The Business Of Improv

More than a Picture

Building your Press Kit

by William T McEvoy

So, there’s a reviewer coming to see your troupe, or the local press is covering your troupe.  What should be in your press kit?  What shouldn’t be?  How should things be written, and how should they be packaged?  This article is going to take you through the basics, and make some suggestions about smart, inexpensive things you can do to make your kit look that much more professional.  A more professional press kit makes sure the reporter or reviewer has all the information she needs, and while that doesn’t guarantee a good review, it helps.

The Press Release

The press release is the foundation of your press kit.  It should be on one page, and hit the “who, what, where, and when” in the first paragraph.  In the following paragraphs, include information about the troupe, like how long you've been together, and the answer to this question: "What makes your show different from all the other shows out there?"  Note I said different, not better. Do you have a unique gender make-up?  Do you have a unique show theme or twist?  Are you the longest running show?  If you don’t know the answer to this, you have bigger problems than not having a press release -- you should know the answer to this before you schedule your first show.  Keep all the writing positive, don't deride other groups or forms in the hope that you'll be controversial and get more attention, you won't.

Don’t be afraid to subtly suggest articles, for instance, “The Spolin Theater, no longer just an idle eyesore downtown, comes alive with the opening of the Wacky Wampeters.” or something that might connect with other sections, “Football season may be over, but couch potatoes throughout the Quad State area can trade their armchairs for theater seats and catch the latest Theater Sports match.”

It's also important that you include a contact name, number, and email address on the press release, at the top, in bold print.  The number should be one that a human being can be reached during normal business hours.  If the has a question about anything, and is under a deadline, that can make a difference as to how the review or article is written.

History and Mission Statement

On a second sheet, you should have the troupe’s history and mission statement.  Here, you answer the following questions.  When did you start?  Why did you start, what makes your show different from every other show?  (Yes, you answer this in the press release as well.  Here, you can go into greater detail.)  What are you trying to accomplish with your show?  Laughs?  Social change?  Elevation of the art?  Many reviewers review content with the show’s intent in mind, if you can make that intent as clear as possible, you give her a great angle for her review or article.

Give the show’s format.  If short form, give the names of the games, and the basic rules.  If long form, explain the structure, if you have one.  Don’t write fluff here, just to fill a page.  If you can answer the questions above in a few lines, fine. 

Troupe Bios

On another sheet, have the troupe’s individual bios.  These are serious bios, not the comedic ones you might have in your program.  Each should list credits, and if that’s too short, theater education.  A smart thing that you can do is include thumbnail pictures next to each person’s bio.  This is tremendously helpful to a reviewer, so they can quickly connect a name to a face.  Also, if there’s a change of cast that evening, this is the place to note it – it’s fine to handwrite such a change, but if Joe isn’t in the show that evening, you have to let your reviewer know that.

Photos

Bare minimum, you should have one photo including all members of the troupe.  On the back, have a label with a caption listing who’s who.  Even better is the troupe shot along with action photos (again captioned).  Papers will almost always choose an action shot over a group shot.  Include a few if you can, the more photos the paper can choose from, the better your chances of getting it printed.  Black and white is best, but color is good for websites.  Make sure that they are photos, not xerox copies or lithographs – neither scan well, and you want the photo to be printed with the review.  Individual members’ headshots are fine to include, (sans stapled resume) especially if you weren’t able to put their thumbnails on the bio page.  Realize though, that these won’t likely be reproduced in print, and they’re not cheap for the actors, so if you’ve covered your bases, don’t include them.

Packaging

Remember, it’s the message, not the medium.  A neat folder, or even a large envelope with your logo on the front is all you need to hold your press kit.  Don’t spend a lot of money on the package, spend your time and effort on providing all the information the reviewer needs in an efficient way.

What not to include:

Know the difference between a press kit and a booking or industry (agent) kit.  Booking and industry kits will have reviews by other reviewers, and sales material you use to secure bookings.  It’s not going to have a negative effect, but this kind of material is unnecessary and often goes right in the trash.  Save a little money, and give the writer the impression you’re that much more media savvy.

Digital press kits

It can be very helpful if you include a digital (or electronic) version of your press kit. 

Real cheap and easy:  Take the press  release, the bio sheet and the history sheet and put them on a floppy disk.  Make sure the text files are saved as .rtf (rich text format) files, not Word or WordPerfect files.  Almost every word processing program on every platform can read .rtf files.  I say this as a devoted WordPerfect user, don’t assume everyone uses Word!!!

Better, but a little pricier: Have the files above, and the scanned photos, burned onto a CD.

Also, if you can, have your digital press kit on your web site as a single, self-extracting zip file.  This can make it very convenient for a writer, and might even attract one who just was sniffing around your website.  Go to www.pkware.com to see some shareware that can help you zip up these files.  (IR takes no responsibility for using software from this or any other site.)

A digital press kit cannot replace the physical one!!!  The reviewer wants to see some of this information right before the show.

Get your kit prepared now, before you know a reviewer is coming.  It will take longer than you think, and doing an interview or having a reviewer come is stressful enough, why add to that by having to harangue the folks at the photo shop who lost your negatives?  And have three kits ready at all times – positive thinking can be powerful!

A good press kit will not get you a good review, but it make the reviewers job easier, and that goes a long way toward getting the best review you can.

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