This Friday night (March 21) Burlington High School will host the opening of this year’s spring musical comedy, “Grease,” a look at high school life in 1959, complete with ponytails, pajama parties and drive-in movies. This year’s production boasts over 70 students and another nearly 30 in backstage and tech positions, and a creative staff of seasoned professionals.
For many years I have been mostly in the shadows but this year I thought it might be fun to share a little of what I do. Now in my 12th year of publicizing the productions at BHS, I have challenged myself to find something different each year that will add another dimension to draw audiences into the Fogelberg Performing Arts Center to enjoy what the students have worked so hard to bring to the stage. I'm not going to lie...this publicity "thing" has evolved over the years into what I now categorize as Live-action, Conventional and E-presence.
Why I do what I do is simple. There is just something extraordinary about watching these kids who have this wonderful passion for performing on stage. Their self-confidence, professionalism and growth as performers is astounding. And they do it for our enjoyment. Amazing!
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So here’s a brief primer on how we have reached the point where we can say we have sold almost 75% of the house before the actors have even put on their costumes.
Live Action. Theatre takes you to a place you would most likely never go, creating a memory and bond with that moment. Recognizing that many students in Burlington have never seen a live production, the BHS troupe takes to the road with performances at the elementary, middle and senior high schools, giving the students and staff a glimpse into what a full night performance has in store for them. For many high school performers, these on-the-road performances were the moments that planted a seed and sparked their interest in the theatre. And for many parents there is a realization that something special is happening at BHS. Also, the BHS Open House is almost always held at the same time as final dress rehearsal…a bit of live action will always bring ‘em in!
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Conventional. Publicity for all BHS productions also reaches targeted audiences with signs, posters and print material. In my early years of publicizing the shows I could be seen running from telephone pole to telephone pole with flyers and staplers … I can honestly say I don’t miss that!
The local press has always been highly supportive and instrumental in notifying the residents of Burlington about the upcoming productions. For many of us there is nothing like opening the newspaper and finding that another BHS production is on its way. How exciting it is to see that our own school’s production is listed as a best bet or highlighted as the event of the week. And in recent years these publications have crossed over with online publications.
The artwork for our publicity begins with George Ratkevich who teaches graphic arts design at Burlington High School. Every January when students return from the holidays, Mr. Ratkevich charges his students with the task of creating the artwork to be used for the spring musical. To conduct their research, the students watch a performance of the musical for perspective on images they might use and then work to develop the graphics that will be used in all posters, signs, apparel and the playbill.
This year’s design was created by senior Ethan Cook; other outstanding designs can be viewed on Thursday, March 20, during the BHS Open House and will be on display during all the “Grease” performances.
For many years our large signs have been generously printed by photographer Chet Maguire, and his services have also been used to brilliantly document the entire production and photograph the cast photo.
Many of our Burlington mom and pop shops are thrilled to help us by mounting our posters in their windows and on their bulletin boards. And thanks to the Council on Aging we also reach out to our senior citizens through their monthly newsletter.
We tip our hats to our hometown cable television network, BCAT, which posts the information on all community channels and highlights the productions in weekly BNews programming, including a glimpse into dress rehearsal and interviews with the actors.
E-Presence. During the last few years with the abundance of electronic devices in the home, I have embraced the internet and social media to reach an increasingly larger audience. Through our BurlingtonTheatre.com website, we not only have local but national and even worldwide visibility. We can be found on Facebook at our “BHS Performing Arts Superfan” page and we have the capacity to do huge electronic mailings to patrons through our ticket website.
Our summer counterpart for younger students, Burlington Educational Summer Theatre (BEST), also has a Facebook page to which we post and it has even been on a WCVB Wake-Up Call with the help of videographer and retired BHS science teacher Alan McRae.
Then along came the Patch! There has never been a moment when they wouldn't be there for me with up-to-the-minute space and headlines to grab your attention.
Electronic bulletin boards...fabulous finds to keep our name and our productions in the minds of those from other communities...we do have a great reputation to keep now!
Social networking added a special dimension to our celebration of musical theatre last year when BHS celebrated “50 years of BHS Musical Theatre” (yes, there is now a Facebook page for that). We reached out to our alumni on Facebook to come home for a reunion followed by a reception after a performance of last year’s musical “Hairspray.” In a short period of time the Facebook page blew up and we were overwhelmed by over 350 members who joined the group. With that came an abundance of old photographs, programs and memories from their years on the BHS stage. And many of the alums travelled back to BHS for the performance and reunion, including several from other regions of the country. One more fun development: I realized that the Facebook page had a photo posted from the 1984 cast of "Grease"... here we are 30 years later...this show never gets old!
It really has been a wonderful ride but my journey’s not over! As far as this year goes, we have done just about all we need to do to get you in the door for a night of musical theatre fun at Burlington High School!
By the way, tickets are still on sale for every performance. Don’t wait too long… www.BurlingtonTheatre.com, 781-A-FUN-TIC, walk-ins at the BHS music department and at the door. $15 adults/$10 students and senior citizens.
Fogelberg Performing Arts Center @ Burlington High School, 123 Cambridge St, Burlington, MA. Handicapped Accessible.
