one classic, The Tempest. This type of programming is consistent with LLTC’s past offerings. The programming is strong for three reasons. First, it offers subscribers a wide range of entertainment which includes comedy, drama and fantasy. Second, it offers subscribers with some knowledge of the plays an opportunity to experience them first hand. Three, the programming is consistent with what audiences have come to expect from LLTC

6. Situational Analysis – Assumptions Since the demographic of the current audience is undetermined, some assumptions can be made based on LLTC’s reputation with the readers of the Eugene Weekly and their previous buying habits: • The audience is at least somewhat educated. • The audience is interested in some variation in entertainment (comedy and drama). • The audience enjoys the slightly “low-rent” aspect of LLTC. • The audience has some interest in non-traditional values.

7. Situational Analysis – Competition • Eugene hosts a large number of theatres for the size of its population. There are 7 main groups that offer theatre productions during the non-summer months: • Hult Center Broadway Series • Willamette Repertory Theatre • Lord Leebrick Theatre Company • Actors Cabaret • University of Oregon • Lane Community College • Very Little Theatre There are also additional small groups that perform ad hoc within the community, but for this plan, they are not considered competition. Additionally, certain companies can be ruled out or considered low competition based on their variant offering.

8. Situational Analysis – Competition The Hult Center Broadway Series offers large road shows at high ticket prices, which indicates a different entertainment value than the low ticket price and low production values of LLTC. Each of the companies offers different types of entertainment value. The Willamette Repertory Theatre boasts union actors, a large venue and higher production values. Actors Cabaret offer dinner theatre as well as several offerings per season with low production values. The University of Oregon and Lane Community College offer higher production values that can be afforded by an educational institution, but performers are generally undergraduates of varied skill levels. The Very Little Theatre has the honor of being one of the oldest community theatres in the country, with a loyal following, but programming and skills remain community based rather than professional.

9. Situational Analysis – Competition The most direct competition is fixed between Actors Cabaret and Willamette Repertory Theatre. Like LLTC, Actor’s Cabaret includes many new works in their season and as a low-cost entertainment represents direct competition. Willamette Repertory Theatre offers a more “uptown” entertainment but sell subscriptions, which also represent direct competition. Later this plan will detail some specific ideas about how LLTC can position itself as unique and worthy of the publics dollar apart from other theatre companies.

10. Situational Analysis - Challenges Current Trends: Recent studies indicate that the number of people attending theatre in the U.S. is increasing. A survey conducted through Theatre Communications Group (TCG) for 2002 (the latest study) shows a 16% increase in attendance over the last five years. Additionally, the survey reveals that the average subscription renewal rate is 75% and also that single tickets sales increased to exceed subscription ticket sales. [1]

11. Situational Analysis - Challenges • Audience Challenges: Yet, the audience for theatre is limited at best. Current studies indicate that our culture is becoming more passive and “stay-at-home”. In some ways, TV, the web, video rentals remain the larger overall competitors to the public’s dollar and time. The amount of additional time and money needed for two people to expend in order to attend the theatre cannot be underestimated. Many of these aspects of culture are out of the theatre marketer’s control. However, by identifying specific traits that existing subscribers find of value, the target market becomes clearer and the goal is obtainable.

12. Situational Analysis - Challenges The Artistic Director cites these perceptional traits: Positive: risking taking provocative intelligent intimate off-beat home-grown youth appeal counter-culture Negative: edgy location edgy environment edgy atmosphere not family friendly stuck between a community & professional theatre

13. Situational Analysis - Challenges Where do we find these new subscribers? As previously mentioned, there are a large number of people in Eugene who are educated - if not working within the field of education itself (University of Oregon, Lane Community College etc.) It is plausible to assume that this is the primary community to target for the following reasons: • They tend to be employed in jobs that allow a certain amount of disposable income. • They tend to have knowledge of literature and culture outside their own community. • They tend to appreciate the value of arts and cultural products.

14. Situational Analysis - Challenges • Where do we find these “educated” people? • in the educational field (teachers, administrators) • in middle and upper corporate management • in professional employment (attorneys, doctors, etc.)