Episode #3 – Change your foyer from a ‘Place to wait” to a “Place to create”

In 2016, and given the tremendous success of their cultural engagement strategy (read episode #1 and episode #2), The New Victory decided to renovate their foyer and spent $9 million on a new makeover. Their objective was clear: instead of being a space to eat and wait, they wanted their new lobby to be a space to create and meet.

“Our lobbies aren’t just a place to wait for the show to start, they’re an important part of the family’s trip to The New Victory.” says Renata Melillo-Townsend, Assistant Director of Education and Public Engagement.

After doing this little exercise, and with some great inspiration from the UK Family Arts Standards Guidelines, they were able to go into their renovation with a clear and concise strategy to make the most of their lobby.

Here are a few simple pieces of advice from The New Victory’s Director of Education and Public Engagement, Lindsey Buller Maliekel when planning your makeover:

• Make sure the space is as welcoming and as easy to navigate as possible;
• Enable people to look at each other;
• Try to eliminate, block out or remove dead corners;
• Include a few retreat spots for people who just want to relax, and don’t specifically want to take part into your engagement activity.
• Help increase the time that patrons spend in your venue;
• Allow for other things to be presented within the space simultaneously (e.g. PowerPoint presentation, workshops, live show feed, etc.)

If, like The New Victory, your intention is to attract more family audiences to your venue, but you don’t have $9 million to spend on a full foyer renovation, here are a few simple things that can be easily implemented, and which will greatly improve your patrons’ experience, including: