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One survey idea
by
Hi everyone! This is my first posting!
At Capital Children's Museum in Washington, DC I have discovered a successful (at least for us!) method of gathering post-show surveys. When visitors arrive at the Museum they are given a "ticket" to that day's performance. On the front of the ticket we print the title, showtimes, location within the Museum, suggested age range, etc. They can use it to attend any performance that day (though they don't actually need to have a ticket to attend.) Having the ticket serves as a great reminder that the show is going on. On the back of the ticket is a short survey with room for comments. At the end of each performance, the actors ask the parents to take out the tickets and fill out the survey, explaining how much it is helping the Museum to recive their comments. At the same time they pass out golf pencils and invite the children up on stage to meet the actors, touch the props, etc. Although you can only fit a limited number of questions on the back of the ticket, we end up with a very high response rate.
The questions we ask vary, but might include "Why did you decide to see the play today?" "How much did you enjoy the play? Why/why not?" "To what extent would you like to see more theatre at CCM? Why/why not?" etc. Most of the responses have been very positive, and I hope that just means that visitors truly enjoy the performances and not that they are afraid to make constructive comments!
I also have my actors document (in writing) any comments they receive from visitors as well as their own impressions of the audience reaction and involvement, estimated ages, group composition, etc.
I would love to hear about other evaluation tools and methods used in other museum theatre programs.