Broadway League's Biennial Conference

Charlie Flateman

The Broadway League Biennial Leadership Conference was held at the end of February with a packed attendance and an equally packed agenda of speakers covering broad topics affecting our industry.

Almost every presenter spoke of the changes were seeing around us, shifts in the US economy and those of other nations; changes in the way companies and employees view the workplace and work itself; how people become aware of, and consume arts and culture; and of course, the enormous demographic and social shift after the pandemic.

One new concept affecting Broadway and theatre-going that got a lot of attention at the conference, and has continued in many conversations, thereafter, is the idea of “Threshold Fear.” It’s a simple notion, everyone has felt it, but we didn’t have an easy-to-understand name to describe it.

​Simply put, Threshold Fear is when someone is worried that they won’t fit it or won’t know the “rules” when they do a new thing like going to a Broadway show for the first time.
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An easy example of Threshold Fear that’s not in our theatre world is joining a gym: Lots of people are nervous about starting a gym membership, thinking, “everyone will be super-fit there except for me” or “when I sign up, I’ll never be able to cancel my membership” or “I don’t know how to use the equipment and I’m afraid I’ll look silly.” All these notions rattling around people’s heads are what prevents them from doing the thing they know they really want to do.

​Lots of people feel Threshold Fear about going to a Broadway show – “how early do I need to get there, how am I supposed to dress, what if my child can’t sit still, what if we can’t find a place to eat nearby” … and on and on and on.

We’re attracting plenty of new audiences to Broadway – and it’s critical that we continue to do so. As we’re bringing those new audiences to our theatres, it’s important to think of just how welcoming we can for all the Broadway newbies and remember that once we get them past the Threshold, they’re probably going to have the time of their lives.