CrossFertilizations and Social Media: the Manzoni Theater's Formula

ALESSANDRO ARNONE, BOCCONI ALUMNUS AND THE THEATER'S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, EXPLAINS HOW THE MANAGEMENT OF LARGE THEATERS IS CHANGING


Festivals of magic, meetings with Milan personalities, interactive comedies in which spectators become actors, big shows that go on TV, and wine tastings. Breaking the traditional boundaries beween drama, musical and comedy, Alessandro Arnone, Bocconi alumnus and director of the Manzoni Theater, has revitalized one of the most important stages in Milan. This way, the theater turns into a new kind of place, where one can have an authentic experience, without the mediation of digital screens or social networks.

➜ What do spectators want today?
Over the last ten years, also due to the economic stress caused by the crisis, people have changed their entertainment preferences, so that contemporary comedy has risen in favor. Today spectators want to see light-hearted, quality plays that deal with current issues that directly concern their lives, such as family and sentimental issues, life on the job, and relationships between generations.

➜ What is the most difficult audience category to involve?
Surely young people. Today's kids have all kinds of digital entertainment at their disposal and this overshadows interest in theater plays. Moreover, they are used to living reality through the screen of a smartphone. It is impossible to compete with digital technology, but to bring them near the stage we need to start from this overexposure to digital media, since the theater offers the unique opportunity to enjoy a live experience where the relation with artists is unmediated and unfiltered. We also included a program of interactive shows for families, where the barrier between actors and spectators is completely eliminated.

➜ In theater promotion, what role do social media have to play?
Up until a few years ago, our communication was mostly made through newsletters, but in order to involve the Generation Z it has become necessary to be active on social media. However, social media channels are appreciated by the public irrespective of age, so the Manzoni Theater has decided to hire a digital marketing specialist.
 
➜ In the Manzoni programming there is also cabaret: a great classic of the Milanese tradition. Is it still as popular today as it was in the 1970s?
It is very difficult to recreate the success of those years, but cabaret is in the DNA of the Milanese, even if they are too young to have lived it directly, but know it through the stories of their parents or grandparents. So we have tried to reawaken interest in the genre, calling big names in Italian comedy and starting some experimental initiatives like the Manzoni Derby Cabaret, a talent show for aspiring comedians combined with dinner and wine tastings. The idea was to try to overcome the traditional theater concept and offer a new place of aggregation where spectators could get an authentic live experience: the wine & dinner formula was almost more successful than the show itself, because contemporary audiences are more open to cross-fertilizations between various cultural experiences.

➜ The Manzoni Theater is owned by the Fininvest holding, just like the Mediaset TV network. What synergies are there between theater and television?
Today it is easier for theater to borrow from television than the other way around. Adapting theater plays for TV has hardly ever worked. Today, however, we are witnessing the rise of new hybrid formulas that could reverse the trend. This is the case of Andrea Pucci's Big Show: the show was born in the theater but with the aim of broadcasting on the TV screen, but to do this we had to completely transform the Manzoni stage to make it telegenic, thus recreating the atmosphere of American big musicals and variety shows.

➜ About big shows and big names: how do you build a billboard?
It’s very hard to arrive at the right formula: when composing the season’s billboard, you need to create a good balance between the high quality of the proposals and the popularity of names. When one succeeds in this enterprise, the whole theater benefits from it as in an osmotic process. Pop artists, for example, have a different audience from drama, but when they enter the theater, the pop audience can find itself attracted by other genres, thus also increasing the number of spectators coming for more classic programming.


Alessandro Arnone
Bocconi Class of 1987 in Business Administration, Arnone joined Fininvest in 1991, and since 2013 he has been managing the Manzoni Theater in MIlan. Bocconi's training was useful in dealing with critical issues typical of the theater business, such as attaining the breakeven point. In fact, in Italy theaters that do not produce their own shows cannot tap into government subsidies, thus “theaters have to be managed like firms,” he says.
 

by Ilaria De Bartolomeis
Translated by Alex Foti