INVISIBLE MAN #Twittermission Round-Up

Our inaugural #Twittermission took place on the evening of January 30. The Twitterverse was buzzing with excitement when we announced the event, and there were many people following closesly as I communicated over video chat with Invisible Man projection designer Alex Koch and costume designer Kathleen Geldard and relayed their answers to audience questions live over our twitter feed, which was then displayed on the video monitors in the lobby during intermission. While much of the in-house audience seemed busy/distracted with concessions and bathroom runs, the video monitors still drew several curious eyes who watched with interest. With a little more leadtime to promote the event for A Raisin In The Sun, we're hoping to get our audiences - both those at the theatre, and those at home -even more involved in the #Twittermission conversation.

The conversation remains on our Twitter feed, of course, but for the sake of posterity, here are the tweets as they took place last night. (for those unfamiliar with twitter shorthand, @diveunderwater is Alex Koch)

Introducing #Twittermission

As Twitter has continued to grow in popularity, there's been a lot of talk in the theatre world about how to integrate it (and other social media platforms / smartphone apps) into performances. Many of you have probably already heard or read about "tweet seats," and the ensuing conversation / backlash around that. But as our Artistic Director Peter said, "from the moment the curtain goes up to the moment it comes down, the art on stage is all the engagement the audience needs. That onstage moment you miss to read or send a tweet could be the one that sends chills up your spine, stirs you with empathy, or sends your imagination wild."

So instead, we've found another way to get involved — but of course, we're going to need your help (hence the "social" part of "social media). Enter: #Twittermission. What's that? I'm glad you asked (he says rhetorically). At select performances, we'll be opening up our Twitter account to an artist, designer, stage manager, or other face behind-the-scenes who will field questions from the audience and answer them in real-time during intermission. The conversation will be displayed on the video monitors in the lobby of each of our theatres, allowing our audience to follow along. And if you don't have a ticket for the performance that night, you can still follow along with us live on Twitter. Think of it as another way to keep the conversation going after the curtain's gone down (and for those of you unfamiliar with Twitter -- our tweets will all be public, so you can still follow along without signing up or having an account of your own). If you're not able to follow along live, the conversation will remain archived on our Twitter feed, so you can go back and read through it any time you'd like!

We'll be hosting our inaugural #Twittermission this Wednesday, January 30, at the 7:30pm performance of Invisible Man. Video / Projection Designer Alex Koch will be on hand to answer your questions, whether they're about the production in general, the integration of video/media into live performance, Pedro Martinez's new position on the Red Sox (hey, he's a Cambridge native), or anything else. Feel free to ask your questions ahead of time as well — we'll compile all your questions and answer them throughout each intermission, making sure to tag your twitter handle in the response (unless you ask us not). Just make sure that you direct your tweets to the @Huntington and include the hashtag #Twittermission.

Sincerely crossing my fingers in the hope that this works,

Thom Dunn

Web and New Media Manager