Erica Mulkern: Suzy Homemaker Tour & Community Performance
Part 1: Suzy Homemaker Tour & Community Performance Audience Development Plan
Part 2: Suzy Homemaker Tour & Community Performance Marketing Plan
Part 3: Letters of Support from Bradford Arts Centre and Skipton Town Hall & Suzy Homemaker Tour Pack
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Part 1: Suzy Homemaker Tour & Community Performance Audience Development Plan
Producer – Callum Holt
Marketing & Comms Lead – Julia White
Here is a summary of key points from our Audience Development & Marketing Plan
Project Summary
Suzy Homemaker is a dance theatre piece that sheds light on the development of contemporary feminism, exploring 3 characters at 3 key points in history just before rights for women changed: the suffragette movement, the introduction of the Hays Code, & the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Activity includes the following:
• Live dance theatre performances detailing the history of the role & rights of women in society. Performances are preceded by a talk that provides additional historical context & a “Woman Carving Space” networking event that provides space for local female-identifying artists to meet and discuss what it is like working in that area (with a view for the networking event to continue happening beyond this initial activation)
• Dance Empowerment workshop for local young women engaged in dance (aged 14-18), designed to empower & embolden them as well as improve contemporary dance & ballet technique
• Suzy Homemaker Book Club that allows local readers & historians to engage deeper with the narratives explored in the performance
• A community performance consisting of 3 new works co-created with community groups inspired by Suzy Homemaker
Aims and Considerations
The Company
As a contemporary dance company, Erica Mulkern has a strong audience base & professional network in Yorkshire, but is less well known in other areas of the country. Suzy Homemaker is her first professional work that is ready for national touring & it presents an excellent opportunity both to introduce new audiences & professional arts organisations outside of Yorkshire to her & her work.
The Work
A historically accurate work, Suzy Homemaker explores the development of contemporary feminism by focussing on the lead up to 3 unique moments in the development of women’s rights: the suffragette movement, the introduction of the Hays code, & the sexual revolution of the 1960s. The piece is designed to both educate people about the history of women’s rights, & encourage them to reflect upon the role of women in society today. Suzy Homemaker has been co-created with a variety of women-centred community groups over its development, & a historical consultant has ensured the accuracy of performance content. The community groups also advised on wrap-around activities that could deepen engagement with the themes, resulting in the Dance Empowerment workshop, Book Club, & Networking Event. Erica pilot toured the work in her previous ACE-funded phase of activity, & learned the following from an audience development perspective:
• The performance & marketing assets successfully attract the key target audiences. Of the audiences that attended: 60% of the audience identified as women, 40% described themselves as a “dance audience member”, 40% stated they had an interest in gender studies &/or the history of women’s rights
• Audiences confirmed that the work both educated & encouraged reflection: 75% of audience members learned something new from the performance & 85% reflected on the contemporary role of women after watching the performance
• The performance is a great introduction into dance theatre. Here is an audience quote from the performance in Sheffield: “This is for me was my introduction to dance and movement theatre, and hopefully it’s something I can see more of! I think to myself down the line when someone says, why do you go see these shows, I’ll say that I saw this great show called Suzy Homemaker in 2024 and really got me into it.”
It is clear that the work both engages the target audiences that Erica wanted to reach & engages them in the way she wanted, but that it is also a great doorway into dance that programmers with less developed dance programmes can feel confident in. This is reinforced by the wrap-around activity, that particularly engages or speaks to non-dance audiences (like the book club or pre-performance talk).
Audience Development Aims
• For over 50% of the audience to be female-identifying
• Educate audience members about the history of the rights of women. We want over 50% to have learned something new from the performance
• To encourage those in the audience to reflect on the role of women in contemporary society
• To develop Erica Mulkern’s reputation outside of Yorkshire. There are 2 strands to this: start to develop brand recognition in audience (target of 10% of audiences who haven’t engaged with her work before will follow her social media) & start developing partnerships with dance & theatre organisations. Focus is to build their awareness of her dance practice & ability to make historically accurate work
Key Selling Points
• The choreography is very accessible, with movement driven by storytelling. Wrap around activity isn’t just dance to welcome non-dance audience
• Suzy Homemaker is historically accurate, with period appropriate costume & set. The historical talk before the show helps set context & enables audiences to spot “easter eggs”
• The “dramatic” aspects are often alleviated by moments of comedy. It remains entertaining throughout
Audience Development
Key Target Audiences
Audience segmentation: Commuterland Culture buffs, Experience Seekers, Dormitory Dependables
– Women – In Erica’s own words, “we stand on the shoulders of giants but we know so very little about what it was they went through”. Through Suzy Homemaker, Erica aims to help women reconnect with the history in which their contemporary rights have been developed, & as the pilot tour demonstrated, the work does indeed do this. We are confident in our ability to attract this audience
– People interested in Gender studies/history of women’s rights – We think there will be a strong interest in Suzy Homemaker from this group because of the themes the work deals with. To attract them, we will be targeting higher education institutions, especially those with gender studies programmes & that offer programmes for mature students
– Audiences New to Dance – As the pilot tour indicated (See quote above), Suzy Homemaker can have a strong appeal to audiences new to dance if we can get them through the door. To attract this audience, we will be focussing on the historical content of the work & imagery of the set & costume in marketing copy, & advertising pre-performance offers for non-dance audiences to build confidence that the work is for them
– Dance Audiences – Already familiar with dance, or particular styles of dance and are passionate about attending. We expect these to fall into a similar category as the Regular Venue Attendees
– Historical Theatre Audiences – Maybe less familiar with dance, but familiar with theatre more generally. We expect these to fall into a similar category as the Regular Venue Attendees
– Regular venue attendees – People who are regular attendees of the venue. We are already in conversation with venues about how to best speak to their audiences, & will gather data post-performance to establish how well we have achieved this
– Arts professionals, inc. artists & venues – As a company, Erica Mulkern is looking for ways to develop her professional network. This tour of Suzy Homemaker will enable her to connect with people working in the dance & theatre sector outside of Yorkshire, bringing her work to them so they are more likely to engage with it
– Friends & Family of Community Groups (Community Performance only) – A core audience for the Community Performance, these will mostly be drawn to the performance because they know someone performing in it. We will help performers invite people by providing them with flyers
Diversity
Erica Mulkern wants all women, regardless of background, to feel comfortable attending a performance of Suzy Homemaker, but she also recognises that some spaces feel safer than others depending on your background. She is also aware that when many people think of the history of the rights of women, they are mostly thinking about the history of white women, & as a white woman herself she is not the right storyteller to focus on more intersectional narratives. To address this, the pre-show historical talk covers the more intersectional aspects of women’s rights in history, & “easter eggs” are scattered through the performance that recognise the contributions of women from diverse backgrounds to the development of the rights of women.
Targets: The aim is for show audiences to reflect the diversity of the community in which the performance is based, using ONS data as a benchmark for that area.
To help us meet this target, we:
– Will emphasise the diversity of the team involved in the delivery of Suzy Homemaker, ensuring this is reflected in marketing assets
– Will work with host venues to engage diverse community partners to support reciprocal marketing, using the host venues reputation as a “piggy back” to promote Suzy Homemaker & Erica (which will also allow Erica to build her own relationship with those organisations for future activity)
– Will work with the venues to understand local barriers to engagement, & seek to address these in marketing where it is in our power to do so
– Will create an access FAQ for each tour venue. We will work with venues to understand what marketing techniques best meet their existing audience
– Have taken into account offering things like carer tickets in the budget
– Will offer touch tours & to narrative overviews for people who are blind, partially-sighted, d/Deaf, hard of hearing
– Will offer to provide sensory information sheets highlighting where there are key changes in tone, lighting, sound levels for neurodiverse audiences
Diversity data will be collected during the ticket booking process to enable us to adapt marketing strategies should it look like we will not meet targets.
The Delivery Plan
These tour-wide, cross-venue initiatives will undoubtedly vary by venue, both in their application and results. Built into these initiatives will be opportunities to raise the profile of Erica Mulkern, concentrating on building recognition of her brand (tracked by social media following).
| Target Audience | Aims | Potential Challenges | Activity | KPIs |
| Women | – Encourage attendance at all activity – Educate them on the rights of women & encourage reflection on the role women play in contemporary society | – May feel that performance work isn’t for them. | – Work in partnership with venues to understand best marketing tools to engage local audiences; Clear comms, segmented copy, good trailers/rush films showing movement, increased social media output | – Audiences to reflect diversity of wider area as outlined in ONS data – Over 50% of audience will be from this demographic – Over 50% will have learned something new & 75% will have felt encouraged to reflect on the contemporary role of women |
| People interested in Gender studies/history of women’s rights | – Encourage attendance at performances & Book Club – Encourage reflection on the role women play in contemporary society | – May feel that performance work isn’t for them. | – Target higher education institutions, esp. those with gender studies programmes; Clear comms, segmented copy, good trailers/rush films showing movement, increased social media output | – Audiences to reflect diversity of wider area as outlined in ONS data – 40% of audience will be from this demographic – 75% will have felt encouraged to reflect on the contemporary role of women |
| Audiences New to Dance | – Encourage attendance at performances (inc. talk) & Book Club – Awareness of Erica Mulkern | – May feel that dance performance work isn’t for them. | – Clear comms (inc. previous audience quotes), segmented copy, good trailers/rush films showing set/costume & dramatic elements, increased social media output. | – Audiences to reflect diversity of wider area as outlined in ONS data – 30% of audiences will never have seen dance before |
| Dance audiences/ Historical Theatre audiences | – Encourage attendance at performances & workshops – Increase awareness of Erica Mulkern | – May not be willing to take the risk on an unknown, new company | – Clear comms, segmented copy, good trailers/rush films showing movement, increased social media output. | – 30% of audiences will consider themselves regular dance or historical theatre attendees |
| Regular venue attendees | – Encourage attendance at performances – Increase awareness of Erica Mulkern, translating from being a supporter of the venue to being a supporter of her | – May not feel confident in dance being ‘for them’. | – Clear comms, segmented copy, good trailers/rush films, increased social media output. Good marketing/ comms from the venue, coordinated by EM’s producing & marketing team. | – At least 50% of audiences will have attended the venue in the last 12 months |
| Arts Professionals | – Encourage attendance at networking event – Increase awareness of Erica Mulkern | – May not be willing to take the risk on an unknown, new company | – Clear comms, segmented copy, good trailers/rush films showing movement, increased social media output. – Direct invites to local artists & venues, with support from host venues & partners. Film of work shared by direct e-mail. | – 10% of audiences will be arts professionals. – 75% of those contacted express an interest in supporting Suzy Homemaker or Erica Mulkern, with the team following up on these. |
| Friends and Family of Community Performers | – Encourage attendance at Community Performance event | – May not feel confident in dance being ‘for them’. | – Clear comms, segmented copy, good trailers/rush films showing movement, increased social media output. – Support participants in inviting friends/family by providing them with flyers & a script | – 75% of the audience will know someone in the community performance |
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Part 2: Suzy Homemaker Tour & Community Performance Marketing Plan
Marketing Lead: Julia White
The below is an outline of planned marketing activity for the Suzy Homemaker Tour & Community Performance. This will be delivered in accordance with the Audience Development Plan (above).
Public facing activity includes:
• Performance of Suzy Homemaker at Skipton Town Hall, Skipton; Midland’s Arts Centre, Birmingham; The Junction, Cambridge; Bradford Arts Centre, Bradford. Each performance is preceded by a “Women Carving Space” networking event and a pre-performance talk outlining the history that inspired the show
• Dance Empowerment Workshops at the 4 venues listed above
• Suzy Homemaker Book Club events at the 4 locations listed above. These will be held online with pre-existing book clubs
• Community Performance consisting of 3 new works co-created by Erica Mulkern with Adele Taylor School of Dance, Leeds University Union Ballet Society, & Project Resurgence that will be performed at Antwerp Mansion, Manchester
Diversity
Erica Mulkern is conscious that when most people think about the history of the rights of women in the UK, what they are mostly thinking of is the history of the rights of white women. She is also aware that as a white woman herself & being the sole performer in the piece, she is not the right storyteller to explore in depth the intersectional issues that diverse women have experienced over time. However, she does not want this aspect of history to be silenced, & therefore as a part of the pre-show historical talk & book clubs she has worked with Harriet Bradbury to ensure that diverse perspectives & experiences are highlighted alongside the history depicted in Suzy Homemaker. Erica has also embedded what she calls “easter eggs” in the performance itself as subtle nods to the experience women of different identities had at the times the work explores, to ensure that these aren’t erased even if they aren’t platformed.
A key aim for the project is for audiences to reflect the diversity of the areas where performances are happening and audience diversity targets reflect ONS data for those locations. In order to best achieve this:
● Marketing assets will emphasise the diversity of the delivery team: 33% of the delivery team are part of the LGBQT+ community, 50% are neurodiverse
● Where appropriate, marketing assets will outline how event material speaks to the intersectionality of the female experience (e.g. pre-show talk, book club, workshops, & Women Carving Space networking events)
● Marketing will emphasise the various access measures in place: carer ticket deals, availability of touch tours, access to the script plus notes on sensory information
● Venue information will be included in copy, inc. access information, trained staff, & transport options
● Information about the themes of the work will be included in the copy, & potential audience members will be encouraged to get in touch if they have specific questions pertaining to their lived experience
The key aspect of this strategy will be to work in partnership with the venues. As a non local, white, independent artist, and with Suzy Homemaker being her first touring production, Erica understands that it will be difficult for her to build trust with diverse community groups in the tour locations that would enable her to reach a more diverse audience. However, the venues will already have an established reputation in the area, enabling Erica & Julia to work with them to build trust & encourage attendance/participation from diverse audience groups. This in turn will support Erica in building trust in her brand, making working with these communities in these locations easier in future tours.
Audience Development for Erica Mulkern
A key aim for this phase is for Erica Mulkern to start building her reputation with audiences outside of Yorkshire. To do this:
• All promotional material will be carefully branded (e.g. logo placement, prioritising Erica’s name in copy & press releases) to ensure that audiences will see & recognise Erica’s name
• Audiences will be asked how they heard about the performance so that we can set benchmarks & targets for audiences finding out about Erica’s work through Erica’s marketing channels
• Audiences will be encouraged to follow Erica on social media & to sign up to her newsletter. Across the tour period, social media content will be carefully curated to support new audiences in finding out more about Erica & her work. We will be tracking number of followers throughout to assess impact, paying particular attention to when spikes occur
Delivery Plan
This plan is a dynamic and will be adjusted according to data received as the tour continues.
Performances (inc. Pre-Performance Talk) of Suzy Homemaker
Aim: Persuade local audiences to see the show, targeting women; people interested in gender studies & gender politics; people interested in historical theatre & dance theatre.
Where possible, we are trying to make sure audiences represent the diversity of the community local to the venue as described in ONS data.
| Marketing Activity | Details | Where |
| Other Suzy Homemaker Tour activity | – Direct invite networking event, workshop, & book club attendees to performance. Key messaging: if you enjoyed this then you’ll really enjoy the performance | – Participants of tour activity, predominantly e-mail |
| Social Media Posts, once a week starting 4 weeks before the first tour date & finishing at conclusion of tour | – Copy & lead image/footage advertising the performance, sign-posting to the ticket booking platform Key messaging: exciting performance exploring the history of women’s rights, book tickets now | – Erica Mulkern’s Instagram and Facebook |
| Social Media adverts running a min. 4 weeks before each performance tailored to each performance | – Short reel advertising the performance & describing when, where, & what, sign posting to the ticket-booking platform Key messaging: exciting performance exploring the history of women’s rights, book tickets now | – Facebook, Instagram, & YouTube (targeted due to popularity with key audience demographics) Ads targeted at: women living local to venue, residents local to residence interested in live performance/theatre/dance/historical theatre |
| E-mail campaign | – Copy asking for information about performance (what, where, when + ticket booking link) to be shared with members/people affiliated with that organisation Key messaging: please share info, exciting performance exploring the history of women’s rights, book tickets now | – Organisations within a 20 mile radius of the venue that offer services to women (e.g.women’s only gyms & clubs); arts organisations (particularly live performance, dance, & theatre) within 20 mile radius of the venue; local HE providers targeting undergrads & alumni networks (esp. those studying gender related subjects & history subjects) |
| Posters & Flyers, distributed 4 weeks prior to each performance | – Engaging lead image & copy detailing key info about the event, inc. ticket booking link Key messaging: exciting performance exploring the history of women’s rights, book tickets now | – Organisations within a 20 mile of the venue that offer services to women (e.g. women’s only gyms & clubs); arts organisations (particularly live performance, dance, & theare) within 20 mile radius of the venue; local HE institutions, esp. student unions & bars |
| Reciprocal Marketing by partner organisations | – Pre-written copy & lead image provided to organisations for them to: ● List on their websites ● Post on their social media ● Share in newsletters ● E-mail to interested parties Key messaging: exciting performance exploring the history of women’s rights, book tickets now | – Performance Venues |
Women Carving Space Networking Events (on performance days)
Aim: Persuade local female-identifying artists to attend the networking event, & where possible then book the show, targeting women, artists interested in making work that explores ideas of gender & intersectionality
Where possible, we are trying to make sure audiences represent the diversity of the community local to the venue as described in ONS data. Marketing activity will be the same as the above, but without printed materials. Emphasis of e-mail campaign & social media will be on reaching out to local artist network groups, using the host venues knowledge of the local creative arts sector.
Key messaging: Great opportunity to meet and discuss the issues female artists face locally. Intention for events to run again in the future, led by a local female artist.
Dance Empowerment Workshops
Aim: Work with host venues to engage local young women (14-18) involved in existing dance provision. The young women will be empowered by the dance class & will be encouraged to book tickets for the show with their families.
Where possible, we are trying to make sure audiences represent the diversity of the community local to the venue as described in ONS data.
| Marketing Activity | Details | Where |
| Reciprocal Marketing by partner organisations This will be the main way we will promote this activity as its part of the “deal” offered to venues that we engage young people already involved with them | – Pre-written copy & lead image provided to organisations for them to: ● List on their websites ● Post on their social media ● Share in newsletters ● E-mail to interested parties Key messaging: exciting dance class designed to empower & develop technique | – Performance Venues |
| Word of Mouth | – Young women who regularly attend the host venues youth provision will tell other regular attendees & friends Key messaging: exciting dance class designed to empower & develop technique | – The personal networks of the young women who attend the performance venues regular youth provision |
Suzy Homemaker Book Club
Aim: Persuade local LGBTQ+/Feminist Book Club to take part, reading a book from list prepared by Harriet and take part in a discussion facilitated by her. Participants will be encouraged to book tickets for the show, receiving a discount.
Where possible, we are trying to make sure audiences represent the diversity of the community local to the venue as described in ONS data.
| Marketing Activity | Details | Where |
| E-mail campaign | – Copy promoting the book club experience, and providing assets that can get their members excited. Key messaging: Take part in this interesting FREE event designed specifically for your book club | – Targeted at book clubs within 20 miles of performance venues. Book Clubs will be formal, organised spaces such as those run by book shops, or that openly advertise themselves, and will regularly read LGBTQ+ or feminist books |
| Word of Mouth | – Regular book club attendees will tell friends and families about the specific event. Key messaging: Take part in this interesting FREE event designed specifically for your book club | – The personal networks of the book club members |
Community Performance
Aim: Persuade local audiences to see the show, targeting women; people interested in gender studies & gender politics; people interested in historical theatre & dance theatre, family & friends of the performers
Where possible, we are trying to make sure audiences represent the diversity of the community local to the venue as described in ONS data.
Marketing activity will be the same as the performance apart from the following:
| Marketing Activity | Details | Where |
| Word of Mouth | – Performers will invite friends & family to the performance & the groups that they are a part of will promote activity. They will be given flyers & scripts to help them sell the show Key messaging: exciting performance exploring the history of women’s rights, book tickets now | – The personal networks of the performers & the groups |
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Part 3: Letters of Support from Bradford Arts Centre and Skipton Town Hall & Suzy Homemaker Tour Pack
(Please click on the images to enlarge them)
Erica Mulkern 