Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Encore: How it all started

I thought that I would introduce myself better and the intention behind the blog.

It has been a dream for over 12 years to start a publication about the performing arts in Cape Town. I use the word publication because magazine sounds very grand, especially for someone with much experince but not in publishing. The idea started when I was part of the Silapha oureach committee of the then Nico Malan Opera House (now Artscape) looking at how to make the complex more accessible and relevant.

I felt that there was a need for some means of advertising shows well in advance so that people had no reason for not attending a show. I must admit that I was guilty of saying that I love going to the theatre but never actually getting there. Since starting Encore we go at least twice a month, and love every performance.

In April 2007 I started an electronic newslettter which lists as many different performances as we (Paul and I) can find in the newspapers, web sites and referrals. I thought that the newsletter would be about 5 pages long, I had no idea just how much is going on in just Cape Town and the newsletter averages 22 pages! Just over a year later we have at least 4000 readers.

Towards the end of 2007 we started the long learning curve of electronic media and slowly getting the hang of web sites and blogs. In May (2008) we started the web site which gives us much more space to give details about the different performances and we want to start including articles on local artists, companies and other interesting information about the theatre.

I started the blog as a way of joining a conversation about the theatre and relevant issues. What I didn't bank on was feeling shy about sharing my thoughts. I am an enthusiastic member of the audience and not really qualified in any way to comment on shows. What I am hoping is that this will be a space where other enthusiastic members of the audience can share their comments on shows. Just think the whole of the Western Cape becoming theatre critics!

Or just a place to be enthusiastic about theatre. What do you think?

Our thoughts and comments on performances and the performing arts in the Western Cape, South Africa.