1. ARCHIVING THE PROJECT
   Ensure the project remains findable by adding it to past projects with updated framing text. Close elements requiring ongoing maintenance, or if parts of the project will continue (e.g. a foyer installation or longer-term digital feature), transition them to a new team with a dedicated budget. Create content (images, audio, video, or articles) to document what happened.‍
2. CELEBRATING THE END
   A theatre show has a curtain call, hybrid projects should also mark their conclusion. Bring together audiences, artists, and partners through a final event, whether in-person, online, or via a targeted communications campaign.‍
3. CAPTURING & EVALUATING
   Document key assets, video, screenshots, photography, and audience insights, to inform future work and provide valuable materials for communications and fundraising teams.
4. ‍SUSTAINING AUDIENCE RELATIONSHIPS
   Design a communications strategy to transition project audiences into long-term engagement. Define and identify the groups within your audience (e.g. young people from outreach programs, active participants, live audiences, online viewers) and create tailored follow-up messages. Determine when and how to integrate them into existing communication channels for future engagement.

• Has everything been closed, transformed, or handed over?
  Have all ongoing elements been archived, decommissioned, or reassigned to a new team with the necessary support?‍
• What have we learned?
  What worked well, what should be avoided in the future, and what new ideas, approaches, or partnerships have emerged?‍
• How do we communicate the project’s impact?
  How can we tailor the story of this multi-faceted project for different audiences, including funders, partners, and the public?‍
• How do we sustain relationships?
  ‍What strategies will transition project-specific audiences, collaborators, and stakeholders into long-term connections?

Resisting closure

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Volume of documentation

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Audience data

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Lost expertise
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• Resisting closure
  ‍It’s tempting to keep hybrid projects running indefinitely, but without maintenance, digital infrastructure deteriorates. Build archiving into the budget and ensure any elements worth keeping are formally transferred to a responsible team.

• Too much or too little documentation
  ‍Capturing interactive, ephemeral experiences is difficult. A skilled editor with time to shape materials into compelling narratives is essential. Marketing, PR, and development teams can help maximise the impact of archived content.

• Managing audience data legally
  ‍If collecting emails or user data for future engagement, ensure compliance with GDPR and relevant regulations before adding audiences to long-term communications.

• Losing expertise when the project ends
  Key learnings and digital skills often leave with a project. Formal knowledge-sharing and investing in internal talent development will make future hybrid projects easier, faster, and more effective.

1. Plan a meaningful end
2. Archive strategy
3. Build future audience engagement
4. Invest in knowledge sharing
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• Plan a proper ending and make it meaningful
  ‍Hybrid projects deserve a thoughtful close, just like a final bow on stage. Mark the end with a moment of celebration that brings audiences, partners, and artists together, and leaves a lasting impression.

• Archive intentionally, not as an afterthought
  Digital work disappears fast if left untended. Build archiving into your workflow and budget, and decide what’s worth keeping, what needs decommissioning, and what requires ongoing care with a clear owner and resources in place.

• Build the bridge to future relationships
  Use this phase to shift project-specific audiences into longer-term engagement. Identify who they are, what they responded to, and how they can be welcomed into your wider work through tailored follow-up and comms strategies.

• Embed learning and don’t let it walk out the door
  When the project team disperses, knowledge often goes with them. Invest time in structured knowledge-sharing and internal capacity-building to ensure the insights and digital skills stay within the organisation.

• OPERATIONS
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  Phase 1
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  ‍Operations in phase 1 are relatively ‘light’. However due to the involvement of so many voices clear communication, clear decision-making and strong project management is key. Having a dedicated project manager or designated project lead, with responsibility for the project, is essential.
  
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  ‍Phase 3:
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  Project Management
  During Production, the theatre and digital elements follow distinct workflows but must remain creatively aligned. This is where the project management and communication structures established in Pre-Production (Phase 2) become essential. Regular "show and tell" sessions keep all the teams connected, offering an opportunity to share progress, ask questions, and refine the work in response to each other. These moments aren’t just updates; they’re opportunities to ensure the live and digital strands remain in dialogue, reinforcing a unified artistic vision.
  
  Decision-making
  Key decision-making moments arise throughout production, but their timing usually differs between live and digital work. Digital production requires early commitments to design and structure, while theatre rehearsals allow for more fluid changes. Misalignment can cause delays or unintended consequences - cutting a scene, for instance, may disrupt a linked digital element, while a shift in a digital project might impact marketing plans.
  
  To keep the project on track, establish clear communication channels, a shared timeline, and a structured process for managing changes. A change control process should include the following steps:
  
  1. Defining the issue and the required change
  2. Assessing its impact on people, budget, and timelines
  3. Consulting the affected teams
  4. Agreeing on a course of action
  5. Communicating the decision(s) to all the relevant people
  6. Implementing the change
  
  Capacity must also be considered in these decision-making moments. If the director or production manager is deep in rehearsals, authority should be delegated - whether to the artistic director, dramaturg, assistant director, or a trusted external collaborator. These delegation structures should be decided upon and clearly communicated before these decision-making moments arise. Decisions will often be need to be made relatively swiftly.
  
  
  ‍Phase 4:
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  Effective operations in this phase balance audience input, project adaptation, communication, and measurement - all in constant dialogue. How audiences are interacting with the digital elements should inform both creative decisions and marketing strategies. Sharing real-time insights with the communications team allows for responsive messaging and audience engagement. Regular, focused check-ins keep everyone aligned.
  
  Digital tracking and monitoring can be extensive or light touch. Decide what data matters to you, the specifics will vary from project to project. For example, is it important for you to understand audience demographics (who is engaging with the work) or user behavior (where do people drop off, get stuck, or re-engage)? The ways in which you track and measure this will depend on how your project works.
  
  A data-driven approach can help you to refine the experience, but iteration must be planned and budgeted for. Define a clear endpoint because continuous adjustments can lead to endless refinements. Setting a fixed number of iterations ensures the project reaches a strong, finished state and ensures there is clarity about how much can be done.

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• MONEY
  
  Phase 1
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  Resource allocation and/or fundraising is key in any project. During the ideation stage the ambition and scale of the project is decided.
  
  Having external advisors and bringing a technical partner on board as early as possible will help theatres and theatre companies understand ballpark figures, likely expenses and to help identify any ideas that are too expensive or impractical, or will help you refine your ideas to something that is more feasible.
  
  When partners are identified and collaboration considered, transparent and early conversations about resources, timelines, non-negotiables, and IP are key.
  
  Hybrid projects often involve multiple collaborators across artistic, technical, and operational domains, making intellectual property (IP) a crucial consideration.
  
  Key questions to address early:
  
  • Who owns the artistic content? Define ownership of scripts, performances, designs, and other creative assets.
  • Who owns the digital elements? Websites, apps, and interactive experiences may involve external developers and designers - discuss and establish licensing and access rights.
  • What are the usage rights? Clarify whether partners have ongoing rights to use, adapt, or commercialise aspects of the project.
  • How will archiving and future access be managed? Hybrid projects have digital longevity - ensure agreements cover long-term hosting, updates, and takedown policies.
  
  Common IP models include:
  
  1. Full ownership by the cultural organisation - All elements are retained by the organisation, with external contributors working on a commission basis.
  
  2. Joint ownership - Multiple parties share IP, requiring clear agreements on how it can be used and monetised.
  
  3. Licensing agreements - One party owns the core assets while others have usage rights for a defined period or scope.
  
  It can be helpful to engage legal or IP specialists early to avoid conflicts and ensure clarity in contracts.
  
  
  Phase 3
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  By the production phase, top-line budget allocation should already be in place, but hybrid projects require a larger-than-usual contingency. With more variables and unknowns than traditional productions, especially if you are undertaking this type of work for the first time, flexibility in funding ensures the project can adapt to discoveries and challenges without compromising artistic or technical quality.
  
  Commonly overlooked costs:
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  • Audience testing - Staffing, venue costs, and participant compensation for feedback sessions.
  • Ongoing digital costs - Beyond initial commissioning, digital elements require a plan for hosting, maintenance, and security.
  • Archiving and long-term access - Define when and how the digital work transitions into an archival state to avoid unexpected upkeep costs.
  
  Planning for these costs from the outset prevents last-minute compromises and ensures the digital and live components remain fully functional, accessible, and secure throughout their lifespan.
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• AUDIENCES
  
  Phase 1
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  • Define your audience early - Are you targeting existing theatre-goers, arts audiences, local communities, younger demographics, or those new to theatre?
  • Audience shapes the work - Your target group will influence both your creative choices and the technologies you use. There is lots of research available on digital habits across demographics.
  • Be specific - No project is for ‘everyone,’ especially in digital spaces. Being clear about your audience focus leads to stronger, more meaningful engagement.
  
  
  Phase 3
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  Hybrid projects should be accessible by design, ensuring both physical and digital experiences have been designed thoughtfully to remove barriers to participation.
  
  The Netherlands alone has more than two million people with disabilities, and making work genuinely inclusive means considering their needs from the start not as an afterthought. For projects involving children and young people, additional safeguards apply, including privacy and data protection laws such as GDPR, the EU Digital Services Act, and the UK’s Online Safety Bill.
  
  A user-centred approach doesn’t just improve accessibility, it also generates valuable audience insights that can inform future programming and communications.
  
  Digital platforms provide opportunities to engage audiences throughout the creative process, much like open rehearsals do for live work. Behind-the-scenes content, testing phases, and digital experiments have their own audience and can be a powerful tool for building long-term engagement. Providing opt-in mechanisms (such as mailing lists or community platforms) ensures these audiences stay connected beyond a single project.
  
  Marketing
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  Marketing isn’t just about announcing a production - it’s about shaping how audiences discover, engage with and experience the work. In a hybrid project, this requires an integrated approach that connects live and digital elements into a seamless audience journey.
  
  Marketing teams should be involved from the outset, not just at the launch. Early collaboration allows them to identify and shape compelling narratives, assets, and access points that will resonate with different audiences. Rather than treating marketing as a post-production task, think of it as an integral part of audience experience design.
  
  Hybrid projects produce a rich pool of content, from design sketches and rehearsal footage to digital prototypes and audience interactions. These materials should be used strategically, not just to promote, but to invite participation and deepen engagement.
  
  A well-planned audience strategy for hybrid projects might include:
  
  • Targeted digital outreach - Reaching new audiences based on thematic or cultural interests, not just existing theatre-goers.
  • Opt-in pathways - Encouraging sign-ups for updates, exclusive content, or live/digital invitations.
  • Influencer partnerships - Collaborating with artists, cultural commentators, or digital creators to expand reach.
  • User-generated content (UGC) - Encouraging audiences to share their own responses, fostering interaction beyond passive viewership.
  
  For digital elements, audience experience must be intentionally designed. A content designer or digital producer can help map out how people navigate between live and digital touchpoints, ensuring a seamless and engaging journey.
  
  Success isn’t just about ticket sales or views, it’s about sustaining meaningful audience relationships before, during, and after the experience. An integrated, audience-first approach ensures hybrid projects make a lasting impact, not just a fleeting impression.
  
  Phase 4
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  Digital experiences offer many formats for audience engagement. This offers opportunities to deepen the dialogue with your audiences. To give then space to play and make and respond to the show and/or its themes. That deepening of the relationship and expansion of way the work of the company shows up in their lives is one of the most important reasons to undertake this work.
  
  The relationship between a theatre building and its audiences is quite straightforward: a show is staged, the word is spread through brochures, email newsletters, mailshots, social media, adverts and word of mouth, people buy tickets, they sit through the show, they leave.
  
  Digital experiences offer many formats for audience engagement. This offers opportunities to deepen the dialogue with your audiences. To give then space to play and make and respond to the show and/or its themes. That deepening of the relationship and expansion of way the work of the company shows up in their lives is one of the most important reasons to undertake this work.
  
  The relationship between a theatre building and its audiences is quite straightforward: a show is staged, the word is spread through brochures, email newsletters, mailshots, social media, adverts and word of mouth, people buy tickets, they sit through the show, they leave.
  
  Technology creates its own possible accessibility and its own barriers. Some digital work can be easily accessed on smartphones, some need high bandwidth, some experiences are location based and require travel, some special equipment. Different technologies will attract some demographics while excluding others and this needs to be thought through carefully at all stages.