Trivia Night as a Community Building Activity: Why We’re Producing “Golden Girls vs. Designing Women”

We’re kicking into high gear for another busy summer season of trivia team building and corporate entertainment events, particularly summer associate and intern bonding activities in NYC . However, we also have some exciting public trivia nights which we are looking forward to producing as well, including next week’s one-of-a-kind Golden Girls vs. Designing Women trivia night at Brooklyn’s Bell House performance venue!

When comedians Eliot Glazer & H. Alan Scott first approached me with this idea, I didn’t know what to make of it. I mean, I loved The Golden Girls as much as anybody, and vaguely remember Designing Women as making me laugh (admittedly, while flipping through for something else- probably Golden Girls).  At both our public and private TrivWorks events, we deliberately include questions from dozens of movies and TV shows, to add as much diversity as possible; would a trivia night surrounding just two specific shows really fly?

Apparently, it will – among a very specific audience of very dedicated enthusiasts. As Eliot & H. Alan brought me up to speed, I learned that New York City is home to a passionate base of hardcore fans of both shows, particularly among the gay and lesbian community. Aside from a handful of offerings throughout the year, this core following is relegated to small meetups and watching clips on YouTube to engage with others who share their enthusiasm for the shows. Would TrivWorks, they asked, be interested in working with them to create a truly special public event for a very specific audience, timed to coincide with Brooklyn’s biggest gay pride celebration?

My immediate response, of course, was yes!

In previous writings about why a NYC corporate team building company is producing public trivia nights in the first place, I’ve touched upon several aspects of customized trivia events which I feel make them particularly effective for both private and public groups: positive shared experiences, competitive environment, and the interactive nature of the events to name a few. However, as we discovered over the past year through our great experiment with large-scale “premium” themed public trivia nights, there is another benefit which these events have to offer, and that is one of fostering community.

Living in New York City as we do, I often think of Harvard professor Robert Putnam’s landmark book Bowling Alone – especially when out in public or riding on the subway. With the help of technology, people have become so good at isolating themselves – first with television, then with the Internet, followed by Ipods, smartphones and now tablet devices – that we really have lost touch with what it means to be in a community in the traditional sense of the word. As Putnam puts it, no longer are we joining bowling leagues or doing things “together,” since we don’t have to – heck, we can plug in and tune out from home, updating Facebook and sending tweets while firing off text messages and Emails, engaging way, WAY more people at one then ever before.

But just not in person.

In today’s digital world, there truly is something to be said for live experiences which are shared by passionate enthusiasts. Concert goers know this, as do those who attend the ballet, opera, sporting games or a host of other activities. The rules of attendance may have changed – we are now expected, even encouraged to “share” our experiences in real-time with our digital followers – however, the core experience of doing what you love, surrounded by others who do as well, remains the same, and is still quite powerful.

It is in the spirit of this sense of shared experience that we are producing “Golden Girls vs. Designing Women.” While all of our public events thus far have been held with a broad audience in mind – NYC pop culture trivia, for example, or our 90s-themed events – this is the first time we are planning an event with a hyper-specific theme, and targeting a very specific group of enthusiasts.

So back to the original question: Why are we doing this?

Because I know firsthand just how powerful well-run trivia nights can be for building community; because an audience of passionate, underserved enthusiasts all under one roof presents an opportunity to create a uniquely fun and memorable event; because it took me about 10 seconds with Eliot & H. Alan to realize that the gay and lesbian community was yearning for a live event such as this, and that I could help.

Next Thursday, June 7th, we will be putting on an event which anyone who loves either The Golden Girls or Designing Women will love, one in which you are guaranteed to meet others who do as well!

Please secure your tickets now and join us – we hope to see you there!