March 13, 2006
New Copace course in audience development, event planning and promotion
Worcester, Mass. - This fall, Clark University will offer a new graduate course in entertainment and sports promotion and audience development. The course, Audience Development, Event Planning, and Promotion, will be offered through Clark's College of Professional and Continuing Education (COPACE) and is available to anyone with a bachelor's degree or students in the Master of Science in Professional Communications (MSPC) or Master of Arts in Public Administration (MPA) degree programs.
This course is designed for those engaged in, or just entering the field of marketing and promotion of entertainment and sports. It highlights the process of identifying and building audiences, seeking business sponsorships and other collaborative marketing efforts, preparing promotional budgets, and effectively handling media relations and community relations. The principles presented are applicable both for organizations presenting a season of performances or sports events and for those presenting one-time shows, sports events, or fund raising benefit events. Periodic guest lecturers will provide added perspective on these planning and promotional issues.
Audience Development, Event Planning, and Promotion is devised and taught by adjunct faculty member Susan L. Smith, who has been providing academic supervision of selected graduate internships at Clark since 2002. She is best known in the region as a co-founder of the non-profit Equity Professional Theatre Company, Worcester Foothills Theatre, serving as its associate producer and director of Public Relations and Marketing for 25 years, from 1974-1999. Since her retirement from that leadership position, she has been providing consulting services in audience development to non-profits, performing arts organizations, and individual artists.
For more information about the course, contact Susan L. Smith at bluepumpkinprod@verizon.net
mailto:bluepumpkinprod@verizon.netor 508-757-1472. For information on enrollment
and admission, contact Max Hess, Director, Graduate Programs, COPACE, 508-793-7212
or mhess@clarku.edu.