For convenience, I’ll mark the beginning with ACT’s membership program. For that program, early signs are good.

After that, I don’t know the chronological order, and I don’t know a complete list of the experiments. I just know what has fallen in my lap. But here’s what’s on my tiny little radar:

• In New York, Stolen Chair Theatre Company is half way through their first year of Community Supported Theatre.
• In Chicago, New Leaf Theatre took a leap toward developing a new “partnership” model—a sort of uber-membership.
• In Baltimore, fast-growing Single Carrot Theatre is preparing to offer a new membership option for next season.
• In North Carolina, Scott Walters is refining a community membership model for Cradle Arts.
• In Seattle and New York, video crews from OnTheBoards.tv are recording performances, and making them available for unlimited streaming for 50 bucks a year.
• Over in the world of music, Magnatune switches to a no-limits membership business. Because it earns them more money.

Whether live or online, all these arts orgs are making bets on larger, long-term, often indivisible value propositions.

I am really, really curious to see how this all shakes out.

I’m also pretty sure I’m gonna rent this one and see how it goes.

Edited to add: Super interesting: listen to this MP3 interview with the creator of OnTheBoards.tv describing how they’ve built it. Especially note how they had to work around current IP laws to make this happen.

Edited again to add: No really, listen to the interview with Lane Czaplinski. It’s intelligent and fascinating. It’s clear he knows what he’s building, and why, and how it fits into the larger picture. This is definitely one to keep an eye on.