The Times they are a changing

There is something to be said for the Cellar Dwellers' marketing and advertising practices. Perhaps those words would be "gorilla tactics" or "grassroots effort" or maybe even "word of mouth." And then there is something to be said for the Beaver County Times' treatment of the Cellar Dwellers' effort. Unfortunately, those words are a little too inappropriate for me to type on this very blog.

Anyone who lives in Beaver County knows the Times' reputation for poor reporting, a strong reliance on AP news stories, a strong liberal slant, and a lot of typos. You don't need me to complain about that. And that's not to say that they don't have good people working for them. Dave Smith is an exemplary entertainment writer, and at one point in time they had John Dessler, one of my inspirations for choosing graphic design. However, they have managed to give the Cellar Dwellers the good ol' one, two, screw at some point for almost every one of our shows for the past few months. It's at the point now, where I recommend that our fans NOT look for our shows in there because the listing is going to be wrong regardless.

Two weeks ago, we were doing an all-improv show at Thursdays Restaurant in Bridgewater. I am the guy in charge of making the fliers, press releases, and other promotional material for the group. I always make sure the press releases are perfect, and that there is no way to confuse our location, show dates or times. And yet, somehow the BCT thought we were at Dockers doing improv. We've never, in our troupe's seven year history, done a show at Dockers. But I guess that's better than nothing. Sometimes they just don't print a press release I send them, even when it's on time.

And of course I call them and let them know they are wrong every chance I get. And yet, there isn't too much we can do, since it's a free service they, and all newspapers, provide. We just have to take what we can get.

It was their screw-up today that has sent me over the edge. Learning that they can barely understand press releases printed clearly in either Courier New or Times New Roman, I faxed them the Godzillas and Generals release TWICE, both times well before the deadline for this weekend's issue. And yet somehow, through some mysterious voodoo curse or insistence on using "copy & paste" methods, they have managed to screw the Cellar Dwellers yet again. Because fresh in today's Weekender, under the comedy section (I also insist on us being placed in the Theater Section but comedy is fine too... as long as we don't wind up under Etc.), it clearly says that our show is SATURDAY, aka TOMORROW. It also says that it's scene-based improv. I just have one web-jargon abbreviation to use right now: WTF. Apparently, the BCT's A.D.H.D. has gotten the best of them again, and they just make these insane mistakes without even knowing it.

The Beaver County Times has a responsibility to their readers, advertisers, and the Arts in Beaver County to get these listings correct the first time around. No amount of "corrections" the day after will fill the seats. And for the Dwellers, the BCT is the best way for us to really get the word out about our shows. This isn't to say that you should totally ignore what they print, because 70% of the time its probably right. But I insist that if you see a Dweller listing, you check out the website, or look for a flier, or just go and find out. Our fliers and website are always correct. If you want something done right, you do it yourself. But it's apparent that when you have to rely on others, you only get what you want when you are a paying customer.

I guess they won't get it right until we finally make the cover of the weekender. Of course, as long as there are Emmy award nominations, we don't stand a chance. Seeya tonight at the show.