In-Person Lobby Displays

The lobby display has the potential to engage the audience in meaningful ways. It can frame the theatrical experience; provide information about the play, the playwright, and the production; and offer moments for interaction and emotional engagement.

When crafting a lobby, dramaturgs must consider the experience they want the audience to experience, and then determine how to best realize that within the allotted budget. They also must think practically about design, layout, and accessibility. How will people move through the space? How long will they be willing to stand to read a snippet of research or to interact with a display? How might a display convey necessary information? How might it be emotionally impactful?

Dos and Don'ts

Do

• Think carefully about the experience you are creating for the audience, and how it can engage an audience intellectually and emotionally

• Keep written selections relatively short

• Make it "easy" for the audience to engage with the display: make sure printed materials are clearly legible with a big enough font and clean design, include impactful visuals, spread materials out so that guests do not have to clump, and consider the many ways people take in information

• Consider how to convey the questions and the the critical thought that went into the production concept

• Consider how to share interactive materials "back" with the audience

• Remember that audience have plenty of other concerns - finding their seats, locating the bathrooms, getting a snack or a drink, congratulating their family and friends who worked on the show; try to make the lobby an integrated part of all of these concerns and also consider how else they might be able to access the information you share with them (QR codes, printed information cards, etc.)

Don't

• Overwhelm the audience with everything you researched

• Assume everyone want to read an extensive essay or will take the time to interact with the lobby

• Print things that are too small, too messy, or otherwise difficult to read/see

• Tell the audience what they are supposed to think or feel about the production

Virtual Options