August 3rd, 2007 by David Poteet

Telling the Barter Story

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Filed under Experience Design, Branding

 

As I wrote in an earlier post, we're currently working on the Barter Theatre web site. We're trying to figure out how to convey the Barter experience in a way that is not clichéd or phony. Yesterday we had a rather hilarious conference call in which we presented our third round of concepts for the main message area of the home page.

Storytelling is hard. It's easier just to put together some exciting images that say "live theatre" and wrap it in rich interface design. Storytelling is more than a tagline, more than a mood.

It starts with uncovering the real heart of the story, and then brainstorming a fresh way to tell it that will connect with readers own experiences. It's not unlike what the Barter Theatre does. Every play is unique to them. You might have heard the story of Oliver! before, but you've never seen it the way Barter does it, set in World War II London. Or King Lear set in corporate America.

To be honest, we were a bit stuck until Barter pulled out some of these stories from their audience members:

"I'm involved in the story, I can feel the actors' feelings…like I have just become part of the story and I'm sitting here watching it unfold."

"I have seen Singing in the Rain ten times. Every time I notice something else. There is so much to see. Also, I have a crush on the lead actor."

"A play is different every night. That's the fun part of a play, because it's live. And you don't know what may happen – will the actors crack themselves up, will someone slip up…"

In an early reading of Man of Constant Sorrow, one woman stood up in the audience and said in a stern manner, "I knew Jimmie," (Ralph Stanley's first wife). We all gasped, we thought she was upset and then she said "and she was just like that."

Local successful businessman – "I have been to Barter many times. I have seen Shakespeare many times. Never has theatre spoken to me so relevantly as when Richard Rose set King Lear in a contemporary setting with Lear being a family run corporation. I am part of a family-run corporation. It changed my life. It was like seeing my life."

There's a lot to tell. You'll have to check back in October to see how the story comes out!

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