Browsing by Subject "Theater audiences -- Arizona -- Tucson"
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Item An examination and analysis of theatre subscribers at the University of Arizona: Arizona Repertory Theatre(Texas Tech University, 1995-12) DeHesus, Julia L SmithThe performing arts and higher education have been enduring an increasingly hostile political and economic climate in recent years. With a unique role as educational arts organizations, producing university theatre arts programs face increasing pressures to expand audiences by employing marketing approaches used by professional arts organizations. This dissertation is the first in-depth study of the characteristics of a university theatre arts subscriber audience. Through conducting an audience marketing research survey this study provides an analysis of the subscription audience for the University of Arizona Department of Theatre Arts/Arizona Repertory Theatre that addresses topics related to audience identification, audience development and facilities development The survey results suggest that the respondents are older, more highly educated, and more affluent than both the average adult Tucsonan and the national average theatre attender. The data suggest that the most important reasons for subscribing are convenience, best seat assignments, and savings, and respondents attend productions for their own entertainment and cultural enrichment. An interesting finding is that a subscriber's knowledge of all of the plays in a season package is not a substantial determining factor in the subscription purchase. The data also indicates cross-marketing opportunities with the professional theatre company and symphony orchestra. Further research might address (1) why patrons attend university theatre productions, (2) how they perceive the quality of the productions, (3) identifying the characteristics of audience members, (4) determining if productions attract members of the larger community or are primarily serving the university students, faculty and staff, (5) what role the university theatre programs play in the development of theatre audiences and (6) if the role is different in a community that does or does not have access to professional theatre. The study concludes that with over 300 university and college theatre programs in the United States that fill a unique niche in the theatre industry, future research could help to define better the role of university programs not only in development of theatre artists, teachers and managers, but also in how they contribute to the vital, but often overlooked, area of audience development