Struggling Arts Groups Turn to Programming Changes, New Ticketing Policies
PND - Struggling Arts Groups Turn to Programming Changes, New Ticketing Policies
Faced with funding cutbacks and a sluggish economy, arts
and cultural groups are employing a range of strategies
to stay on their feet — from discounting ticket prices
and scaling back performances to suspending operations
altogether, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Among those groups forced to trim their programming, the
Brooklyn Museum of Art
closed its doors for two weeks in August and canceled some
exhibits, the Boston Ballet
cut twenty performances, and the Saint Paul Chamber
Orchestra replaced a planned
three-act opera with a one-act event. Other groups have
had to sacrifice artistic daring for fiscal common sense.
The Lyric Opera of Chicago,
for example, dropped an unknown opera by Berlioz in favor
of a Gilbert and Sullivan crowd pleaser. "You can't have
artistic integrity without financial integrity," said the
company's general director, William Mason.
In spite of such difficulties, arts and cultural groups
are doing what they can to keep their patrons happy —
and attendance up. The University of Texas at Austin's
Performing Arts Center has
lowered its ticket prices and is bringing in big-name
acts in hopes of attracting larger audiences, while Cal
Performances at the
University of California at Berkeley allows ticket holders
to exchange tickets for other performances for a small fee.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., the Woolly Mammoth Theatre
Company has introduced a
three-play package that comes with a half-off coupon for
a friend. "We have to make sure we're reaching out to more
people, not fewer," said Abby Fenton, the company's
development director.
Higgens, Michelle.
“When the Show Doesn't Go On.”
Wall Street Journal
8/27/03.
Primary Subject: Arts and Culture
Location(s): Boston, Chicago, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, San Antonio, St. Paul, Texas, Washington, D.C.
FC006038
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