The local arts festival Jail Break returned to Charleston for its sixth round with a punk theme on Saturday, November 16, 2013 from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.  With Entropy Arts, the American College of Building Arts, and Ear for Music as its driving forces, the semi-annual event featuring a mash-up of performance and visual arts is taking the Charleston arts scene by storm.  The Old City Jail, located at 21 Magazine Street, provides an unconventional backdrop that most creative minds only dream of with its detailed ironwork and Gothic Revival castle-form exterior.

The building itself, as a work of art, guided you through a maze of halls and rooms filled with artwork, photographs, and installations.  It was smaller than I had expected, but delivered a systematic approach to dividing the varying styles and mediums of the artists featured.  Aside from the visual arts, one room was dedicated to stand-up comedy shows and another with short performances by the Threshold Repertory Theatre.  When the theatre scenes were on break, electronic music artist MindRobber performed behind a barred jail cell.

Out in the jail yard, two stages manned the attention of the audience – one for dance and one for music.  There were also food trucks and alcohol venders for concessions.  As you rounded the corner, the Artisan’s Market was revealed!  The market featured local jewelry and tee shirt designers, vintage finds, and other crafted goods.  The American College of Building Arts drew a big crowd to the Artisan’s Market with their on-site blacksmith demonstrations and graffiti artist Crosby Jack presented the transformation of his art from a blank canvas to “Frankencorn.”

In class on Tuesday (November 19) we discussed strategic economic business approaches of arts organizations.  Jail Break took an approach of time and scarcity with ticket sales.  The sooner you bought your ticket, the more discounted it would be.  In October, they had a “JAILBIRD” special where the first thirty tickets to be sold at each location (King Dusko, Artist & Craftsman, Redux, Artisan Tees, and Dancefx) were only $10!  After all of the jailbird tickets were sold, the price rose to $15, and eventually to $20 the day of the event.  They have a good understanding of how much their audience is willing to spend for the event.  Because it is something unique to the area and only occurring twice a year, an audience member would be likely to spend the $20 if they forgot to buy their ticket in advance.

I think the magic of Jail Break is that it brings a community of passionate creators and patrons together to coexist.  It is a special environment which allows people to observe the art, gather their own understandings of the works, and then talk with the artists to learn their personal inspirations and methods of creation.  It truly is a celebration of the arts!  If you have any interest at all in attending Jail Break in the future, you should definitely go – just remember: take advantage of the early discounted tickets, be prepared to stay for the long haul, and bring cash!

On Wednesday November 20, 2013 at 8:00 I attended a comedy show at Theatre 99 located on meeting street. There were two acts “ Big Dicktionary” and “Moral Fixation” that were hilarious! The performers were ready with high energy and could adapt to any situation thrown at them. In fact one of the performers, Finch, of “Big Dicktionary” is one of the founders of Theatre 99. It definitely impressed me that one of the founders of the theatre still instilled his performance with passion and dedication, this enhanced the warm atmosphere he has worked hard to create. There was a lot of drinking and socializing before the show and during the intermission that furthered the intimate social setting. The tickets for Wednesday night shows were only $5.00 and the audience was laughing the entire time, undoubtedly it was worth the price. There were snacks that you could get during the break  and they also had drinks available to the 21 and up crowd. It was a very ingratiating experience because of the personal interaction that the performers had with the audience.  The show was a blast to go to.

In class we talked about how important it is to use the 4 P’s: price, promotion, place, and product well because they play a large part in determining success. I would say that Theatre 99 used the 4 P’s fairly well but the price and promotion mattered most to me. The price was affordable and attracted almost a full house in the middle of the week. The people who attended were a diverse demographic and the staff that worked there were friendly and it was easy to tell that they enjoyed their jobs. The promotion was successful because even though they had only a few posters, a sign, and a website, the majority of people I talked to had heard about the event through the word of mouth, exemplifying what a production strain for, success through reputation. The venue was cozy yet packed, the perfect space for the rambunctious friendly environment the producers strove to create. Overall they used the 4 P’s effectively, their attendance might improve were they to use more physical promotional tools,  but they have a dedicated audience and are successful regardless. I would definitely recommend going to a show. It is a guaranteed laugh and a great experience.

By Kalyn Turner

On Wednesday November 20th I attended Theatre 99’s improv show. The show featured three improv groups, each talented, funny and unique. The first called themselves “Big Dicktionary.” The two men in the group brought a dictionary to the stage and pointed to a random word. They then created improvised skits based off of that word. The second group, “Moral Fixation,” was also a pair of men who had the audience pick a word and then acted out several improvised skits that in the end all connected to each other in a circular story. The third group was larger and consisted of men and women. They did several unique and unconnected skits.

I found that I do not think Theatre 99 advertises themselves very effectively. They are very closely located to the College of Charleston campus but until seeing the show I had no idea that there was a theatre located there. Also, their front is a little off putting since the entrance to the theatre is in the back of the building through the parking lot.

I really enjoyed the show. I attended alone but had a blast watching the show and I am so glad I went! Next semester I really would like to go to more of their improv nights. I found that it was a great way to relax and de-stress and just laugh out loud at the skits. I would definitely recommend going to see one of their shows. They give you a great time and it is totally worth the five dollars!

On Wednesday November 20, 2013 I attended an improvisational comedy show at Theatre 99. The act was “Big Dicktionary” and performed by comedies, John Brennan and Timmy Finch. The set up was that the two performers had audience members randomly pick a word from a dictionary and then that word was used as inspiration to construct a comic scene.

The event was well attended. The majority of the seats were filled, even the lobby and outside areas were grouped with people when I came and left.  The demographics of the audience members were largely young adults. Many were with groups of friends, some were coupled up, and it was interesting to see this demographic of Charleston rather than just college students, which is what I have been used to.

These two performers and their show have traveled to many theaters around the Charleston community for many years and with their reviews, reputation and attention it could contribute to more audience members, and even the potential of a loyal audience group coming to see the show. Abound further research, I also discovered that Finch was a founding member of Theatre 99, which gives the theatre, their supporters and these performers a strong relationship. The beauty of an improv type show is that the performance is never the same, and to maintain the success the performers must have experience, the ability to think on their feet, but also have a good chemistry and dynamic between them that they can deliver a successful show each time. Fortunately these two performers had all of those characteristics, and with that and their personal relationship with Theatre 99 and to Charleston it can help to explain such a successful audience turnout.

All four of the Ps contributed to the success of the show. The price of the tickets was $5, Theatre 99 is a well-respected and fun event place among Charleston, the product of these two well-known comedies and the promotional efforts all helped to explain the success of the show. However, I think the place and the price were probably the two factors that mattered most, especially to me. I noticed many of the audience members were there with friends, were drinking, and socializing before, during intermission and after the show. The ticket prices were cheap for such access to a great atmosphere and place that is Theatre 99 and the show itself helped amp up that atmosphere.

I was lucky enough to score a free pass to the South Carolina Theatre Association’s three day long conference at the Charleston County School for the Arts this past weekend. The conference showcased some of South Carolina’s brightest theatre talents ranging from high school performers to established theatre companies, offered a multitude of theatre workshops, and even had a keynote speech from John Patrick Shanley—a very successful American playwright. The conference was not only a fascinating artistic collective, but also an educational theatre Mecca.  Aside from the workshops, there were at least twenty booths set up providing information about a multitude of theatre programs and career advancement opportunities.

The conference was a very fulfilling experience for me. The workshops spanned every aspect of theatre—performance, playwriting, technical production, and even the ins and outs of building your own theatre company. There were performances by local high school students and The Warehouse Theatre from Greenville, South Carolina among others. The variety and well roundedness of the content offered through the conference was matched by the diversity of people who attended. In the Improvisation for Text Exploration workshop I attended, there were high school students, high school teachers, college professors, college students, and a few people who were new to the whole theatre “thing”. As I walked around between workshops and performances, I saw people from every age group and ethnic background. It was fascinating to be amidst such a broad demographic exploring the theatre world.

The conference was held by the SCTA, a branch of the SETC (Southeastern Theatre Conference). It’s a very influential theatre organization and I would absolutely recommend getting involved with anything they offer in the future.