The Wizard of Oz - 14th annual production

The Community Theatre of Greensboro was a world of show programs filled with “fit picture to box” and “fit box to picture.” Photographs and ads were tall and skinny or short and fat-neither option being ideal. Staff members were using an OLD version of QuarkXPress 6.0 and making huge playbills (8 ½” x 11”), because that’s all they knew and were trained to do and thankfully that’s all changed.
In 2006 we searched the Adobe website for non-profit discounts and ultimately learned of the program through TechSoup. Once we ordered and installed the CS2, everything began to change immediately. Posters were being created in Illustrator and not Microsoft Word. This gave us the flexibility to create scaled graphics for every media and print outlet. Our website and e-newsletters were improved by including the poster graphics that Illustrator could so easily convert into .jpg’s and .gif’s. Simply wonderful!
As we’ve grown and our needs developed our playbills took a huge leap forward by utilizing InDesign 4.0.5. COLOR became possible; we shifted to standard sized playbills (5 ½”x8 ½”); advertising picked up; theatre goers began collecting our playbills, and we’ve found that is our best connection to our public. Our organization never advertised INSIDE our own playbill because people recycled or discarded the previous generation, but that has taken a complete 180 turn for the better. We’re getting such a great response to our education offerings and smaller events as a result of folks keeping and reading the NEW playbills.
As a result our education programs and related events have shifted from an operating loss to a profitable and very important aspect of our theatre. We continue to expand our programs into the local school systems, offer expanded theatre and classes for advanced aspiring actors, and continue to look for additional opportunities to grow our relationship with the community. Attracting the children first through family oriented shows, exposing the parents to advertising in our show playbills for classes, camps and children’s productions, and ultimately finding the talent and future support that these children grow up to be parents is our sustainability program.
It’s important for us to attract as much attention to all we do; we are a visual arts organization, so print and related graphics (banners, displays, marketing materials) really help us make a huge impression and hopefully more memorable when folks start thinking about recreational and educational alternatives to the typical entertainment choices they make.
As we grow our needs and skills will grow. We look forward to learning these new skills and experimenting with all the possibilities that the Adobe Creative Suites offer. Thank you both for allowing non-profits…especially Arts organizations…the opportunity to purchase the Adobe Creative Suites.