Repertory Theater Film Listing Database for SF Bay Area

Challenges Entered:

Every organization does its own promotion and listing. This information would need to be aggregated into a common format. All the PR people would have to be "on board" with making timely and consistent updates. We'd need to show that doing this one "data entry" would propagate across the internet, resulting in numerous listings for their showings (as Eventful does). Then we would need to let potential client organizations know that we have built a better mousetrap.

What else have you done in this area of work?

Working with the Art Deco Society of California as a Board Member, PR Director, and member of the Preservation Committee, I realized the fragility of all we love from the Art Deco Era. Film is a wonderful intersection where period style, social documentation, and historic venues meet. Our members turn out in full dress with classic cars to support local movie palaces. We give Preservation Awards each year for restoration and preservation of art deco design and culture that always include a theater, and designate movie or theater nights where we all turn out for a film or perfomance.

I'd like to do something with more ongoing economic impact for the repertory theaters we support, including but not limited to art deco.

Project Details

Project url:

http://www.artdecosociety.org/about/events/bayareacinema.htm

Project video:

Project Assessment

Financial support:

Project has financial support

Project goals:

Bay Area repertory movie theaters are in trouble. (SF Chronicle, Audience Fading for Repertory Movie Theaters, Mick LaSalle, Monday, February 11, 2008). Programming that would have ensured a good turnout 20 years ago may not succeed in the era of NetFlix. Yet the true power of film is best appreciated onscreen and with other people. There is an audience for repertory film that is not being reached. For the Art Deco Society of California website, I try to track films from the 1920s and '30s being shown in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our membership (700 paid; website/myspace/ecalendar unknown) will attend films of interest (and dress up for it!). It's hard to let our members know ahead of time because there is no single source for showing what's playing at independent theaters, let alone at film venues like the Mechanics Institute, Villa Montalvo, or the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. My dream is to create an online data repository for repertory film showings in the San Francisco Bay Area. Each organization showing films would upload their data to a common site that would then feed out streams (RSS, etc.) that could be easily picked up by sites like Yahoo movies. Films would be categorized by decade, genre (silent, precode, noir). Individuals could easily bring up what's playing in their area, or set up alerts for their special interests. The ADSC website could subscribe to an RSS feed for 1920s, '30s, and '40s. Other organizations might have similar needs.

Identified Obstacles:

This is strictly back-of-the-napkin right now. I'd appreciate feedback from the tech-savvy types as to whether this is viable. From my experience listing films and performances (and searching in vain for an easy way to link to them), I have a general sense of what could be possible on the web. I have a good knowledge of venues and contacts for theaters and organizations that would be potential participants. Would love any feedback about whether this vague notion could be turned into something that would help preserve the independent films venues that enrich our lives.

Submitted by decodelight on March 14, 2008 - 1:59pm

participation might be a problem

Submitted by jcravens on July 12, 2008 - 7:31am.

My first thought is that the tech isn't going to be an issue at all, if you can find someone to do it; the far, far greater problem is going to get theaters/venues to regularly, religiously, upload their program data. This is a problem with every web site that tries to compile data for several different organizations into one space. So my question is, have you thought about how you are going to get these venues to regularly upload their data? Are you ready to call every one of them regularly to remind them, again and again?

<><><><><>
Jayne Cravens
http://www.coyotecommunications.com

You are so right!

Submitted by decodelight on July 12, 2008 - 11:15am.

Dear Jayne,

Thanks for your comment. You are the only one to do so! This was a project thrown together at the last minute in response to one of the TechSoup emails, and a good excuse to get my feet wet and see what others are doing. Of course it was based on several years observations and experience, plus that article in the Chronicle.

You are correct about the problem. Getting all the players on one page is so difficult. Everyone is swamped with his/her own way of doing things. N2 gets my attention because there have to be better ways of getting the news out. So many preservation groups rely on the same customers and don't reach beyond their [often aging] base.

I am playing with RSS myself now and more of the social media, to get a better understanding of how these services can complement each other. I'm officially retired from the Art Deco Society website, but continue my interest and support of the vintage community. If all the theaters had RSS feeds, that would be manageable. Many now have email and websites. Hmm, now that I've gotten more adept at Blogger, perhaps something could be managed... [insert light bulb here] I had my fill of hounding people for information in the five years I was PR director for ADSC.

I took a brief look at your web page and was impressed by your range of interests. I am with you on reaching the 20-30-somethings. If we want anything we value to continue, we need to include the next generation.

Best,

Danine Cozzens

Theatre in Chicago

Submitted by Britt Bravo on July 14, 2008 - 3:20pm.

Have you seen Theatre in Chicago? I talked to the founder at a conference last month and I think they've been able to make the site pretty successful.

What a good example

Submitted by D. G. Cozzens (not verified) on July 15, 2008 - 1:58pm.

That is impressive. It's so helpful to have a model of what can be done. Much easier for people to "get it." Love the map with the custom mask icons! Thank you for suggesting this.

The 24th annual San

Submitted by feliduca on October 8, 2008 - 9:56am.

The 24th annual San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle gala, which was held April 16th at the Palace of Fine Arts, reflected the strengths and diversity of the Bay Area's smaller companies.

The 24-member Circle critics voted awards to 53 actors, directors, designers and productions from 175 nominees. In keeping with the Circle's policy of acknowledging "outstanding" rather than single "best" performances, some categories merited multiple awardsflwith separate recognitions for dramatic and musical productions.

This year the gala was considerably enlivened by former Tony nominee and cabaret diva, Sharon McNight, who was the emcee for the event. She opened the evening with a hysterical rendition of Stephen Sondheim's "Invocation to the Gods and Instructions to the Audience."

Aurora Theatre's production of Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming" took six awards, including outstanding drama. Tying for outstanding drama, Actors Theatre of San Francisco's "Dealer's Choice" was the recipient of three awards. In the musical category, the Willow Theatre's production of "1776" took four awards including outstanding production. TheatreWorks' "The Triumph of Love" and Peninsula Civic Light Opera's "Damn Yankees" tied with three each. Also in the musical category, Susan Himes Powers took the award for outstanding female performance in "Damn Yankees" and Rick Williams received outstanding male performance in "1776."

Other awards in the Drama category were:

Principal performance, female, were shared by Lois Grandi, "Light Sensitive" (Playhouse West) and Linda Hoy, "The Grapes of Wrath" (TheatreWorks).

Principal performance, male, were shared in a three-way tie by Aldo Billingslea, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (Lorraine Hansberry Theatre); Julian Lopez-Morillas, "The Homecoming" (Aurora Theatre); and Mark Phillips, "The Grapes of Wrath" (TheatreWorks).

Supporting performance, female, Rebecca Dines, "The Homecoming," and Joan Mankin, "Morning's at Seven" (Marin Theatre Company).

Supporting performance, male, Marco Barricelli, "The Invention of Love" (American Conservatory Theater); Ken Ruta, "The Alchemist" (Berkeley Repertory Theatre); and Jonathan Rhys Williams, "The Homecoming."

Director, Bill English, "Dealer's Choice"; Tom Ross, "The Homecoming"; and Danny Scheie, "The Comedy of Errors" (Aurora Theatre).

Special awards also honored three touring productions: Louise Pitre of Best of Broadway's "Mama Mia!"; Dublin's Gate Theatre's "Waiting for Godot" & "Krap's Last Tape"; and solo performance artist Marc Wolfe for "Another American Asking and Telling," presented by the New Conservatory Theatre Center.

Three special Circle awards were presented during the evening: The Paine Knickerbocker Award to the Mary Mason Memorial Lemonade Fund in recognition of its grant assistance to theatre workers with life-threatening illnesses; the Barbara Bladen Porter Award of $1,000 to Beaver Bauer for a three-decade career of costume design; and a posthumous award in memory of director Albert Takazauckas.

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