Does Social Media Have A Place In Theatre?

Now that reviews are out for Heathers in UK newspapers, it’s extremely interesting to see a little battle commence in the minds of those who don't understand the dreaded world of SOCIAL MEDIA! Less so with journalists who seem to be embracing what Heathers is and this fresh, young face it's giving Musical Theatre, but more so with the traditional theatre-goers who are baffled when they find their seat is located next to a mallet wielding seventeen year-old dressed all in red. It's an odd battle between not wanting to give social media and the marketing that can be done upon it, any credit for the young audience it's bringing in because they think new fangled social media doesn’t have a place in traditional theatre...but then not knowing how else to explain the reaction shows like Heathers, Hamilton, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, etc are getting from young people! Nor can they explain how word is spreading so rapidly BEFORE reviews are even out! Of course, these shows are just good. They're solid in their script, score and symbolism but they're shows made for young, open minds and young, open minds often spread the word digitally. So, naturally people like me getting cast in these shows, “vloggers who are now pursuing musical theatre careers” *hard eye roll*, are getting the "blame" for all of the screaming, teenage fans that are packing out the stalls in old-school theatre's like Theatre Royal, Haymarket...but (one of my many) question(s) is, even if that was the case, is that so terrible? What makes me think some people do see it as something to be sneered at is when I hear terms like FanGirls and Teeny-Boppers being thrown around in a derogatory way. Don't get me wrong, the love for Heathers, in particular, far outweighs the few complaints we've had about the noise of the crowd, the fact that they've hired a "vlogger" in the leading role or the cosplaying kids but it's always entertaining and oh so fascinating to me when those few complaints do arise and it makes me wonder what's really at the heart of such snobbery.

Sure, my name is on the poster because I have a large online following and the marketing team are very clever! They thought maybe it’d help sell some tickets and they're very much in the ticket selling business! What really helps them out, though, is that once those tickets are sold, I can actually deliver the performance (and I say that with confidence in my ability rather than arrogance, however, I know those two often get confused when a female shows to know herself...!). I am, first and foremost, an actress. I've said it before but I'll say it again, making videos was something I started when I was unemployed and bored. YouTube was an accident whilst acting was the plan. However, the foundation for the name I have made for myself on YouTube, is my voice. All my early videos are covers of pop/musical theatre songs. If I was a YouTube make-up artist sensation turned musical theatre performer in the last three months then I would understand why there would be some scepticism about my name being on the poster but everything I do now and everything I have ever done has always been gearing towards one day, hopefully, leading a West End cast. It's not even like Heathers is my first theatre rodeo. I'm pretty sure I've earned my stripes. Les Mis, Chitty, Mary Poppins, Wind in the Willows, Les Mis and Chitty again as an adult and then Addams Family, all since the age of seven...come on, now. I've spent the last couple of weeks rolling my eyes very far into the back of my head each time someone likes to pretend I'm new to this theatre game and that only the number tagged onto my social media can explain why my name is emblazoned across the front of the theatre. However, let’s not pretend putting “names” on posters is new. It's not. Long before social media ever existed, the person who would pull in the crowd would always get top billing. What is new is people making those names for themselves via un-traditional means AKA the internet and that is where people get held up. What makes me laugh is that, if the Heathers team were specifically hell bent on just having a social media "name" to play Veronica, they definitely could have found someone far bigger and just as capable than silly ol' me! In the grand scheme of things, the name "Carrie Hope Fletcher" (or "Carrie Hayley Fisher" to the hosts of 2018's West End Live...) holds very little weight in the light of some other social media singers. I'm actually a little flattered that people seem to think that if it were all about getting a name, I would somehow be found at the top of that list! Let’s also not be too quick to give me, or even social media for that matter, any more credit than is actually due when it comes to the fan favourite and phenomenon that is Heathers The Musical. 

Heathers is Heathers. Long, long before I was involved, back in the USA, Heathers the Musical was always getting that solid, screaming, fan reaction. It's a cult show based on a cult movie! People were coming wielding their mallets long before I ever got to don the blue blazer. It just so happens that there seems to be a huge crossover between my audience and the Heathers audience because funnily enough, most of the Heathers fans here in the UK only heard about Heathers because they watched the famous bootleg of the off-broadway production that was posted on, you guessed it, YouTube! So, the people who would have bought tickets to Heathers at the Haymarket and screamed down the house at Veronica having sex with JD on stage anyway, just have that little bit more of a reason to scream now that I also happen to be playing Veronica. 

In my opinion, social media is one of the keys to the door to accessibility for theatre. More and more actors, from myself and my boyfriend Oliver Ormson who vlogs his audition processes, to Buckley and Paige who are currently vlogging their time backstage in Eugenius at The Other Palace, are jumping on the bandwagon. However, there's only so much us actors can/are allowed to do. Whilst production teams are setting up Twitter and Instagram accounts and letting its cast take over week by week, some are holding "fan events" in locations like The Theatre Cafe or even The Other Palace itself and there are ticket lotteries on iPhone apps where you can win cheap front row tickets for shows, it's still not quite enough to make theatre as accessible as it should be. Heathers has done incredibly well at trying to make sure there are a chunk of tickets for each performance that are affordable for its young audience and its social media game is STRONG but I think we're all hoping for a little more from London's Theatre as a whole. Hopefully, one day we'll see the potential it can reach.

xxx