QUEENSLAND PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE ANNUAL REPORT ...

Public Participation
Deliver arts, entertainment and enrichment for every person of every age, every day.
2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT
QPAC focuses on maximising public participation as part of its strategy to deliver the best in arts, entertainment and
enrichment for a wide audience. QPAC defi nes participation as the active connection and involvement with people, ideas and
experiences.
To attract and maximise public participation, QPAC identifi ed priorities around recognition, visitor experience, and audience
engagement, the vibrancy of the South Bank precinct, cultural diversity and learning.
Recognition
QPAC is increasingly recognised in the Asia Pacifi c region as a leading performance arts centre passionate about collaboration,
creativity and innovation. QPAC’s operations are underpinned by a belief in the essential value of performing arts as well as
the broader contribution art makes to cities and societies. QPAC supports participation in the arts and engagement in creative
processes as a means of promoting learning, well being, civic participation and social inclusion. QPAC’s programs produce
social, educational and cultural benefi ts for the state as well as contributing to the increasing recognition of Brisbane as a
cultural tourism destination.
This year QPAC further consolidated this reputation by attracting over one million visitors, a fi rst for QPAC, presenting
companies and artists from around the world and partnering with an eclectic mix of emerging and established artists, major
commercial producers, small companies and collectives. QPAC staff are recognised as industry specialists and are consistently
sought out to offer advice and training and to present at conference and forums. QPAC CEO John Kotzas presented a keynote
speech at the World Theatre Forum in Beijing.
Visitor experience
QPAC’s commitment to audiences extends beyond the experience inside the theatre to include all aspects of the public’s
interactions with the Centre. QPAC recognises that part of the theatre experience comes from education and information before
the show, what the patron experiences on the stage and during their visit as well as ongoing conversations with our guests
after a performance to complete a holistic review and maintain a commitment to continuous improvement of our services.
Patron Services are committed to deliver exceptional customer service which is responsible for a major part of the visitor’s
experience at the Centre. After purchasing tickets, the Patron Services team are the fi rst and last touch points that patrons
interact with at QPAC.
Patron Services team include Front of House staff, merchandise sellers, First Aid and Stage Door offi cers, QPAC Museum
gallery attendants, chefs, kitchen hands, Café, Bistro, Restaurant and Playhouse Café attendants, bar attendants across the
Centre’s eight bars and Green Room attendants.
Integration with the QPAC website continues to improve with the majority of sales now coming from the website where people
are able to choose their own seat and are given a photo of the view from certain sections of the theatre. The QPAC website also
offers integration in booking
The combined Front of House and Food and Beverage team comprises approximately 300 casual staff. During the season
of Mary Poppins in 2012 patron services rostered around 830 front of house shifts and 565 food and beverage shifts each
fortnight to ensure QPAC’s operational needs and the needs of our guests were anticipated and not only met but exceeded.
New and existing audiences
QPAC has continued to expand engagement with audiences in 2011-12. Website traffi c has increased over 22% since 2010-11
with the majority of bookings for performances (78%) coming from the website. QPAC launched a mobile site in September
2011 in recognition of the huge increase in people accessing information from smart phones and tablets. The QPAC website
and Facebook pages have been enabled to accept patron reviews that allow our audience to directly post reviews and generate
discussion around performances, often faster than reviews are available through newspapers and magazines. The ‘My Account’
feature on the QPAC website allows patrons to view upcoming and past events, reprint their print@home tickets and view their
booking details and booking confi rmation. Social network sharing has also been enabled for upcoming events.
The number of patrons who connect with QPAC via social media has increased over 2011-12 with the QPAC Facebook
page now having over 20,000 fans. Twitter followers have increased 50% on last year’s total. Social media allows QPAC to
interact in a more immediate way than a traditional website does and patrons can provide instant feedback and engage in
conversations more readily.
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