Making the Grade: Professional Association of Canadian Theatres Web Site Assessment Research Project

Abstract

In the twenty-first-century world of theatre-going, an audience member’s first point of contact with a theatre company is more and more likely to be the company’s web site. This small-scale research project was interested in surveying the web sites of the 106 full members of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres [PACT]. (Affiliate members who might not have full seasons or operating budgets for web site development and upkeep were excluded.) The dual purposes of this survey were the following: to assess PACT members’ web sites based on a list of twenty-five yes/no questions ranging from information available on current and past seasons to ticket sales, media resources, educational resources and other evaluative criteria, as seen in the results presented below. to pay attention to how much interactivity was in evidence on each site; that is, to how PACT members’ web sites invite potential and/or actual audience members to engage with their productions, artists, administrations; that is, what spaces or places are made available for theatre-goers to find out more about or respond to a company, its season, or a particular show?