In the live performance community, concern about an aging audience is second nature at this point.
“We think about that, as everyone does,” said Karla Boos, founder and artistic director of Quantum Theatre. “We know that younger people maybe didn’t grow up with quite as much emphasis (on theater) in their families or in their schools.”
Last year, the Broadway League’s annual report showed that the average Broadway show attendee is 40 years old, with the over-50 audience growing year over year. That skews young in comparison to other, smaller-market shows.
Because bringing in new generations is a priority for the longevity of the art, local theater companies are looking to a few methods to engage a younger crowd, from marketing to education to innovation to being economically conscious.
At City Theatre on the South Side, artistic director Clare Drobot said that the company endeavors to make the theater an intergenerational event.
“Especially for our younger audiences, what is the experience like top-to-bottom?” she said. “How are you creating a welcoming space at the theater, a space where folks are excited to be there?”
She said that it’s incumbent on producers to make a “buzz” around performances for younger crowds, “to make going to the theater as exciting as going to a Taylor Swift concert or a hot new restaurant.”
The team at City Theatre makes conscious decisions to innovate and expand their offerings for all demographics. Mark Clayton Southers, founder and artistic and technical director at Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, thinks innovation is important as well.
“I think there’s going to be an attempt for pop-up theater,” he said, referencing new ways of hooking audiences who are used to shorter videos and having entertainment in their pocket 24/7 on phones.
Bringing younger voices to the forefront will also make a difference; for example, Pittsburgh Playwrights’ current season is being curated by local actor, director, producer, and writer Monteze Freeland, who Southers believes has done great work for all age groups. Kinetic Theatre founder and producing artistic director Andrew Paul said that many actors themselves are mounting productions.
“It just builds because you start to realize, ‘Hey, I can do this, and people liked it,’ ” Paul said. “It’ll make young actors think, ‘Maybe I can be more proactive about making a career happen here.’ ”
Building a community among younger actors, artistic directors and producers is an important part of ensuring new work gets put on the stage and younger people go to see it. And education is a part of hooking people on the arts from a young age. Many companies, from City Theatre to Pittsburgh Musical Theater to the merging Pittsburgh CLO and Pittsburgh Public Theater, have robust educational programs.
“The engine in the Academy and our greater education programs … the Academy gets the spotlight, and the Gene Kellys are amazing. But then we have all the work that’s being done in the schools, with residencies, with adult learners,” said Brett Ashley Crawford, transition leader and acting executive director/producer for the integrating Pittsburgh CLO and Pittsburgh Public Theater.
The new company built from the two former entities will emphasize educational programs, artist residencies and fostering a community in the city of Pittsburgh, thus nurturing a flourishing younger theater scene.
Then, there are the thin wallets and tight budgets of younger people to consider. Many companies offer discounted tickets for students and pay-what-you-can performances within shows’ runs.
“I think it takes a village to remove those barriers, whether it’s financial, information, or reaching people,” Boos said. “There’s no shortage of challenges, but there’s nothing to say it can’t be done.”