THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

By Bob Buddemeier and Anne Newins

And indeed, the show has gone on – under the leadership of Mary Jane Morrison, the Program Committee has put on more than 60 performances in both of the last two years. Programs must be scheduled many months in advance due to the popularity of our performers. The programs are constrained by the budget provided by the Residents Council.  The programs occur almost every Thursday evening, on some Tuesdays, and occasionally on holidays or special events. Over the past 6 months, attendance has averaged about 75 people per evening, and sometimes exceeds 100 for some events.

Although pleased with this level of success, the Committee would like to diversify and expand the offerings and further increase attendance. In order to guide further developments, a survey of residents was recently conducted.

A total of 592 survey sheets were distributed, one to each Independent Living mailbox. Returns totaled 207, or about 35% — a very good response for a survey. Recipients were asked whether the response represented one or two people; the total number of people sampled was 284, or about a third of the Independent Living residents.

The strong response indicates a high level of interest, and the replies will provide a basis for program modifications once they have been analyzed and discussed by the Committee.  Since many of the suggestions and requests go beyond the normal operations of the Program Committee or may not be possible in the auditorium, the results have been shared with the Community Engagement Department.

Although detailed review of the results has just begun, several points stand out about why people do not attend the programs. One of the major reasons was that many people do not want to go out in the evening after a busy day. However, transportation issues were also significant, with parking problems and mobility limitations frequently noted.

In the communication section, nearly a quarter of the respondents did not indicate any internet or computer-based means of learning about the programs; this issue will be explored to see if there are other ways that residents can be informed about upcoming programs.  However, one update that is being implemented immediately is establishment of an email list of people who want to receive personal notices and reminders.  If you did not request this on the survey form, you can join the list by sending a message that says Program List to openinforvm@gmail.com .

Finally, a finding that is at once encouraging and challenging – types of programs preferred. The figure below summarizes the response. People were free to select as many as they wished, and the average per person was more than two types.

The diversity of responses validates the Committee’s practice of scheduling a variety of programming but complicates decisions about overall program modifications.

One of the surprises was the number of people expressing an interest in lectures – a program type that has not been featured very often. The Committee will consider ways of adding more lectures in the future. Most people did not indicate what subjects they wanted for lectures, so it seems likely that a wide variety would be needed.

Overall, it seems that the Program Committee is successful enough to make major improvements a challenge – which is not that bad a problem to have. Review and planning have just begun – stand by for further developments.