Drawing a younger crowd: a new era of arts audiences

Seated theatre patrons eagerly await the start of Inland Empire Theatre's 'Annie' production in June 2019. (Photo by Collin Pittmann)

I turned off my cell phone, as I always do, just before the pre show announcement. This was not only proper theatre etiquette but a routine task for me, an active theatre goer all my life. After reading the playbill front to back, I had nothing better to do than look around at other theatre goers. Many were seen with a glass of wine, chatting with colleagues they had ran into. Others hurriedly made their way to their seats as the house lights bumped. Actually, hurriedly may not be the best descriptor. At this particular performance, a regional production of ​Hello Dolly!,​ I had a substantial realization. Nearly every single individual in the theatre was over the age of 55. In fact, I at 16, appeared to be one of the youngest people in the audience. While it was something I noticed unconsciously all of my life, I had never thought about or put it together. Surely, having been in theatre from the time I was 5, I should have thought about this by now, right? And yet, I had not. Theatre’s association with seniors was as familiar a pair to me as peanut butter and jelly. You don’t think about or question why peanut butter and jelly go together, it is simply the way things are. The same was true for me when it came to theatre and seniors. However, this performance was unique in the fact that it was the first time I began to notice this correlation and wonder why it existed.

Since that production, I always make an effort to look around the house before each show I see and take note of the audience demographics. Time and time again, that correlation I made in 2015 rings true. In fact, I experienced it first hand when I started a nonprofit children’s theatre in 2017. At Inland Empire Theatre’s inaugural production of ​Willy Wonka KIDS,​ we sold over 400 tickets between our two performances. As I greeted patrons in the lobby, I couldn’t help but notice that the majority were at least the age of my grandparents (70+). Therefore, I wasn't shocked to find that out of the 400 tickets sold, nearly 280 of them were ages 55+. Don’t get me wrong, I have a deep respect and appreciation for the support of seniors in our community. Without them, our organization would cease to exist. However, it troubled me to not see my own age group represented at the production. Unfortunately, this is the case for most arts organizations across the country. Executive Artistic Director of Spokane Valley Summer Theatre in Spokane, WA, Yvonne Johnson, says the organization’s average age patron is 50+ years old. This is a frightening statistic to a future theatre administrator like myself. What will happen to arts organizations when this group of seniors is no longer with us? Johnson assures me, “there will always be old people.” Nonetheless, rising generational cohorts are not consuming arts to the extent of generations before them. Arts organizations can no longer sustain themselves from senior audiences alone. Younger generations yield untapped potential for arts organizations seeking to meet the demands of an ever changing society.

When considering the different factors that draw older audiences and younger audiences, it is important to first consider the experiences and characteristics of each generational cohort. Each generation shares historical, social, and political experiences. In addition, each has a shared economic environment and exposure to similar media/communication technology. Older generations such as Traditionalists and Baby Boomers experienced very different technological advances and historical events from those of younger generations (Generations X, Y, & Z). For example, now age 74+, Traditionalists are generally politically conservative, patriotic, and frugal with their finances. These characteristics stem directly from Traditionalists’ shared experiences such as being born in the years of the Great Depression and in or before World Wars I and II. In fact, many Traditionalists served in the wars. Baby Boomers, on the other hand, are the direct kids of Traditionalists and were born in the great economic years after World War II. They are known to be more economically affluent, politically inclined, and open to feminism/other forms of equality. Baby Boomers make up the majority of patrons in arts organizations today. Given that they are more economically affluent, this only makes sense. The generations to follow, however, do not share that same characteristic. The kids of Baby Boomers, Generation Xers began to realize the “unrealizable” American dream due to crushing student loans,rising cost of living, etc. They, therefore, have less disposable income than their parents to become avid visitors of arts organizations. Generations to follow, such as Generations Y and Z, carry an even heavier financial weight with recent recessions and student loan debt. In fact, many will never be able to fully pay off their education while in their careers. Still, many arts organizations ask “Why aren’t we attracting younger audiences?”

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer or method to attracting younger audiences. If it were easy, arts organizations would already be doing it and I, therefore, would not be writing on the issue. There are a plethora of factors that keep younger audiences from attending art organizations. Perhaps most notably is the cost of attendance. Arts organizations aren’t the only ones facing tough times economically. As I previously noted, millennials in today’s world carry a substantial financial burden with crippling student loans and skyrocketing housing costs. This leaves little disposable income when it comes to attending and supporting arts organizations. In a study conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) titled ​When the Going Gets Tough,​ 38.3% of interested non-attendees of the arts list cost as the number one barrier for attendance. In the DFW Metroplex, a student rush ticket to a theatre production will cost you between $15-20 on average. The same price range applies to attend most area museums and dance recitals. Think you wanna go to the symphony? Typically, that will come with an even heftier price tag. Keep in mind these productions, exhibits, recitals and concerts only consist of about two hours of content. This means it costs approximately $10 per hour to attend an arts organization as a student. If you’re not a student, attending the arts will cost you even more.

For younger adults with children, childcare costs will make you reconsider that night out. Considering that a Netflix subscription costs $8.99 per month and includes unlimited hours of content viewing, it is clear as to why young people may choose the latter. Not to mention that they can do so from the comfort of their own home. This is not to say that Netflix and arts organizations are in direct competition of one another, but all things must be considered when it comes to the time and budgets of young people. Arts organizations are still relevant and have something special to offer young audiences, they just need a different approach. Every arts organization should have heavily discounted tickets for young people - students in particular. An organization might say, “We can’t afford to offer many discounted tickets to young people because those tickets don’t cover our expenses.” There are two options: 1) offer discounted tickets to young people and get butts in seats or 2) continue charging young people full price and not tapping into that audience at all. Something is better than nothing! Young people love paying for things at a tangible, attainable rate. Amazon, Disney +, Netflix, and many other corporations across the entertainment industry have caught on to this idea and charge users a monthly fee for their use. Why should arts organizations be any different? I am far more likely to pay $8.99 per month for a Netflix subscription than I am $158 upfront for season tickets to a regional theatre. This is because $8.99 per month sounds much less daunting and more attainable. I propose that arts organizations implement a “Under 40 Club” in which young people can subscribe to via a monthly membership. The membership may include things such as unlimited access to the organization’s events in that month, exclusive events such as meet and greets with the director and or curator, and refreshments. Of course, the arts organization would have to identify what perks they could offer to their members and how much the monthly membership would cost. However, it is important to note the more the membership costs, the more people that will be turned away.

A second major factor keeping younger audiences from attending arts organizations is the lack of immersive experience. Gone are the days in which an arts organization can get by with offering patrons a seat and expensive popcorn; it is now about the full experience. Younger audiences need a sense of participation to stay engaged. They live in a digital world in which technology and, therefore, continuous interactivity and engagement are a constant. Arts organizations must recognize what they are up against when it comes to attracting the attention of young people. Interactive video games, social media, digital networking, and unlimited access to information all dominate the world of millenials. Somehow, arts organizations have to find their place in that ever growing, technological world. Our society is increasingly moving from a “sit-back-and-be-told culture” to a “making-and-doing culture.” The James Irvine Foundation explains this phenomena in a research piece titled ​Getting In On the Act​. The research explains there are two types of arts consumption - Receptive and Participatory. Receptive consumption has been the societal norm for decades. Examples of receptive arts consumption would be viewing a theatrical production and attending a talk back after said production. In this form of consumption, audiences engage in the “sit-back-and-be-told culture” mentioned above. On the other hand, participatory consumption entails just that - participating. One example of this is the ​Mystery of Edwin Drood,​ in which the audience decides the murderer of the show each evening. Participatory involvement could also entail audience participation in the season selection process of a theatre company. As you can imagine, participatory audience involvement attracts and engages young audiences much more than receptive involvement. Receptive involvement/spectating is often seen as dull and or boring to young audiences. They. Need. More. Several months ago, a non-theatre loving peer was excited to tell me about a production of ​Once ​the musical she had recently saw. She mentioned that one of her favorite parts of the experience wasn’t even the show itself, but that there was an open bar on stage before the show. Patrons could stroll around the stage, get a drink or two, look around at the set, and slowly make their way to their seats before the show. “It was so cool! I’d never seen anything like that at a show before!” she said. In the months since, I have noticed that many of my other college aged peers have attended ​Once​ - mostly because of the open bar experience on stage. Knowing this, I was not surprised to read Eventbrite’s study ​The Art of Attraction ​which found that 58% of millennials prefer arts events that serve alcohol. Millennials also love food; 66% prefer arts events that serve food. The same study found that millennials are looking for unique, new experiences. 29% would go to more arts events if they took place in unique or unexpected venues. In addition, millennials love to dress up! 35% would prefer to attend arts events that are more formal. What’s the point of dressing up if you don’t document it? Most millennials feel that if you didn’t capture it in a photo, it didn’t happen. Arts organizations should create designated areas for taking photos; whether it be a backdrop with the org’s logo or a photo booth. There is no doubt that millennials are a whole new animal when it comes to arts attendees. Arts organizations must work diligently to cater to their needs if they want to survive.

Most would agree that out of the 4 Ps of marketing, product is most important. In the article titled ​The Marketing Process​, Wilder suggests there are 6 Ps to marketing; Product, Publics, Price, Place, Production, and Promotion. Even ranked among the 6 Ps, Wilder agrees product is most important. For an arts organization, product can include a wide range of things depending on the type and scope of the organization. I will draw upon theatre for my examples, as it is the art form I am most familiar with. In theatre, the product is the production itself. It is important to analyze what kind of shows/product a theatre organization is producing. Is the org. producing Golden Age musicals like a never ending buffet at Golden Corral? You can only have so much before it gets old. Particularly when it comes to young audiences, season/show selection is vital. Sadly, theatre organizations too often produce seasons with little to no appeal for younger audiences. Much of this has to do with the fact that managers of arts organizations today (those taking the lead on season selection) are predominantly older white males - not young people. It would be in the best interest of an arts organization, regardless of art form, to create a youth advisory council. This council would provide a young voice at the table and help theatre administrators identify what young people in their community want to see. If an arts organization is smart, they will select a variety of shows in a season that appeal to a wide range of interests. This may include a Golden Age musical the organization knows will go over well with older patrons and then a modern pop musical in the same season to appeal to younger audiences. One thing is clear, audiences young and old are attracted to familiar titles. Executive Artistic Director Yvonne A.K. Johnson says, “At all the theatres I’ve managed, musicals always sell more than plays.” She notes that musicals often have connections to television, movies, and touring productions - increasing familiarity for patrons and making them feel as though they belong. During Johnson’s tenure as Executive Artistic Director of Spokane Civic Theatre, she made it a priority to create seasons with many familiar titles. Arts organizations should take note, as Johnson led the theatre out of a several hundred thousand dollar deficit when she was first hired to over $1.1 million in annual revenue. To top it off, she did so in under three years. Johnson is a firm believer that at the end of the day it isn’t about what we as art curators want to produce, it is about what the public wants to see. This idea perfectly aligns with the ever growing business model that arts organizations are adopting. Johnson credits familiar titles to much of the organization’s growth in such a short period of time. However, the issue that arises is that familiar titles are different for the varying generations. My grandparents grew up with the story of orphan Annie and, therefore, love attending the musical at every chance they can. Younger generations did not and are not growing up learning the story of orphan Annie to the same extent of previous generations. This was made very clear to me in 2019 when I directed a children’s production of ​Annie Jr.​ for underserved youth in my community. On the first day of rehearsals, I sat with the cast around a large table to discuss the story of the show. I began by asking, “Who all knows the story of orphan Annie?”. Out of the 40 cast members, one girl raised her hand. If I had directed this production 30-40 years ago, I have a strong feeling this would not have been the case. With this in mind, theatre organizations should create seasons with a wide range of shows. For example, an organization could open a season with a beloved family classic such as ​Cinderella​ that they know will go over well with older patrons. The same organization could close the season with a production such as Sister Act​ - an upbeat crowd pleaser with a strong message, fun music, and modern humor that would go over well with younger audiences. A theme is a great way to tie a wide range of shows together that may otherwise seem like an odd collection. In the season example above, for example, the theme could be the “Season of the Woman.” A theme should be well thought out and is often best if decided on prior to selecting shows for the season. The theme can be advertised in all promotional materials and may in turn attract particular groups. In a “Season of the Woman” for example, women’s groups in the area may be interested in taking their members to a production(s).

A fourth factor keeping younger audiences from attending arts organizations has to do with marketing approaches. As it stands today, arts organizations spend the majority of their marketing budgets on print and traditional media. This may seem a bit lost in time considering technology and social media are growing faster than ever. An online presence is everything when it comes to event discovery for millennials. Eventbrite’s study The Art of Attraction​ found that approximately 86% of millennials discover arts events through some form of online platform. Social media tops that list at 48%, with online ads a distant second at 28%. It is not surprising, however, that arts organizations would still spend the majority of their marketing budgets on traditional media. Older event-goers, who have been the primary patrons of arts organizations for decades, are far more likely to discover arts events via traditional media. While 48% of millennials discover arts events via social media, the percentage is only 24% for older event-goers. As you can imagine, the opposite statistics are true for offline sources. Print media, for example, is how 63% of older event-goers discover arts events. Print media is about half as likely to catch the attention of millennials for arts events - 33%. Whether strong or not, a social media presence is better than none at all. In fact, the same Eventbrite study found that roughly 20% of millennials would stay clear of arts events whose organizations don’t have a Facebook or Twitter page. Millennials were also found to be 39% less likely to attend an arts event if it didn’t let them purchase tickets online. In this technological age, everyone's a critic. Arts organizations can use this to their advantage! Millennials have stunning statistics when it comes to engagement before and after an arts event. For example, 40% of millennials post on social media that they will be attending an arts event before the event occurs. 45% also post online following the event, whether that be pictures from their experience, status updates, or even reviews. If you can get the attendance of millennials just once, they are likely to stay engaged. 21% will take a class related to the event afterwards, such as a dance class after attending the organization’s ballet. Arts organizations should create something as simple as a Facebook event for each concert, production, or exhibit they produce. Social media is a wonderful way to advertise. On the posted event, people can state whether or not they are interested and or plan to go. They can even share it with their friends. Best of all, it’s free. Organizations should also implement a robust social media plan. The plan should include several social media takeovers by artists and others heavily involved in the organization. The plan should also set a goal of reaching a certain number of followers, likes, etc. for each platform by a set date. The marketing team should not be the only ones spearheading these efforts. Organizations should ask board members, artists, past visitors, etc. to invite friends to like their social media pages and help grow their online presence. The results can be substantial. For example, if just one enthusiastic visitor shares the organization’s Facebook page, all of his or her friends see the page in turn. Even if those people don’t directly “like” or follow the page, the organization has gotten free name exposure at the very least.

At the rate millennials are flocking to Denver, CO, you’d think it was the California Gold Rush. Currently, they make up the largest age group in the city. Yet, the average subscriber at the Denver Center Theatre Company (DCTC) is 63 years old and the average single-ticket buyer is approximately 50 years old. DCTC staffers fully recognize this trend and have been working to evaluate and reverse it. The company recently created “Off-Center”, an experimental extension of the company, seeking to attract the millennial audiences they were lacking. DCTC gave a small $100,000 sliver of it’s $65 million dollar budget to the company and encouraged experimentation. Off-Center wasted no time in beginning its experiments. One of the first things the company did was produce small performances based on millennial preferences. These preferences were identified by a young advisory council. Many of the small performances drew enthusiastic, young crowds, but others left audiences confused. The company took what they learned and applied it to a large scale, $800,000 production of ​Sweet & Lucky.​ The production​ e​ ntailed an audience of 72 walking through an elaborate, multi-room set. Staffers knew from research that younger audiences wanted to socialize before and after a show. There was one small problem - there weren’t any bars or restaurants near the theatre venue. So, the company built their own bar in order to provide the full “night out” experience that young audiences wanted. The payoff of creating this full experience was well worth it- all 89 performances sold out. While the production didn’t cover its costs, it achieved its main goal of attracting younger audiences. The average patron to ​Sweet & Lucky​ was around 40 years old, more than 12 years younger than the average visitor at DCTC. In addition, 35% of the audience was younger than 34 years old. Considering the history of audiences at the company, this was a tremendous success. Off-Center continued to learn and grow from each experience and production they produced. In 2017, their learning was put to the test with an immersive production of ​The Wild Party.​ For starters, the production took place not in a typical theatrical venue, but rather a 10,000-square-foot former airplane hangar. Patrons arrived to find not auditorium seating, but rather benches, sofas, stools, etc. The cast made their way around the room, engaging in casual banter with audience members and inviting people to dance. In addition, guests were invited to dress in 1920s costumes, further immersing them in the world of the show. The audience members didn’t just watch the production, they ​became​ the party guests within the show. The production was a success with most performances sold out. If there was one major takeaway from all of these productions produced by Off-Center, it was that even though people wanted an immersive environment, they also wanted a strong narrative. Luckily, ​The Wild Party ​offered both. Off-Center truly threw a wild party - the very kind millennials like. Despite the various barriers I have discussed in this essay, millennials love art. They feel as though arts events give them a chance to socialize with friends, do something different, expand horizons, and learn from new experiences. These are unique things arts organizations can offer compared to other forms of entertainment. Dallas Center Theatre Company’s “Off-Center” is a wonderful example of an organization implementing many of the solutions I have suggested in this essay.

Millennials are unlike any other generation that have come before them. Therefore, arts organizations must rethink their approaches and experiences more than ever before. With a growth mindset, strong social media presence, emphasis on experience, thoughtful season/title selection, and discounts for young people, arts organizations can attract millennials like never before. These methods will also ensure that younger audiences are engaged for years to come. While a new era of arts audiences is upon us, one thing will remain- the arts will continue to bind us in our humanity and explore the creativity in all of us.