I thought I’d do some reflections on each Mystery Theatre Club we host and also offer you the chance to feedback and contribute.
After Edition #3, the audience had a chat about the screenings and about how we can get more eyes on it. One of the suggestions was to give a better sense of ownership of the club to those who attend.
The first bit of discussion we had was the start time. 7:00pm is actually a little difficult if you live away from Anfield and work. Theatre shows usually start at 7:30pm so why doesn’t our Theatre screenings? With that in mind, the next Mystery Theatre Club screening will start at 7:30pm
The next was a choice of what we watch. I showed those in attendance a couple of trailers of shows I want to watch and there were some mixed reactions. Admittedly, I have a fairly weird taste when it comes to theatre. Not everyone shares it. Part of the screenings is to show people obscure stuff but it also shouldn’t alienate its audience. So, moving forward, the audience will be voting on what we will be watching. They will do this online in the run up to the screening and on the day of the screening. I won’t reveal exactly what the show is but will show share a description of the show before hand. I really enjoy the mystery element to these screenings as i think it’s celebrates curiosity and I want that to be rewarded. For the next screening, I’ll select 3 shows and the one who gains the most interest will be screened. In the next Etude i will reveal what these are.
The next is we should do special screenings. Someone suggested a meal before the show. The plan will be to do that in the new year. If you have any other suggestions. Let me know!
One big one that was discussed was branding! Graphic design is not my passion. I canva’d up a few things and made a dodgy poster. When discussing what brought them to the screening, the audience discussed that it was because they knew me or the laundrette. The poster and images are a bit shit. So this is a call out for some help on that front. Can you help me in designing something that will help bring eyes to the club? How can we make it look cool and something people in Liverpool have to attend? Let me know if you’d like to help on that.
We also discussed how it’s promoted. I didn’t want to make separate social accounts to run to help promote it. There was a suggestion that people may want to know more about the club and follow a specific account for that and not have to follow me and see my trips to the pub and pictures of my friends. This is one I need a bit of feedback on. I think reintroducing etude to the world could be a way to navigate this. I’m still questioning this but I’ll see what happens over the next few months.
A discussion over the venue also came up. Kitty’s Laundrette is cute and great and makes the event unique. But leaning up against an industrial sized washing machine for 90 minutes is a bit of a pain. With this in mind, in the new year we will be moving venue. Kitty’s are great and the support for the project has been brilliant. Mystery Theatre Club is a bit difficult in that venue though. This isn’t the end of the relationship between the Mystery Theatre Club and Kitty’s Laundrette, far from it. We will be working together in the future but for special one off’s. We’ve started talking about plans for the future so keep them eyes peeled.
So, thats the thoughts about the Mystery Theatre Club. Using this mailing list as a way to express my thoughts and the development of the club is really useful for the development of it. I’m excited to see how I’ll look back on this post in about a years time.
I hope to see you there.
Josh xox