Almost, Maine
As the Marketing and Publicity Manager for SOCSA's production of Almost, Maine in 2023, I successfully promoted the play through graphics, fundraisers, and thoughtful publications. This led to my nomination for a Cappie Award.
*Click on images to make them larger*
Fundraising
I organized a Bake Sale at our school during lunch on Valentine’s Day to publicize and raise funding for our show. I worked with our school’s associated student body and with presidents from the National Honor Society, Interact Club, and California Scholarship Federation to encourage students to donate or purchase baked goods from the bake sale, as well as put big posters around popular areas of our school. We raised over the amount we planned (raised over $400, planned $250). The remaining funds allowed us to expand our creative abilities with costumes and props.
Poster Design
This is the poster that I designed. I chose to feature a heart in the word "Almost" to convey the romantic theme of the show. The northern lights are a common motif in the production, and I incorporated them into the poster design to give the audience a better understanding of what they can expect from the show.
Social Media
Takeovers/Spotlights
On the social media accounts, I used my graphic design experience to create takeover & and student spotlight graphics. Since there are nine duos in this show I introduced all of them in scene order every day leading up to the show.
*Pictured is 1 out of 8 duos and just 1 of our many takeovers. On our Instagram feed/highlight reels more duos and takeovers are showcased for both cast & tech
Click the box to the right to see a detailed list of ideas I came up with at the beginning of the process!
For publicity, we mainly used social media to promote our show. We used Instagram & TikTok to make posts for Almost, Maine. This show is a rom-com and for publicity it was my goal to embody the romance and comedy of this show, so to achieve this I chose to stick with blue and slight pops of red to showcase the love hidden behind each scene.
A collaborative Spotify playlist shared with the cast for songs that fit the Almost, Maine rom-com aesthetic. Photos, videos, & and anything publicity where strictly posted to these songs.
Dracula
As stage manager for Dracula, I played a key role in coordinating publicity. To promote the show, I used creative approaches such as publicity stunts and service hours. These efforts paid off, and we saw a great turnout for the show.
Click photos for more information!
Photos taken by Clover Byrnes
Sophie Anderson is an involved community member who participated in our publicity stunt! This is Dracula and Sophie posing for a picture after their publicity stunt.
For Dracula I came up with the idea of doing publicity stunts. I had the cast and crew reach out to teachers and students (most students where performing arts students) and we coordinated stunts with them. We practiced with the students before the actual stunt so that actors and students would feel comfortable.
This is Buzz who played Dracula getting ready to attack another vicitim!
Sophie Anderson is an involved community member who participated in our publicity stunt! This is Dracula and Sophie posing for a picture after their publicity stunt.
Publicity Stunts
For Dracula, I came up with the idea of doing publicity stunts to promote our play. We had cast and crew reach out to teachers and students to allow us to come into their classrooms. The stage management team would start the stunt by calmly talking about our play details and suddenly Dracula would burst in attacking a student. All of the students involved were able to practice with us before to ensure they felt comfortable and safe.
Watch a Publicity Stunt!
Dracula Publicity Stunt
San Juan Capistrano
Ghost Tour
As Halloween was approaching, I coordinated with "OC Ghosts and Legends" to organize a Ghost Tour for the cast and crew of Dracula. This allowed us to experience a spooky atmosphere just a few days before the opening of the show. OC Ghosts and Legends shared our experience on their social media platforms, which helped to publicize our show in the San Juan community. The staff at OC Ghosts and Legends attended our shows, which proved that the Ghost Tour was successful in promoting our show!
Les Miserables
I am currently the Marketing and Publicity manager of my high school's production of Les Miserables. My goal is to create buzz and excitement around the show. With rehearsals just beginning, I have already started implementing various publicity strategies and have a plethora of ideas to engage our audience.
Auditions
To promote our auditions, I collaborated with a group of theater students and created a short skit that addresses common concerns among students who are auditioning. In addition to that, for five days leading up to the audition date, I posted helpful graphics that included tips for students to prepare and perform well during auditions. This approach allowed us to engage and inform more people about our audition process.
TikTok
At the moment, I am concentrating on promoting our cast and show to the public. I plan to generate interest by sharing small cast announcements on TikTok. Our production of Les Miserables is scheduled for April, so we intend to begin full-fledged publicity in March.
Public Engagement
Our cast has been participating in events organized by our school to promote public engagement. We have been talking about our production to local middle schools, encouraging them to get involved. We will also be attending upcoming events such as The Festival of Whales and the Swallows Day Parade to showcase our work and engage with the community.
I have created a publicity calendar that includes all of my publicity ideas. Based on my prior experience with publicity, I have high hopes that most of my ideas will be successfully executed. Our next steps involve arranging for articles to be written about our show in the OC Register and Dana Point Times. We also plan to creatively advertise our show to students at our schools through lunch performances or dress-up days.
South Orange County School of The Arts (SOCSA)
I have been responsible for managing several SOCSA accounts for the past three years. These include SOCSA Musicals, DHHS Actors Repertory, DHHS Drama/Thespian Society, SOCSA Improv, SOCSA Tech, and the main SOCSA account. I design all the graphics posted on these accounts and also plan and organize all official SOCSA events.
Below is the Link Tree I created with links to all SOCSA accounts that I run!