AMERICAN THEATRE: JCA Performing Arts has released a new study on Trends in Audience Behavior: Elections, Shadow Audiences & Hidden Treasures. The results show a performing arts sector that has still not returned to pre-pandemic revenue levels, but with some intriguing and promising bright spots.
2 comments:
I have recently become very interested in how much of the population actually goes to theatre and what the demographics look like for those that do attend. I continue to repeat the statistics that scares me and it is “80 percent of the population does not attend theatre every year” and while I think the article is overall positive I think it leaves out that information. I also think that the graph is misleading and just does not make sense. I do not understand what it is trying to present. If it is about ticket buyers and the only options are returning buyers and new buyers why do they not all equal 100 percent? I appreciate someone trying to be positive but I do not think this presents information well. I do think it is probably true that audiences are growing again but I do not think it is at that rate or that all of the information is true and I would be curious to compare it to other data.
The ways of the audience member scares me because all I can think about is how most people don’t view theatre as something worthwhile to watch anymore and if something is not selling enough seats, it closes. Regardless of whether or not a show has an exceptional cast, exceptional design, exceptional directing, if the box office is not churning out numbers and the seats are not filling up, then the show is gone. So the fact that this new audience behavior study is showing promising signs about audiences and how seats are filling back up, I remain skeptical that this is a trend that will continue because so many people do not go see theatre regularly. While I hope and pray that this trend will continue, I feel like the majority of people will go see one show on Broadway and call it a day. Something to check off their bucket list so to say.
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