Review by Oliver Chamberlain of the book Expanding the Audience for the Performing Arts [NEA Research Division report n. 24, Washington, DC: National Endowment for the Arts, Seven Locks Press, 1991, 56 p.].

This little book is packed with information and close reasoning. The author presents a model, named the Performing Arts Adoption Process (PAAP) adapted from other models in the social sciences, that describes six stages of audience interest and attendance at the performing arts. The basis for analysis and discussion of the PAAP is the data from the NEA Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) administered in 1982. The final sample size used here was 2,607 respondents.

The premise of the PAAP models is that becoming involved in the arts involves not just one step but rather a progression through multiple stages including interest, trial, positive evaluation, adoption and confirmation. The first stage described in the model, disinterest, would seem to hold little hope for efficiently moving the respondent to the levels of interest and beyond. The other five stages are described and analyzed, and projected strategies are offered to increase numbers of audience members who fall into these categories.

Expanding the Audience for the Performing Arts is a valuable resource. It outlines important initial steps toward defining a new research model to help arts managers to better understand and reach new audiences effectively. It is to be hoped that this volume will bring forward additional research and development of the PAAP model and other models as well.

This little book is packed with information and close reasoning. The author presents a model, named the Performing Arts Adoption Process (PAAP) adapted from other models in the social sciences, that describes six stages of audience interest and attendance at the performing arts.