Case Study: Olympia Family Theater

Mainstage Magic

Olympia Family Theater (OFT) is the premier venue in Olympia Washington for family-oriented live theater. Created in 2006, the innovative and home-grown theater has continued to grow and thrive, engaging thousands

of families in the South Sound region each year. While being a theater for all ages, OFT focuses on families and youth in grades K-12 with educational programs that primarily serve K-12 youth. To date, OFT has produced more than 60 Mainstage productions while offering ongoing programs, including after-school classes and break camps for K-12 youth on topics ranging from acting to puppetry, to backstage theater.

Disrupted by Covid-19, the theater fully reopened in March 2022 under the helm of new Artistic Director Lily Raabe and Deputy Director Kate Arvin.

Live Theater Loyalty

Customer loyalty is deeply important at OFT, which aims
to be a space in which young people can grow up. “As we consider our programs, we think about how we can engage both the littles and our teenagers through thoughtful storytelling that is both magical and intellectually stimulating. It is not uncommon to see a young person in our space who has been with us through grade school,” Raabe says.

“Our most loyal community members tend to wear multiple hats at OFT — often purchasing tickets, but also auditioning for shows, helping out backstage, painting sets and much more. We consider it a huge success that when people walk through our doors many of them decide they want

to stay and engage in deeper ways — that’s how we know we’re really doing our job! That’s also how we ensure that our community thrives and that we continue to grow our mission and impact,” Raabe says.

Go Downtown App in Olympia

Olympia Family Theater became a customer of SnowShoe in 2021, during the pandemic, when they joined with the Olympia Downtown Alliance’s launch of the new Go Downtown application along with 270 other stores in the Olympia area.

The Go Downtown mobile app is a Spark Stamp powered experience that showcases local businesses, builds loyalty in regular audience members, and encourages patrons to come downtown and experience all that Olympia has to offer. In the future, OFT is considering use of additional Spark-powered systems for theater loyalty points, events, and theater ticketing.