A New Season In Theater Brings New Productions And An Interactive Way To Find Them - StageMagazineOnline.com

A New Season In Theater Brings New Productions And An Interactive Way To Find Them - StageMagazineOnline.com

Before her death in May 2007, Holley Webster worked 30 years to build a Theater Community which has gone from Paper to the Internet

Theaters throughout the region are opening their doors for the start of a new season, but this year there is a new way to stay in touch with the Theater Community – and it’s as close as your home computer.

A New Beginning

The summer heat will lift its oppressive weight, the leaves will fall (delighting us with the spectacle of their colorful ritual), and the sun will retire each day earlier and earlier. Vacations end, students go back to their schools, and Labor Day – the last great barbecue of the summer – marks the end of one season and the beginning of another.

Nowhere is the excitement of change felt more than on the theater stage, where actors enthusiastically rehearse, directors eagerly yell instructions, and set-builders are hard at work.

It's the start of a new theater season, and upcoming productions like Amadeus in the works at the Wilma Theater (opening September 19th), Man of La Mancha at the Walnut Street Theatre (opening September 4th), The Search For Intelligent Life at 1812 Productions (opening September 21st), The Lonesome West at the Lantern Theater Company (opening September 14th), and Last Of The Boys at the InterAct Theatre Company (opening October 19th) guarantee it's going to be a scorcher.

The Art Of Filling Seats

StageMagazineOnline.com is at the center of the bustle and excitement. While theaters are working hard to ensure the productions go off without a hitch, StageMagazineOnline.com is busy making sure there isn't an empty seat in the house when they open.

Using advanced Web 2.0 technology, StageMagazineOnline.com offers a variety of services for the theater community –

1. Theatergoers can browse production listings, read reviews, or get day-of-sale discounts on tickets using the Quik*Tix system. They can even find out what's playing in the area TODAY with one click of the mouse.

2. Actors can easily find auditions and post detailed profiles for theaters to see.

3. Theaters can interactively find actors who are right for their productions and send them a message using the Quik*Cast system and the private message board (avoiding all Spam filters).

The Modern Business Approach

Not only is StageMagazineOnline.com a great and timely idea, it's also a necessity in today’s high cost, advertising-saturated world.

For years, theaters have spent money advertising in newspapers and magazines, sending direct mail, and getting time on TV and radio only to reach a narrow margin of the interested Theater Community. With their budgets stretched almost to the breaking point, theaters cannot afford to waste money and not get the returns they need to keep the productions coming.

That is why seasoned entrepreneur and theater director Charles Seymour, Jr. created this interactive, online Theater Community – to help theaters avoid the Empty Seat Syndrome and sell all of their seats.

Everyone from media billionaire Rupert Murdoch (who recently purchased the Wall Street Journal) down to the local pizzeria owner has realized that the Internet is the most effective way of communicating for businesses. And theater is no exception.

StageMagazineOnline.com was created to connect the entire Theater Community in a way it has never been connected before so it can thrive both artistically and financially.

The Roots Of StageMagazineOnline.com Began 30 Years Ago

While StageMagazineOnline.com is a relatively new website, its roots are older than the very Internet it runs on.

Stage Magazine was originally a print publication of theater listings and audition information started by theater legend Holley Webster. It was an informative guide to theater happenings and a community forum.

Holley had worked 30 years on Stage but when at age 90 she realized that she just couldn't physically go on, she turned over her ideas and ideals to Charlie Seymour Jr whom she knew for more than 40 years.

During the last week of her life, she phoned to tell him one thing: "Keep going." She knew the struggles she had had and how many naysayers were nipping at her heels when she began, and she wanted to encourage Charlie with his new, dynamic, first-of-a-kind venture that was so badly needed by the Theater Community.

So Stage Magazine became StageMagazineOnline.com, and with the power of the Internet it can finally do all the things that Holley had dreamed about for the Theater Community she wanted to build.

Upcoming Productions

There are many exciting productions opening in September. Watch for Say Goodnight Gracie at Act II Playhouse opening September 25th, Theophilus North opening the 12th at People's Light & Theatre Company, The Girl With The Silver Eyes at The Players Club of Swarthmore opening the 13th, and Clothes Encounters at the Dutch Country Players, opening on the 14th.

These are but a few of the dozens of great plays and musicals opening in the area – keep track of them all with the complete listings available online at:

www.StageMagazineOnline.com

StageMagazineOnline.com is Your Theater Community Connected By The Internet, serving the greater Philadelphia, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware area.

Dmitri Sled

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For Further Information:

Dmitri Sled, author: dmitrisled@yahoo.com
Charles Seymour Jr: Charlie@StageMagazineOnline.com 610.572.2581