A scene from The Chicken Play, one of the live performances attended by the focus group

As part of its campaign to attract new people to the theatre, JUTE Theatre in Cairns held focus groups in 2007 to find out whether people's expectations of the theatre live up to reality.

Inspired by Queensland University of Technology's Dr Rebecca Schollen's Talking Theatre project, JUTE recruited 13 participants, who had not been to the theatre in five years, to join a focus group that would see four plays in 2007 and then give feedback about how their experiences matched their expectations. Of the 13 participants, five were unable to finish the project for various reasons.

JUTE reports the group met for special performance nights and had discussions afterwards, run by a facilitator.

The focus groups enabled JUTE to raise its profile within the community and to engage in discussions with community members to find out their attitudes towards contemporary theatre.

All participants said the experience left them more familiar with JUTE as a company. They said JUTE had value in the community and the plays had made them think. Most importantly, at the end of the project all identified themselves as theatregoers.

JUTE will track the participants' future bookings and continue its foray into audience research by holding another forum in 2008. For more information visit JUTE.

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