Libra 9° (October 1)

Had dinner last night with a client and her new husband. Doing double duty here today because I have to prepare some blocks of text for a grant. So I’m afraid you’ll have to read my grant language or just move on. I do love staying at the Eliot, meanwhile, they make me feel so much at home. And I get to eat at Myers + Chang once again!

Afterglow is Provincetown’s Live Performance Arts Festival. The 9th annual Afterglow will be presented September 9-15, 2019 at the Art House. Afterglow brings to Provincetown engaged audiences from the region, country, and abroad to see its award-winning artists, who typically only appear in festival capitals like New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, London, Berlin, San Francisco, Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh, et al. Afterglow has earned Provincetown a star on the international festival map, opening dialogues with directors of other festivals world-wide. Afterglow’s artists make headlines as social icons and activists; and range from the newly emerging to Grammy-, Tony-, Sundance-, Obie- and Academy- award- winners innovating live performance as we know it. Afterglow presents solo plays, neo cabaret, progressive sketch, performance art, multimedia, dance, electronica, poetic/rap, rock opera, musical comedy and other forms, fostering Provincetown’s reputation as a important live-arts center and incubator, not just a commercial/resort entertainment town. Afterglow cultivates local talent—performers, designers, costumers, choreographers, composers, playwrights —in festival, and with ancillary productions. The festival launched a “playwright’s initiative” and produces work at major venues/theaters under the “Afterglow of Provincetown” aegis. Afterglow reclaims Provincetown’s birthright as the birth place of the modern American stage, receiving support and promotion from Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater and Dixon Place in NYC, and from the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge where Afterglow produces the successful Afterglow-at-Oberon series, now in its fourth expanded season. Works originated at Afterglow have moved Off-Broadway, to NYC, and to London, Los Angeles, Paris and other major cities around the globe.

Afterglow directly promotes Provincetown as a perfect destination spot for travelers during festival week and all year long. Afterglow draws upwards of 85% of its audience from Off-Cape—mainly New England, the mid-Atlantic and the West Coast. Attendees stay in inns and hotels, frequent restaurants, bars, lounges and nightclubs and partake of the many shops, museums and galleries and services. Business owners cite an economic boon during festival week—audiences and artists not only eat, drink and shop, but also take tours, rent bikes, ride ferries and sample all the town has on offer. Afterglow advertises town businesses via its website, programs and social media. Festival artists also promote businesses they frequent via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Afterglow disseminates information on town businesses to its artists and showgoers. Afterglow’s audience are well-heeled travelers and influencers who spend generously, tip freely, support local commerce and enrich the Provincetown’s economy. The festival has partnered with other non-profits, donating proceeds of its shows to such organizations as The Trevor Project, Camp Lightbulb, the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod and Helping Our Women (HOW). Afterglow tries to raise funds to produce work, increasingly, in the off-season and has planned ancillary programs, workshops and lab productions that attract participants year-round.

Unlike last year, our first at the Art House, when we presented more well-known artists resulting in more audience numbers per show, this year we planned to take more loss at the box office in presenting six artists we’ve never presented before, three we only presented once, years ago, and just one returning popular artist. So while we typically measure attendance in ticket sales, success this year was marked by our ability to foster this roster of new talent to Provincetown. Success also stemmed from an increase in Sponsors (complimentary passholders) who are not reflected in box office sales. And this year, for a small donation, we offered festival “Sparklers” pairs of half-price tickets, instead of just single tickets in the past. So our houses were fuller despite the dip in ticket sales. We doubled our Missionary Sponsors—local businesses whose owners and staff also receive free passes. This further augmented audiences. Afterglow’s hosting venue keeps precise records of paid and complimentary tickets year. All told our shows and events brought hundreds of additional audience members to Afterglow’s attention. To date, the festival has brought to Provincetown upwards of 80 artists, many of whom have become beloved fixtures. Though returning artists command bigger sold-out houses, the festival mission is dedicated to presenting new artists and acts never before seen in Provincetown.

In various ways, each year of Afterglow has been more successful than the previous one. We do not only measure success in sales as much as exposure. And presenting many unknown artists this year, we fundraised vigorously this year so we could offer complimentary and discounted tickets to our most avid supporters. Showgoers must trust our curation—and feedback on our programming this year was more favorable than ever, despite artists being unfamiliar. Success is measured by further increase in press coverage. We have established steady coverage from radio and television and have enjoyed a slew of features, now, from Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Cape Cod Times, Playbill, The Huffington Post, The Dig, Edge, Boston Spirit, as well as Provincetown Magazine and The Banner. Success is measured in increased awareness and attendance and in the uptick in local audience and sponsorship. Collaborations with the Public Theater and American Repertory Theater mean more scope and exposure. As works premiered and developed by Afterglow move to other stages—from Off-Broadway to London’s Soho Theater and beyond, our program credits are duly noted. More grants and sponsorships spell success: The Nelson Trust and the Mass Cultural Council continued their support along with successful artists and entertainment figures like Jim Hodges, Ken Fulk, Alan Poul, Dan Minahan and David Bowd & Kevin O’Shea. Success is more international artists seeking participation; and raising more money for other charitable causes via collaboration. Success is in the growth of subscribers and in the expansion of social media. Success mainly derives from supporters, far and wide, visiting Provincetown expressly during festival week.

We have yet, in eight years, been alloted the funds necessary for a print and broadcast advertising budget. We leave no stone unturned with editorial and other media, but we requiree the support of the VSB and other sources to create an ad campaign. We could advertise in other festival towns around the world and draw, largely LGBTQ, audiences from abroade. We want more local audience, too. And we hope to further increase our ability to provide complimentary and discounted tickets to students and seniors in particular. We do “gift” Sparklerships (donations of $100), from donors not using them to those who need such assists to see our shows. This boosts attendance and good will among locals. We learned that social media like Instagram is essential for consciousness raising and we have expanded that. We increased private and business funding and have created a Concierge service on our website that promotes these businesses. We have engaged local artists more this year and seek to create a residency environment whereby visiting artists can collaborate with locals. We strive to move works we’ve premiered to other venues stamped with a “Made in Provincetown” Afterglow seal. We want coverage on our work to preserve Provincetown’s little known stage heritage.

 

We secured highly visible TV and print coverage. (PBS WGBH, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, others) Our PR-marketing plan focusses on editorial, broadcast, promotional events, posters, postcards, e-blasts, newsletters, web campaigns, new media and social networking, vehicle advertising, staged events, tours and cross-promotion with Dixon Place and The Public Theater in NYC, ART in Cambridge, UnCabaret in L.A.. We print programs touting our sponsors, but fail to afford advertising. Our celebrated branding includes a classy, bold logo, identity and collateral and eye-catching posters. We hope advertising will be a new line of offense; with support from PR, shifting more to the national and international level. The impact of local coverage is arguable, while social media among local people and businesses is impactful. We launched a Playbill-Instagram initiative, via a photoblog led by our participating artists. We’ve had coverage from the Boston Globe (circulation 232,432 daily) Huffington Post ( 4-11 million readers, daily) New York Magazine (circulation: 600K ); Media targets include The New York Times, (1,150,589 weekday; 1,645,152 Sunday, Online: 30 million/month);); Style.com, the Daily Beast (3-10 million daily);; DailyCandy.com (600,000 daily). Travel, in-flight and arts magazines. Web support includes NYPress.com, BroadwayWorld.com, TheNewYorker.com, Culturebot.com, Vogue.com, www.Out.com, www.Playbill.com Ads would appear in Provincetown Magazine, Provincetown Banner, Cape Cod Times, Boston Globe; Providence Phoenix (80K); Time Out NY (86K); Boston Magazine (92K) , others.

 

To view the original Sabian Symbol themed 2015 Blague corresponding to this day: Flashback! The degree of the Sabian Symbol may be higher than the one listed here  as the symbols cluminate in the next degree. There are 360  degrees spread over 365 days.

 Typos happen—I don’t have time or an intern to edit.*
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