How to see a show for free
I missed another opportunity this weekend–I had been hoping to see the Blushing Poppy productions show at Links Hall. Alas, between schedules and money a day trip down to Chicago was not in the cards; however, as Nicole Legette, the director/curator, is based in Chicago, I’m sure I will eventually get to see them.
The lack of funding made me think about a discussion I had with a fellow artist a while back at a retreat. She was talking about how a theatre she’d worked at had set aside blocks of tickets for poor people to be able to attend. "Nobody came," she said bitterly. "They could have seen it for free, and nobody bothered to show up." Her tone suggested that she’d been hurt by the ambivalence with which the offer was recieved.
Personally I think there’s more to it than that–if I offered the average high schooler tickets to an opera, they’d roll their eyes, but if I could explain to them how awesome it is, and give them a context, they would be entranced. But that’s not what I want to talk about here. I want to talk about how to see a show for free.
Most of the shows I’ve seen for free are because I’m working them in some way, shape, or form, or because a friend is and has some comps. But let’s try and think of some other strategies (just brainstorming):
- Offer to usher–problematic due to time constraints, but possible
- Make friends with the director/actors/etc–these people often have comps, and let’s face it, they want people they like to come see them!
- Find a paper (local) that would like a review; have them buy the tickets (or, write a performing arts blog that is successful enough to merit getting a free pass.)
- Become involved in a local theatre group that might have "reciprocity" offers. I mentor a group called Proud Theatre for H.S. youth; the Artistic Director has extended blanket passes to everyone to come and see his other play at the Broom Street Theatre. This is something I need to take advantage of.
- Date someone rich. Hmmm. I’ll have to work on that.
So, that’s the goalfor the next few weeks: go and see live performances, but don’t spend any money. I’ll let you know how it goes…
Tags: performing arts, butoh, money, free admission
1 Comment
Offer some other form of promotion – For example, I wonder if anyone’s ever tried to create a theatrical version of a Street Team (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_team).
Other than that…um…the free shows I’ve gone to were usually the result of helping build sets or hang lights.
I’ve also attended a number of college productions that were either free or very cheap – because of this, they aren’t promoted very well. You want to keep an eye on community arts listings (Isthmus) or on-campus postings (walk around and look at kiosks and bulletin boards).