The future of LA theater is teenagers.
Did you know that if you’re a teen in LA County there’s a $5 ticket program for rush tickets?
(Yeah, me neither. But more on that in a minute.)
The key details: TeenTix Los Angeles is a free pass for folks 13–19 years old in LA County. There’s no charge for signing up and with a pass, teens can get a same-day $5 ticket at a bunch of theater companies in LA. There’s a full list on the website, but the partner organizations include 24th Street Theatre, A Noise Within, Antaeus Theatre Company, Boston Court Pasadena, City Garage, East West Players, Geffen Playhouse, IAMA Theatre Company, Latino Theater Company, Pasadena Playhouse, The Actors’ Gang, The Fountain Theatre, and The Wallis — just to name a few. There are a few key players who should be on the list and aren’t, but this is a pretty stellar list of LA theaters. A teenager signs up for a pass, goes to the website, and picks a show. Then, they can buy a $5 rush ticket on the day of. Pretty great if you’re a teenager.
Why is this great if you’re not a teenager?
If, like me, you’ve sat in a theater audience in the past decade or so, you’ve probably noticed a couple of things. One, empty seats. Two, old folks. TeenTix takes a stab at both those issues. Empty seats drive me nuts in a theater because it’s a wasted opportunity for a theater company. Each of those empty seats is an opportunity. Sure, it’s lost revenue, but it’s really about who you didn't get to start a relationship with. To me the opportunity cost far outweighs the actual ticket cost. I won’t bore you with all the details, but every seat in every nonprofit theater in America is subsidized by a donation. The price of the ticket never reflects the actual costs of running that theater company. Speaking broadly, ticket revenue (earned income) usually reflects around 50% of total revenue with the remainder coming from donations (contributed income). So each empty seat in a theater is a lost opportunity to share your story, and also a missed opportunity to tell the story of your theater's reach, impact, and diversity. Here’s where those old folks come in. The teens of LA County are radically more diverse than most theater audiences. What better way to take advantage of that seat that would otherwise be empty, than by "subsidizing" it for a teenager?
Unlike me, you probably haven’t read a ton of audience surveys, so I’ll save you the time. When asked, “why do you go to the theater or subscribe,” it’s shocking how often the answer is, "because I did it as a kid.” Culture is a habit. That trip to the theater with a child is often the first step towards creating a lifelong theater-goer (and maybe even a future donor). On the flip side, when you poll folks on why they don’t go to the theater, a frequent answer is, “because I didn’t think it was for me.” Teentix does a fantastic job tackling both of these.
That said, I have a couple of quibbles. First, I spend a lot of time in theaters and I have a teenager and I didn’t even know about this. It was only in browsing a theater's website that I discovered this program that started in Los Angeles in 2021 as an off-shoot of the TeenTix program started in Seattle. That’s another wasted opportunity — not on the part of TeenTix Los Angeles but on their partner theaters. Every theater company that’s a partner should be shouting from the rooftops and reserving program pages to spread the word. It may seem counterintuitive to advertise a way to get cheaper tickets to everyone, but think about it. Those teens will likely need a ride and that ride might just buy a ticket. Or a patron reading the program might think, “What a great idea. I should make a donation.” (Remember that 50% contributed income?)
And about that list of partners. I see a couple of glaring absences from that list. Namely Center Theatre Group, Pantages Theatre, and LA Opera (I know The Pantages isn’t a non-profit but stick with me). Not only is it foolish of these organizations for all the reasons above, but it’s also not living up to their role in the ecosystem. Remember, the success of this program, ultimately, isn’t about a single ticket — it’s about creating the audience of the future. Sure you’re going to lose a few bucks if you're Pantages, but that’s the least you can do for the health of the sector. The only excuse for a theater not being a part of Teentix is if they sell out every seat and their average audience age is already under thirty (in other words: there's no excuse).
So, go find a teenager and tell them to get a TeenTix pass and drive them to the theater. The future of LA theater literally depends on it.
This is Anthony Byrnes Opening the Curtain on LA Theater for KCRW.
