“Madison Opera was so innovative during the pandemic. They found so many ways to provide intense artistic experiences for listeners who may have been alone at home in front of a computer.”
Wisconsin Public Radio
When it became apparent that Madison Opera would be unable to perform for a live audience in the 2020/21 season they had two options; They could shutter their doors and wait until they could return to the theater, or they could pivot to digital programming to continue to advance their mission by engaging and educating their audience.
As marketing manager at Madison Opera, I worked closely with the General Director to transition existing programming to a digital format and develop new programming. The result was a digital season of over thirty videos and live streams made available for subscribers.
Operating with limited resources, I developed a plan for capturing, editing, and distributing the content. I handled the technical aspects by sourcing the software and hardware required to stream. Then, I worked with a team to capture the performances and discussions before distributing them. Engagement with the digital season was tracked and reported to stakeholders through a custom dashboard.
While the digital experience was not the same as the in-person experience, survey responses showed that the digital season had a high level of satisfaction among respondents; offering smiles, laughter, and a bit of hope during a dark period. As the digital season comes to a close there has been interest from the audience in continuing to offer digital content.
