
It just became easier for audiences to connect to theaters in their community.
If you recently visited the OC Theatre Guild’s website, you would have noticed the homepage received a revamp last week. Website surfers are now greeted by a ‘What’s Playing in OCTG Theaters’ section in which visitors can find two months’ worth of upcoming shows.
In 2019, the OC Theatre Guild organized as an official not-for-profit 501(c)3 with the mission to nurture, support and promote live theatre in Greater Orange County. The three largest initiatives of the guild currently include the OCTG Theatre Awards Program, the Regional Auditions and the Program Inserts. The website update is an extension of the latter program.
What is a Program Insert?
The OC Theatre Guild’s program inserts allow member organizations to cross promote their shows. From an audience member’s perspective, they often take the form of a half-sheet print out included in a participating organization’s show program.
Beginning in 2019, the program inserts were one of the first initiatives launched by the guild. The design and layout has gone through many revisions since, but the basics remain the same. Each insert sheet lets audiences know what will be hitting the stage for the following two months.
Any active OCTG organizational member can opt into the program by including the inserts in their programs, and submitting their show info to the guild’s program insert team. If you have any questions about participating in the program, please email board@octheatreguild.org

The Pilot Program
In July 2023, the inserts expanded beyond physical print outs when the guild began to include it in their blog articles, email campaigns and social media posts. With the relative success of making that change, including the inserts on the homepage emerges as a natural progression of the program.
Currently, the ‘What’s Playing’ section on the homepage is an experiment. The guild will need to monitor its popularity and ensure that it’s a good use of resources. That being said, hopes are high that this will be an effective asset to the community for general audiences and member organizations.
Guild volunteers are excited to receive feedback. “Even if we don’t receive specific feedback from individuals, we’ll be able to track the effectiveness of this pilot program through the use of our website analytics. Increased traffic to our homepage would be an encouraging sign,” said Kristin Coyne, one of the guild’s website managers.
This program is one of several expansions the OCTG Board of Directors hopes to enact this year.
If you’re interested in finding out more, the guild is hosting a Membership Meeting on February 22nd from 11:00am to 12:30pm at Costa Mesa Playhouse. Unlike other membership meetings, this one is open to the public.
In addition to discussing the future of the guild, the guild will be celebrating all 2024 productions and announcing the nomination recipients for the OCTG Theatre Awards.
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