Presenter(s)

• Max Evjen - Academic Specialist @ Michigan State University
• Scott Magelssen
• Amanda Dearolph - Collection Information Specialist @ Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Though we are “post-pandemic”, museum digital professionals are still shouldering the weight of increased expectations for engaging visitors through digital “infotainment”. But are museum professionals ready for that if they don’t have training in theatrical skills?  Should museum professionals look to theatre for strategies for successful audience engagement? Why, or why not? This professional forum will be a highly active session. Four professionals with experience in both theatre and museums (Amanda Dearolph, Max Evjen, Alli Hartley-Kong, Scott Magelssen) will introduce themselves briefly, then lead four concurrent facilitated discussions around four provocative prompts designed to elicit knowledge production around the need for theatrical skills in digital museum practice.

Possible Prompts:

Entertainment is a dirty word in my museum, what could theatre offer me?
I’m in the backend of museums, do I need these skills?
What are the particular tools/skill sets that theatre people can bring to museums (and vice versa?)
Theatre and Museums need/do not need each other
I’m one person/super small team, what could theatre do for me?
I’m a retired theatre kid, and I have skills, let me share them!

Discussion leaders will share back with all attendees the notes and what was discussed, and will collect the notes after the conference to write up the results of the discussion and publish them in an open and accessible platform (possibly: Medium, AAM Alliance Lab Blog, etc.). This ensures that the knowledge shared and produced at the conference has a life after the conference is over.