P.O. Box 46
Highland lake, NY 12743
+1 (302) 271-7999
Tim@FeedTheGuppies.org
Who we are
Founded by Emmy Award winning actor, Timothy Busfield, Feed The Guppies, Inc. is an organization dedicated to serving professional theatre to students nationwide, as part of the schools annual curriculum.. This will grow the nations theatre audiences, groom new playwrights, and develop young actors.
Like Minor League Baseball, we will be offering a path to many college graduates who have no clear path for work. Most theatre graduates move to New York City or Hollywood in a roll of the dice, with no agent, no job, and no connections. Feed The Guppies will offer those recent graduates with a year of paid work, all while serving students and teachers alike by some of the most talented young performers in America..
40 theatre companies launched simultaneously across America reaching 200,000 students a week, 36 weeks a year for an annual total of 7 million students each year.
Our Mission
Feed The Guppies
Proposed by Timothy Busfield
The fix for the decline of Performing Arts in America, is have professionals take their art to our schools.
Symphonies, ballet, opera and theatre companies are closing nationwide or struggling to survive because of a lack of confidence in the economy and in audience growth.
Funding, audience participation and support for the Performing Arts in education are at an all time low. America needs artists, audiences and donors to keep the river flowing. By making professional theatre,dance and music part of our Nation’s K-12 curricula, we will build and ensure our audience for the next millennia.
What are we doing wrong?
Our youth are not experiencing the highest quality Performing Arts as they do professional sports, moviesand TV. Our young adult audiences are choosing almost any form of entertainment, but live theatre, ballet, symphony and opera.
Why? They simply don’t trust them because most Americans have never experienced professional Arts.
If the only theatre a young audience member experiences before the age of 18 is an amatuer production of Annie, that runs 4 hours with students or non professional performers, they may choose to never return.
However, if that same audience consistently experiences professional theatre, dance, and music as part oftheir educational curricula from the age of 5, they will not only grow to trust plays, ballets, symphonies and operas, they will support them forever.
What has been the formula for Arts support in America?
For decades we have asked our Arts organizations in America to operate mostly from contributed income instead of earned income. Since 1965, The National Endowment For The Arts has been our agency for the protection of Arts in America.The NEA encourages Arts organizations to operate under the following template:
Earned income 40.7%
Foundations 9.5%
Corporations 8.4%
Individuals 20.3% Contributed income 44.9%
Estimates are based on an analysis of 2006-2010 data from the Urban Institute’s National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Economic Census. Various other data sources were also used where estimates were missing or for validation.
Consensus: America’s arts organizations are collapsing nationwide because funding from a Federal Government with a $1 Trillion dollar deficit is volatile and the largest demographic for performing arts is over 50 years old.
Why are we struggling to provide our schools with professional Performing Arts?
The union for stage actors in America is Actor’s Equity Association. Their goal is a living wage for all actors. This is admirable and important, especially for those with families and a bit older. But touring schools is a young person’s game at 12 performances a week. A rigorous load and unload at each school on top of the energy it takes to hold an audience of 400 children for 50 minutes. We would propose a minimum wage first year and a profit sharing model in the subsequent years, if they make the team.
The Fix:
Two things must happen:
- We need to inspire our youth to appreciate and support the Arts.
- We need to run this organization like a business. Not solely a charity. We need to be responsible to growth and financial success.
One way to do both is to borrow from the Major League Baseball template and create a minor league franchise that is responsible for arts in education. America does not have a minor league Performing Artssystem that helps develop, season, and allow our young actors, singers and dancers to grow. Most of the nation’s strongest young actors are coming out of college at a loss. With questions such as;
“Do I go to NY, LA or Chicago and roll the dice with no professional experience?” “Do I take an apprenticeship at one of the regional theatres in America cleaning bathrooms and striking sets with no guarantee of work?”
“Do I do community theatre for no pay and maybe return to school and get a degree to become a teacher of theatre?”
What better place for our nation’s best young talent than a nine month tour to schools? In addition to entertaining our audiences with high quality performances they will also give young audiences the exciting knowledge that there is a path to the big leagues of Performing Arts (Broadway, The NYC Ballet, Movies, TV,etc). Imagine a chance to see a twenty two year-old Meryl Streep, Mikhail Baryshnikov, or Luciano Pavarotti every year.
The Proof:
In 1986 I created a corporation named Theatre For Children, Inc. in Sacramento, California. The plan was to was to tour to K-12 schools, doing twelve performances a week, using AEA actors. Sacramento was chosen as the home base because there was no professional, year-round theatre and no professional Arts in the schools. There is also a large population of young people within a 150 miles radius.
Since 1986 Theatre For Children, Inc. has averaged a young audience of 150,000 per year. In 1992, as a companion to the young audience tour, The B Street Theatre (220 seats) was created, adding another50,000 adult audience members. And in 2002, The B Street Family series was launched in the new, adjacent B2 space (110 seats). The adult patrons of the B Street Theatre were able to bring their children and grandchildren to enjoy the Arts with them.
Now in 2025, Theatre For Children, Inc. has blossomed into one of America’s most prized arts organizations., The Sofia Arts Complex was launched in 2016 in downtown Sacramento to match our audience’s growth. The Sofia is a $32,000,000 Arts complex with multiple spaces for live performances of theatre, music, dance and most importantly school tours/field trips. It continues to reach more than 150,000 students a year in the schools and on our stages.
We believe this enormously successful prototype of outreach to schools with professional artists, then give them a place to continue to support, is the only real fix for our dwindling Performing Arts audiences. If they don’t experience it, they won’t know it. More importantly, they won’t trust it.
So what do we do now?
For $40,000,000 we will launch forty professional Performing Arts companies in America. We will set up residences in cities that reach almost all of our country’s children with professional, live, Performing Arts.Then, within five years, we will build to actual venues for young and older audiences to attend,while still continuing to tour the schools and increase future audiences.
To do this we will offer minimum wage salaries and housing provided by local supporters. We will offer an opportunity for young actors to bridge the gap between amatuer theatre and Broadway, TV, and movies.
Where does the money go?
Not all $40,000,000 is allocated at once. Unlike the NEA, who will only fund an Arts group that has proven their viability for two years, a tiered distribution system will be provided to each Arts group from start up through their first several years. This will ensure continual growth during their first decade. After ten years,most Arts groups will have earned the confidence and support of the community and will need less and less support.
There will be one umbrella organization running all forty companies. Each arts group will be like a minor baseball team attached to the MLB (Major League Baseball, Inc.). One national Executive Director/Producing Director, with key staff and a board of directors/advisory board that will supervise the growth and success of all forty companies. There will be three productions produced annually, written by the likes of Lin Manuel Miranda or Aaron Sorkin.
Annual audition will take place in the Spring of each year at regional venues across America. From those auditions we’ll pick and place our actors into the 40 cities of Feed The Guppies..
Projected cities:
1. Wichita, Kansas
Population: 388,033Rent Average: $736.00Schools
Wichita: 98 public schools, 30 private schools and 12 post-secondary schoolsNewton (27 miles): 9 public schools, 4 private schoolsTopeka (139 miles): 51 public schools, 15 private schools and 7 post-secondary schoolsManhattan (130 miles): 10 public schools, 2 private schools and 5 post-secondary schoolsSalina (89 miles): 15 public schools, 4 private schools and 4 post-secondary schools
2. Columbia, Missouri (State Capitol)
- Population: 117,165
- Rent Average: $803.00
- Schools
- Columbia: 35 public schools, 10 private schools and 5 post-secondary schools
- Kansas City (125 miles): 166 public schools, 53 private schools and 30 post-secondary schools
- St. Louis (124 miles): 244 public schools, 151 private schools and 39 post-secondary schools
- Independence (118 miles): 37 public schools, 9 private schools and 2 post-secondary schools
- Lee’s Summit (124 miles): 25 public schools, n/a private schools
- Logan, Utah
- Population: 49,539
- Rent Average: $668.00
- Schools
- Logan: 15 public schools, 1 private schools and 6 post-secondary schools
- Salt Lake City (82 miles): 110 public schools, 35 private schools and 19 post-secondary schools
- Brigham City (29 miles): 12 public schools
- Ogden (47.6 miles): 67 public schools, 8 private schools and 4 post-secondary schools
- San Diego, California
- Population: 1,374,812
- Rent Average: $1,427.00
- Schools
- San Diego: 211 public schools, 99 private schools and 62 post-secondary schools
- El Centro (113 miles): 19 public schools, 3 private schools and 2 post-secondary schools
- Riverside (98 miles): 90 public schools, 40 private schools and 12 post-secondary schools
- Temecula (58 miles): 21 public schools, 14 private schools and 3 post-secondary schools
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Population: 1,555,324
- Rent Average: $914.00
- Schools
- Phoenix: 434 public schools, 77 private schools and 42 post-secondary schools
- Tucson (113 miles): 289 public schools, 72 private schools and 21 post-secondary schools
- Mesa (19 miles): 137 public schools, 18 private schools and 10 post-secondary schools
- Chandler (30 miles): 56 public schools, 10 private schools and 5 post-secondary schools
- Glendale (10 miles): 77 public schools, 13 private schools and 9 post-secondary schools
- Theatre: https://www.arizonatheatre.org/
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Population: 556,859
- Rent Average: $816
- Schools
- Albuquerque: 143 public schools, 66 private schools and 22 post-secondary schools
- Rio Rancho (17 miles): 13 public schools and 2 private schools
- Santa Fe (64 miles): 38 public schools, 29 private schools and 6 Austin,
Texaspost-secondary schools
- Farmington (182 miles): 23 public schools, 11 private schools and 1 post-secondary schools
- Waco, Texas
- Population: 130,659
- Rent Average: $770.00
- Schools
- Waco: 84 public schools, 12 private schools and 4 post-secondary schools
- Austin (102 miles): 195 public schools, 49 private schools and 30 post-secondary schools
- Fort Worth (89 miles): 189 public schools, 46 private schools and 18 post-secondary schools
- Arlington (98 miles): 85 public schools, 21 private schools and 10 post-secondary schools
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Population: 228,694
- Rent Average: $797
- Schools
- Baton Rouge: 103 public schools, 50 private schools and 25 post-secondary schools
- New Orleans (82 miles): 139 public schools, 74 private schools and 24 post-secondary schools
- Lafayette (56 miles): 29 public schools, 19 private schools and 11 post-secondary schools
- Lake Charles (127 miles): 36 public schools, 11 private schools and 5 post-secondary schools
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Population: 212,424
- Rent Average: $744.00
- Schools
- Birmingham: 120 public schools, 59 private schools and 16 post-secondary schools
- Montgomery (93 miles): 59 public schools, 32 private schools and 13 post-secondary schools
- Huntsville (102 miles): 55 public schools, 27 private schools and 9 post-secondary schools
- Auburn (109 miles): 10 public schools and 3 private schools
- Crossville, Tennessee
- Population: 11,308
- Rent Average: $607.00
- Schools
- Crossville: 7 public schools, 5 private schools and 2 post-secondary schools
- Nashville (114 miles): 102 public schools, 43 private schools and 36 post-secondary schools
- Knoxville (70 miles): 75 public schools, 37 private schools and 12 post-secondary schools
- Chattanooga (85 miles): 48 public schools, 29 private schools and 10 post-secondary schools
- Greensboro, North Carolina
- Population: 282,177
- Rent Average: $787.00
- Schools
- Greensboro: 66 public schools, 21 private schools and 11 post-secondary schools
- Charlotte (92 miles): 126 public schools, 58 private schools and 23 post-secondary schools
- Raleigh (77 miles): 79 public schools, 36 private schools and 12 post-secondary schools
- Fayetteville (98 miles): 67 public schools, 23 private schools and 6 post-secondary schools
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Population: 30,106
- Rent Average: $824.00
- Schools
- Myrtle Beach: 18 public schools, 6 private schools and 2 post-secondary schools
- Charleston (95 miles): 38 public schools, 26 private schools and 11 post-secondary schools
- Florence (68 miles): 19 public schools, 16 private schools and 2 post-secondary schools
- Summerville (101 miles): 13 public schools and 12 private schools
- Lexington, Kentucky
- Population: 311,529
- Rent Average: $793.00
- Schools
- Lexington: 63 public schools, n/a private schools and 13 post-secondary schools
- Louisville (78 miles): 162 public schools, 98 private schools and 27 post-secondary schools
- Frankfort (26 miles): 16 public schools, 5 private schools and 2 post-secondary schools
- Elizabethtown (85 miles): 11 public schools, 5 private schools and 5 post-secondary schools
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Population: 621,000
- Rent Average: $974.00
- Schools
- Baltimore: 315 public schools, 173 private schools and 28 post-secondary schools
- Frederick (50 milse): 26 public schools, 14 private schools and 5 post-secondary schools
- Annapolis (32 miles): 18 public schools, 19 private schools and 4 post-secondary schools
- Rockville (40 miles): 34 public schools, 27 private schools and 6 post-secondary schools
- Theatre: http://everymantheatre.org/
- Lansing, Michigan (State Capitol)
- Population: 114,773
- Rent Average: $763.00
- Schools
- Lansing: 59 public schools, 12 private schools and 4 post-secondary schools
- Detroit (91 miles): 336 public schools, 64 private schools and 19 post-secondary schools
- Grand Rapids (68 miles): 152 public schools, 43 private schools and 15 post-secondary schools
- Flint (57 miles): 76 public schools, 16 private schools and 10 post-secondary schools
- Manchester, New Hampshire
- Population: 110,231
- Rent Average: $1,029
- Schools
- Manchester: 23 public schools, 22 private schools and 7 post-secondary schools
- Boston (53 miles): 68 public schools, 22 private schools and 53 post-secondary schools
- Springfield, MA (126 miles): 51 public schools, 15 private schools and 8 post-secondary schools
- Worcester, MA (75 miles): 53 public schools, 20 private schools and 14 post-secondary schools
- Concord (18 miles): 11 public schools, 8 private schools and 5 post-secondary schools
- Nashua (20 miles): 18 public schools, 17 private schools and 4 post-secondary schools
- Youngstown, Ohio
- Population: 65,161
- Rent Average: $619.00
- Schools
- Youngstown: 55 public schools, 14 private schools and 8 post-secondary schools
- Cleveland (75 miles): 174 public schools, 56 private schools and 34 post-secondary schools
- Akron (51 miles): 99 public schools, 27 private schools and 9 post-secondary schools
- Zanesville (146 miles): 25 public schools, 7 private schools and 3 post-secondary schools
- Schools
- Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Population: 260,954
- Rent Average: $681.00
- Schools
- Fort Wayne: 84 public schools, 38 private schools and 15 post-secondary schools
- Indianapolis (126 miles): 216 public schools, 104 private schools and 29 post-secondary schools
- South Bend (91 miles): 42 public schools, 29 private schools and 6 post-secondary schools
- Elkhart (70 miles): 30 public schools, 8 private schools and 2 post-secondary schools
- Omaha, Nebraska
- Population: 443,072
- Rent Average: $819.00
- Schools
- Omaha: 149 public schools, 59 private schools and 21 post-secondary schools
- Lincoln (59 miles): 73 public schools, 25 private schools and 10 post-secondary schools
- Grand Island (150 miles): 24 public schools, 6 private schools and 4 post-secondary schools
- Norfolk (119 miles): 21 public schools, 7 private schools and 2 post-secondary schools
- Boise, Idaho
- Population: 218,677
- Rent Average: $834.00
- Schools
- Boise: 46 public schools and 23 private schools
- Twin Falls (135 miles): 15 public schools, 6 private schools and 2 post-secondary schools
- Nampa (21 miles): 26 public schools, 5 private schools and 3 post-secondary schools
- Meridian (11 miles): 20 public schools, 2 private schools and 1 post-secondary schools
- Eugene, Oregon
- Population: 161,649
- Rent Average: $921.00
- Schools:
- Eugene: 64 public schools, 21 private schools and 6 post-secondary schools
- Portland (112 miles): 171 public schools, 88 private schools and 33 post-secondary schools
- Salem (66 miles): 62 public schools, 28 private schools and 7 post-secondary schools
- Bend (130 miles): 22 public schools, 8 private schools and 2 post-secondary schools
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Population: 613,295
- Rent Average: $985.00
- Schools
- Las Vegas: 209 public schools, 65 private schools and 30 post-secondary schools
- Henderson (16 miles): 33 public schools, 10 private schools and 9 post-secondary schools
- Laughlin (98 miles): 2 public schools
- Mesquite (82 miles): 3 public schools
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- Population: 197,640
- Rent Average: $803.00
- Schools
- Little Rock: 64 public schools, 28 private schools and 16 post-secondary schools
- Hot Springs (55 miles): 16 public schools, 7 private schools and 3 post-secondary schools
- Jonesboro (132 miles): 23 public schools, 5 private schools and 2 post-secondary schools
- Conway (33 miles): 14 public schools, 3 private schools and 5 post-secondary schools
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Population: 157,251
- Rent Average: $1,120.00
- Schools
- Fort Collins: 46 public schools, 15 private schools and 9 post-secondary schools
- Denver (65 miles): 174 public schools, 76 private schools and 36 post-secondary schools
- Boulder (66 miles): 33 public schools, 18 private schools and 6 post-secondary schools
- Aurora (71 miles): 81 public schools, 20 private schools and 12 post-secondary schools
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Population: 620,015
- Rent Average: $793.00
- Schools
- Oklahoma City: 170 public schools, 32 private schools and 30 post-secondary schools
- Tulsa (106 miles): 100 public schools, 38 private schools and 28 post-secondary schools
- Norman (20 miles): 27 public schools, 10 private schools and 5 post-secondary schools
- Lawton (87 miles): 37 public schools, 3 private schools and 5 post-secondary schools
- Lubbock, Texas
- Population: 244,507
- Rent Average: $854.00
- Schools
- Lubbock: 72 public schools, 9 private schools and 8 post-secondary schools
- Amarillo (124 miles): 68 public schools, 11 private schools and 3 post-secondary schools
- Midland (130 miles): 42 public schools, 11 private schools and 3 post-secondary schools
- Plainview (47 miles): 13 public schools, 1 private schools and 1 post-secondary schools
- Oshkosh, Wisconsin
- Population: 66,713
- Rent Average: $671.00
- Schools
- Oshkosh: 30 public schools, 10 private schools and 2 post-secondary schools
- Madison (89 miles): 56 public schools, 23 private schools and 14 post-secondary schools
- Milwaukee (88 miles): 251 public schools, 140 private schools and 25 post-secondary schools
- Green Bay (53 miles): 51 public schools, 28 private schools and 5 post-secondary schools
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Population: 299,231.00
- Rent Average: $1,231.00
- Schools
- Anchorage: 85 public schools, 20 private schools and 4 post-secondary schools
- Wasilla (43 miles): 12 public schools, 2 private schools and 1 post-secondary schools
- Seward (127 miles): 4 public schools and 1 post-secondary schools
- Palmer (43 miles): 17 public schools, 3 private schools
- Fargo, North Dakota
- Population: 115,950
- Rent Average: $727.00
- Schools
- Fargo: 24 public schools, 7 private schools and 7 post-secondary schools
- Grand Forks (81 miles): 18 public schools, 4 private schools and 3 post-secondary schools
- Jamestown (98 miles): 10 public schools, 4 private schools and 1 post-secondary schools
- Valley City (62 miles): 6 public schools, 1 private schools and 1 post-secondary schools
- Tallahassee, Florida
- Population: 188,466Rent Average: $931.00Schools
- Tallahassee: 58 public schools, 30 private schools and 12 post-secondary schoolsLake City (106 miles): 13 public schools, 5 private schools and 1 post-secondary schoolsPanama City (104 miles): 33 public schools, 8 private schools and 4 post-secondary schoolsQuincy (25 miles): 17 public schools and 1 private schools
- Population: 188,466Rent Average: $931.00Schools
- 31. Missoula, Montana
- 32. Spokane, WA
- 33. Corpus Christie, TX
- 34. San Juan, PR
- 35. Sacramento, CA
- 36. Miami, FL
- 37. Bakersfield, CA
- 38. Gainesville, FL
- 39. Austin, TX
- 40. Saulte Ste Marie, MI
30 For 30 Map: https://www.mapcustomizer.com/map/30%20For%2030%20Map
Census Map: https://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/
CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK
Theater audiences are growing older
ESSDRAS M SUAREZ/ GLOBE STAFF
Thirtysomethings are scarce at theaters; twentysomethings even scarcer. And teenagers? Don’t ask.
By Don Aucoin GLOBE STAFF JUNE 17, 2012
Next time you’re in a theater in Boston – or down on the Cape, or out in the Berkshires, or on Broadway, or pretty much anywhere, really – take a look around at the audience. Chances areyou’ll notice something missing: young people.
What you’re likely to see instead is wave upon wave of gray hair. Most of the seats will be occupied by baby boomers and those of the generation born
around the time of World War II. Thirtysomethings will be scarce; twentysomethings will be even scarcer. And teenagers? Don’t ask.
Or better yet: Do. Why don’t more young people go to the theater?
That question ought to be on the front burner this week as about 1,000 regional-theater professionals gather in Boston for the national conference of Theatre CommunicationsGroup, whose membership includes more than 500 theaters across the country. It’s been a persistent problem for years, and the American theater needs to find a concrete solution pronto, because its customers aren’t — you should pardon the expression — getting any younger.
In fact, there is reason to think the situation could soon get worse. As the cost of admission climbs ever higher, the advent of
supply-and-demand-based “dynamic pricing’’ ensures that tickets to hot shows are as expensive as the market will bear. On Broadway, there’s the additional scourge of “premium seats,’’ which for “Death of a Salesman’’ and “The Book of Mormon’’ have commanded nearly$500 apiece. Theater, an inherently expensive art form to make at the professional level, is in danger of becoming a boutique business.
And the millennials, so financially strapped that they’ve been dubbed “Generation Debt,’’ might well feel that they’re in no position to be regular patrons. Saddled with college loans and credit-card payments, many bring home anemic paychecks if they’re lucky enough tohave a job. Little wonder theater isn’t getting to be a habit with them.
Hard numbers on that are scarce, however. ArtsBoston has collected data on more than 1 million ticket-buying households, supplied by 50 cultural organizations in the Boston area.While the data have not yet been broken out according to individual genres — theater, music, dance, visual arts — they do provide a general demographic snapshot of local cultural consumers.
“We know that baby boomers are overrepresented,’’ said Catherine Peterson, executive director of ArtsBoston, the largest arts service organization in Greater Boston, which assists cultural organizations with marketing and audience development. “That’s no surprise. Theunder-30s are underrepresented.’’ The theater community, she added, has signaled a clear commitment to change that.
They need to, because the age divide is plain to anyone who spends any time at all inplayhouses. Like most theater critics, I see several plays a week, not just on opening nights, and not only in large theaters. Almost invariably, the overwhelming majority of theaudiences are middle-aged or older. What has always puzzled me about this is that the Boston area is home to an estimated 250,000 college students from September to June.
In other words, there is a huge population of 18-to-22-year-olds at more than 65 colleges and universities, quite a few of whom are eager, even
desperate, for something to do off-campus on the weekends. Many who go to college heresettle down in the area after graduation; they are the logical foundation of Boston theater’s future.
So, theoretically, Boston should be the perfect laboratory for experiments in how to attract young adults to the theater, right? And there is some experimentation going on, notably at Oberon, the American Repertory Theater’s second stage, where the programming tends toward the hip and late-night. Even Broadway musicals can give a company a breakout hitwith an audience it doesn’t usually attract. That’s happening now with the Lyric StageCompany’s “Avenue Q,’’ which, thanks to a virtual stampede of young patrons, has shattered Lyric box-office records that go back four decades.
But such youthful audiences are exceptions to the rule.
On Broadway, theatergoers aged 18 to 34 made up less than a quarter of the audience in the 2010-11 season, according to the Broadway League, the trade association for theater owners and producers. The average age of a theatergoer was 44, but even that understates the case: At plays, the average age for audiences was 53, while the average spectator at musicals was 43.
Of course, many people experience Broadway productions not in New York but when the shows go on the road. And there, the evidence is even grimmer. According to the Broadway League, which surveys national touring productions in alternate years, the average age of those theatergoers in the 2009-10 season was 54.
As for regional theaters, figures on audience ages are hard to find. Theatre Communications Group, a service organization that surveys its member theaters on many aspects of the field and annually releases reports on attendance, performances, and finances, does not collect such data. In an interview, TCG executive director Teresa Eyring said theaters have not pressed for a nationwide survey of audience demographics. Local numbers, she said, are more useful to them.
“For us to get demographic data, our theaters would have to be surveying their audiences on a regular basis, and to do it correctly is quite pricey,’’ said Eyring. “It’s a very expensive proposition.’’
Perhaps, but most industries would consider it worth spending money on market research that tells them who their customers are – and aren’t. The need to reach young audiences has long been the subject of much private fretting by artistic directors and other theaterprofessionals. It’s a challenge that, if met, might help address the lack of diversity that also afflicts many theaters.
“Theaters do need to be proactive in terms of engaging younger audiences, in makingthemselves inviting, whether that’s through the work or through education programs,’’ said Eyring. “It’s a way of ensuring that people have had exposure to it, to really get a taste of how exciting theater can be.’’
But she added a caveat. “I also think that theaters should love their audiences, whoever their audiences are,’’ she said. “There’s something wrong with the idea that there’s somethingwrong with audiences that are older. Theater should be for everyone.’’
Amen to that. But too often “everyone’’ does not include people under 30. For nearly a decade, I’ve taught at a local university while periodically guest-lecturing at a half-dozenothers. It adds up to a lot of time on college campuses and many conversations, in classroom discussions or
one-on-one, with hundreds of students. I listen as they talk excitedly about an upcoming rock concert or movie or football game. But theater? No.
Except for a vanishingly small handful of theater majors or performers, students do notmention theater as part of their weekend plans or even as a presence in their lives. (One exception: An animated discussion broke out in one of my classes about the scarcity and expense of tickets to, what else, “The Book of Mormon.’’)
Let’s stipulate that some of the onus is on college students themselves, who fail to avail themselves of sometimes massively steep discounts. Too many are content to blow 20 bucks on a few beers when $15 and a ride on the T would buy them some theater magic. Intellectual curiosity and a spirit of cultural adventure are, or should be, cornerstones of higher education.
These students literally do not know what they are missing; there is general agreement that theater in Boston, in terms of what’s happening onstage, is in a dynamic phase at the moment. But theater is an art form that depends
for its vitality on the audience – and there can be an extra jolt of electricity in the atmospherewhen that audience consists primarily of young people, as with the raucous performances of Green Day’s “American Idiot’’ at the Boston Opera House in January.
Granted, theatergoing is a pastime that people often age into. And to an extent, the aging ofthe theater audience reflects the aging of the general population, as well as the wealth divide between old and young.
Still, though they’ve made some efforts, theaters are obviously not doing enough to reach young audiences.
Since the great majority of the hoped-for audience – twentysomethings and thirtysomethings – is usually not eligible for student discounts, why not follow the lead of companies that aim beyond the student population? In Boston, the Huntington Theatre Company offers $25tickets to any show for those 35 and younger. Prominent theaters elsewhere make the tickets even more affordable for the same age range: $20 at both Manhattan’s Roundabout Theatre Company and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, for example.
Because drama fans are made through early arts education, another part of the answerclearly lies in building a stronger presence in the schools. Social media and other marketing tools should also be used more imaginatively (but no “tweet seats,’’ please) to communicatethe unique excitement of live performance. Theaters could dive deeper into the talent pool of new playwrights and performers, which could lead to more work that young audiences would consider must-see material – and along the way lift the spirits, and possibly swell the ranks, of provocative dramatists, some of whom complain that older audiences are not adventurous enough.
It won’t be easy, but the American theater has to find the missing piece of this puzzle. The alternative is long-term decline.
Don Aucoin can be reached at aucoin@globe.com.
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Feed The Guppies
PO Box 46
Highland Lake, NY 12743
+1 (302) 271-7999
Tim@FeedTheGuppies.org