As part of the Theatre Arts Marketing Alliance audience survey initiative, Flora Gonzalez of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been drawn as the grand prize winner of two tickets at each of 20 participating theatres throughout Massachusetts. As part of an audience survey initiative that took place at theatres from August to December 2004, audience members who submitted their names were entered into a grand prize drawing. As the lucky winner, Flora Gonzalez will receive two tickets valid for one performance at each participating theatre. Also named were 20 winners who will each receive two tickets to one of the participating theatres. The winners hail from a diverse cross-section of cities and towns throughout Massachusetts from Fall River and Middleboro to Boston and Cambridge, from Billerica and Framingham to Belmont and Newton.

The theatre companies participating in this project are: Actors Shakespeare Project, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, Boston Theatre Works, Company One, Devanaughn Theatre, Gloucester Stage Company, Jewish Theatre of New England, Lyric Stage Company, Mill 6 Theatre Collaborative, New Repertory Theatre, Nora Theatre Company, Publick Theatre, SpeakEasy Stage Company, Stoneham Theatre, Súgán Theatre Company, Theater Offensive, Theatre Cooperative, TheatreZone, Wheelock Family Theatre, and Zeitgeist Stage.

The survey project was directed by a task force of members of the Theatre Arts Marketing Alliance (TAMA), including Charles Baldwin (Wheelock Family Theatre); Jeremy Thompson (Stoneham Theatre); Jim Torres (SpeakEasy Stage); Nicholas Peterson (New Repertory Theatre); Jeff Poulos (StageSource); and staff at ArtsBoston. TAMA engaged Janet Bailey (Janet Bailey Associates), a professional marketing consultant, to design the survey, oversee administration, and assist TAMA in analyzing the results. The project was funded by The Boston Foundation, FleetBoston, StageSource, and the participating theatres.

Over 4000 completed surveys were collected between August and December at 20 midsized, small, and fringe theatre companies in the Boston area. The survey, developed during the spring of 2004, was designed to elicit information about the people who are currently attending theatre performances — their buying patterns, preferences, and demographic characteristics – and will help these theatre companies develop and strengthen marketing programs to build future audiences. Data processing is currently underway, and results are expected to be available to participating companies in early February.

The Theatre Arts Marketing Alliance, formed in 2002 by StageSource, is a group of marketing personnel representing over 20 of Greater Boston's mid-sized, small and fringe professional theatre companies. TAMA's mission is to increase ticket sales and audiences through cooperative and collaborative marketing efforts, as well as through the sharing of ideas and resources. For more information about the Theatre Arts Marketing Alliance, contact StageSource at 617.720.6066 or visit www.stagesource.org.