Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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to write about their experiences and "publish" them in
their communities—whether that's via social media or
a church newsletter or through storytelling. "That's a
way for us to get the word out…it markets the theatre
in their own language," notes Daniels, who believes this
approach is the difference between friends' recom-
mendations and mass media messaging. "It's not just us
saying it's great—someone involved in it is saying so."
With respect to MRT's current audience, Daniels
shows much admiration. "The thing that is different
and a plus about this audience is that [they] are com-
mitted to the theatre, not just the names of the shows,
which is why I think the theatre is able to do so much
contemporary work and take risks in terms of its pro-
gramming." It seems most large theatres are forced to
do familiar plays in order to keep a full house. Accord-
ing to Daniels, MRT's audience, though it may look like
other audiences, differs in terms of the depth of their
dedication to the company.
It's that commitment that has him feeling hopeful
MRT can become one of the great theatres for new play
production in the country. "We can start programming
plays we think are going to take off and travel to the
rest of the world." Of particular interest to Daniels are
comedic works. The entire regional theatre movement
"grew up as serious theatre" in order to be taken seri-
ously. Daniels thinks an opportunity has been missed.
There are many theatres producing new plays, but,
says Daniels, "There are not a lot of joyful new plays
being done." Comedy writers are instantly swept into
television. "Getting writers to come back to the theatre
to write comedy is something nobody else is doing," he
notes. But it is something MRT will actively look to do
when planning future seasons.
In terms of putting together a winning season, variety
is key. "Planning a season is a bit like planning a great
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