The Performing Arts are Dying: Rush Tickets May be the Solution

Plush red theater seats. Intricately designed prosceniums. Crisp, shiny programs. Each characteristic is intrinsic to a dying classical art form: ballet. 

Ballet  — along with many performing arts — has suffered from a continued decrease in attendance over the past five years. This reflects a larger trend of performing arts becoming less and less accessible to the average consumer. 

The main reason is money. 

Since 2020, we’ve seen an inflation rate of 4.39% per year. Over 70% of Gen Z adults report finances have caused them to postpone at least one major life milestone, according to a study by Northwestern Mutual. Additionally, 37% of Americans report not having $400 to cover an emergency expense, according to a study by the Federal Reserve.

In short, Americans aren’t in a great financial situation. 

Coupling this with the current disengagement with the arts, ballet companies find themselves in a challenging situation. With the majority of the population unable to afford typical ticket prices which run in the hundreds, while simultaneously not having the motivation to make significant financial rearrangements to facilitate ticket buying, theaters are left with empty seats. 

Rush ticketing enters stage right. 

Rush ticketing is a process where theaters sell tickets at an extremely discounted price. Many of these programs are directed exclusively to college students. The catch? Students can only buy these tickets within roughly two hours of the show, with the timeframe varying depending on the organization. 

The Joffrey Ballet is a prime example of an effective student rush ticketing program. Their policy allows students to buy up to two tickets at $20 each, up to two hours out from the show. Considering standard tickets go for upwards of $214 — using “The Nutcracker” as reference — $20 tickets are an impressive find. 

The Joffrey isn’t the only ballet organization engaging in rush ticketing. The New York City Ballet introduced a program called $30 for 30 providing week-of rush tickets for individuals ages 13-30 for $30. This program remains particularly impactful for young adults facing economic instability following college, which other rush programs don’t often take into account. 

Rush ticketing helps address both sides of the financial issues plaguing performing arts. 

From the most straightforward approach, $20 is significantly more accessible to prospective ballet attendees. Under Illinois minimum wage, it would take 80 minutes of work to pay for one ticket, in contrast to the 856 minutes necessary to pay for a full-priced ticket. 

Cheaper tickets have further merit.

There was a 35% decrease in ballet attendance from 2017 to 2022. While there are countless factors surrounding this statistic, it’s evident theater-going has become less normalized within American culture. 

Consumers must feel secure enough to invest in a ticket. If a group is already disincentivized to engage with the material, they’re less likely to take the chance on an activity they were unsure of. If a show is a flop at $20, it’s significantly easier to stomach than a $200 performance, therefore making it easier to take the leap and buy the ticket. 

However, wide-scale rush ticketing may prevent the reemergence of this issue. 

Adults are three times more likely to attend an arts performance if they attended one as a child, according to a study by the National Endowment for the Arts. This means, by encouraging more people to see ballet performances, we can encourage their children to take part in art consumption.  

Rush pricing is an imperative tool in raising the next generation of theater-goers.

Innovative procedures like rush ticketing are key to the future of the performing arts. By removing barriers from performances, the arts system will be better engaged with, hopefully bucking the downward attendance trend of the past few years.

Rush ticketing may be just the thing to resuscitate classical ballet.