Wednesday, August 16, 2006

The Young and the Theater

There's been some interesting conversations on the lack of "young" (for the sake of argument we'll call young under 30) theatergoers lately that I'd like to examine. Some time ago I posted about Broadway Demographics report in which it gives the average age of 43 years old.

Personally, I feel that theater is being viewed as just another entertainment venue by the young, and I see it as a trend that will continue. So for the theater to appeal to younger patrons I think it will need to re-invent both it's image and the way it talks to it's audience.

So Issac on his blog gave an example of a friend of his that was under 30, and had been exposed to the theater as a youngster, yet still wasn't into going to the theater.

The conversation got picked up by Playgoer, That Elusive Young Audience, and Young Audiences follow-up which has some really insightful thoughts on the subject.

Also related is this great post that gives a perspective on a program that encourages young professionals to support the Arts.

Technorati tags: Hudson valley theater

1 comment:

Steve On Broadway (SOB) said...

It probably doesn't help that top ticket prices for Broadway shows have soared over the past five years. Shortly after The Producers opened, $100 tickets became the norm, although "premium seats" for the best shows now run anywhere from $250-$300 per ticket.

For non-profit theatre, cutbacks in funding have resulted in the need to recoup initial investment by increasing ticket prices.

I agree that there are so many forms of entertainment out there for today's young adults -- many more options than I ever had. In an era where young adults are less likely to watch free network television, there has to be a compelling reason for them to shell-out hard-earned dollars to attend theatre.

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