How Much?By Angela Galvin, Peter Taylor, Sophie Withnall and Elizabeth Owen (Pub. Sheffield Theatres Trust, 2000, ISBN 095383140X, £10 [£12.96 inc. p&p*]) How Much? is Sheffield Theatres’ report on their New Audiences funded project to test how the mix of programming, price and promotion influences young people’s attendance. Young attenders are a major constituent of all wishlists for the creative industries - 'give me a child till it's seven(teen) and I'll make sure it's a theatregoer /music lover/ gallery frequenter for life'? But for a chance to go on a school trip to the theatre or ballet, to join a steel band, to have a go at live broadcasting or try our hand at salsa dancing, many arts workers would have missed the experience that opened up our world, empowered us and made us want to extend similar experiences to others. But how to get the little b . . .s to understand that, and take up the offers we make so willingly and with such evangelical fervour? Sheffield Theatres were given major New Audiences funding, initially to test whether promoting accessible prices could spark young people’s interest in attending. So Angela Galvin and her team set out to research the market and target it appropriately. They proved that, given decent resources, the arts can deliver an effective R and D project: they discovered early on that it wasn't just inaccessible prices keeping young people away - other factors included lack of information, lack of familiarity and lack of confidence of a welcome. By addressing all these areas, Sheffield Theatres made great strides in building a core audience of young attenders. Unless we all get the chance to invest in audience development, we will find it hard to make progress. For an open and informative report on this project, packed with practical detail from which to create your own blueprint, read Sheffield Theatres’ 'How Much?' - then demand the resources to make the same leap forward!
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