Written by TMS CEO Monica Hammond

Ten years ago, what is now TheaterMakers Studio started with a simple mission: help more shows get produced.

Founded by Tony Award-winning producer Ken Davenport, TheaterMakers Studio was created to support writers, producers, and theatermakers who want to move their projects forward and understand the business side of the industry.

Over the last decade, I’ve had the privilege of helping grow this community while also working alongside Ken for many years as his marketing director on Broadway productions. During that time, we’ve learned one thing over and over again:

Great theater doesn’t sell itself.

It takes strategy. Creativity. Persistence. And sometimes a little bit of scrappiness.

So in honor of our 10-year anniversary, I wanted to share 10 of the most important marketing lessons we’ve learned over the last decade—lessons pulled from the hundreds of articles, conversations, and real-world experiments that have lived on Ken’s blog and inside the Studio.

1. Build Your List Before You Need It

If there’s one marketing asset every theatermaker should prioritize, it’s your audience list.

Email remains one of the most effective ways to build relationships with your audience, communicate updates, and ultimately sell tickets. As Ken has written many times, growing an opt-in list allows you to stay connected to fans and promote your show directly to people who already care about what you’re creating.

Social media platforms change. Algorithms shift.

But your list? That’s yours.

2. Content Is Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool

At the end of the day, marketing isn’t about tricks—it’s about the story you’re telling.

The best marketing starts with the show itself: the story, the characters, and the emotional experience audiences will have when they walk into the theater.

If the content connects with the audience you want to reach, the marketing becomes exponentially easier.

3. Empower Your Audience to Be Your Marketing Team

One of the most effective marketing strategies in theater isn’t advertising.

It’s word of mouth.

Ken often talks about empowering your audience to help spread the word—through social sharing, testimonials, and community engagement. When audiences feel like they’re part of the show’s journey, they naturally want to tell others about it.

4. Don’t Wait—Marketing Should Start Early

Too many shows start marketing after opening night is around the corner.

The most successful productions begin building awareness long before tickets go on sale.

In fact, one of the most important strategies in entertainment marketing is simply giving audiences the opportunity to buy early—and reminding them to do it.

Anticipation is a powerful marketing tool.

5. Create an Event, Not Just a Show

Audiences don’t just buy tickets to a performance—they buy tickets to an experience.

Some of the most successful productions understand that a show isn’t just the two hours on stage. It’s the entire event surrounding it: the anticipation beforehand, the social experience of attending, and the conversation afterward.

When you frame your production as something special—an opening night, a limited engagement, a once-in-a-lifetime performance—it gives audiences a reason to act now instead of later.

Great marketing creates urgency.

6. You Don’t Need a Huge Budget

Some of the most creative marketing ideas come from having no money at all.

When budgets are tight, theatermakers are forced to think differently, experiment, and find unconventional ways to reach audiences.

Constraints often produce the most innovative campaigns.

7. Producers Are Marketers

Many people assume marketing is the job of an agency.

But the truth is: producers are the chief marketers of their shows.

Producers need to stay curious about trends, experiment with new ideas, and take responsibility for how their show reaches its audience.

Marketing isn’t a department—it’s a mindset.

8. Test Everything

Marketing is part art and part science.

The only way to improve your strategy is to measure what works—and what doesn’t.

Tools like analytics and data tracking allow you to understand how audiences discover your show, what messaging resonates, and where to focus your efforts next.

Testing turns guesses into strategy.

9. Look Outside the Theater Industry for Inspiration

Some of the best marketing ideas don’t come from theater at all.

They come from retail, film marketing, sports, and even everyday consumer brands.

Studying how other industries attract attention can spark ideas that help your show stand out in a crowded entertainment landscape.

Innovation often happens at the intersections.

10. Tell the Story Behind the Story

Audiences love knowing how something was created.

One of the most powerful ways to market a show is to share the journey behind it—the inspiration for the story, the creative process, the challenges, and the people bringing it to life.

Behind-the-scenes content, creator stories, and rehearsal insights give audiences a reason to connect with a show before they ever buy a ticket.

And when audiences feel connected to the people making the work, they’re much more likely to support it.

Because in theater, the story behind the curtain can be just as compelling as the one on stage.

Looking Ahead to the Next 10 Years

When TheaterMakers Studio launched a decade ago, the goal was simple: help theatermakers understand the business side of getting their work produced.

Today, TheaterMakers Studio has grown into a global community of writers, producers, directors, and creatives who are committed to moving their projects forward and bringing new work to the stage.

And if the past ten years have taught us anything, it’s this:

Theatermakers are some of the most resourceful, passionate, and determined entrepreneurs in the world.

The next decade will bring new technology, new platforms, and new ways to reach audiences.

But the fundamentals of marketing—and of storytelling—will remain the same.

Create something meaningful.
Share it boldly.
And never stop inviting people into the story.

Here’s to the next ten years of helping more shows get produced.