Netflix for Theatre

Netflix for Theatre

Theater Wit’s Brave New [Ticketing] World

Memberships

Theater Wit’s Artistic Director, Jeremy Wechsler, never one for timid action, has embarked on a bold new plan to benefit artists, patrons and theater companies that present on one of Theater Wit’s three stages. Simply put, you can buy a Membership at Theater Wit that entitles you to see any play presented in the space once, many times or never, as your whim and fancy dictates. The only caveat is that tickets are subject to availability so for popular productions the prudent course is to call well in advance to reserve your ticket. There’s nothing to stop you from just “dropping in” five minutes before curtain if you feel like it and if there are seats available, one will be yours. All of this for the low monthly membership fee of $36.

Wechsler was inspired by a similar program in place at Seattle’s A Contemporary Theatre. In Seattle’s case the membership program hasn’t resulted in a decrease in number of traditional season tickets sold by ACT. Wechsler anticipates a similar result here at Theater Wit.

Many Theatre Companies, One Venue

Theater Wit is actually both a space and a company. The Theater Wit space encloses three separate theaters in a single building. With its extensive capacity, plays are presented all year long by a number of different companies, some resident at Theater Wit, others itinerate. One of the values of the Theater Wit membership is that it permits a member to sample a number of different companies without any increase in financial risk. Once you pay your monthly fee, it’s a smorgasbord of theatre at no additional cost other than your time to reserve a seat and enjoy the production. For the theater companies it offers a way to introduce themselves to a large audience of patrons they might not have been able to attract previously. Overall, this is a win/win situation.

More Information

I won’t repeat the details of membership or Wechsler’s thinking here. Instead, here are some links to external sources that should provide ample detail about this brave experiment in ticketing and audience development:

Theater Wit offers unlimited attendance for flat monthly fee - Theater - Time Out Chicago

Wit's End: A Blog by Jeremy Wechsler

Become a Member: From the Theater Wit Website

Extending the Idea

It occurred to me that this idea could be extended in a couple of different ways: first, a consortium of theater companies could work together to offer memberships good at all productions without regard for venue. The other thought was for music organization to embark on a similar program. Here are some ways these two things might be approached.

Theater Consortia

Suppose a number of itinerate theater companies, say eight to twelve, formed a consortium that offered memberships to the theater-going public. These memberships would allow the holder to attend unlimited performances of any production by any member of the consortium for a single, monthly fee. Further, this privilege would extend regardless of venue, thus allowing the benefits of the membership program even though a large theater facility was not a part of the program.

One clearly important consideration in the consortium plan is the consolidation of ticketing for all participating companies. Would a single source of ticketing be provided for all companies (similar to the way Theater Wit handles ticketing for all productions in its own building), or would each company handle its own ticketing with the consortium employing some sort of clearing mechanism to distribute revenues in the agreed fashion. Either way, there are some important considerations to be explored, This would be an important part of the collaborative negotiation.

Musical Organizations

A similar program could be established by a consortium of orchestras. Clearly, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra would probably not be interested in this sort of collaboration, but what about the smaller regional orchestras that dot the landscape? To get some idea of the number of orchestras that might participate in this sort of program, visit Welcome | Illinois Council of Orchestras and click on the menu item “Directory.” There is clearly a broad range of quality in the membership list, but there is also a great chance that a consortium of a dozen orchestras could be assembled that would be happy to participate in a membership program.

If we broaden our perspective to include chamber music groups we have yet another possibility for a membership program that might be appealing to both artists and patrons. Universities are especially likely to have chamber music presentations that would appeal to patrons who are members of a chamber music society program.

Conclusion

My main interest in the present case lies with Theater Wit’s brave experiment with a membership program. I have tried to argue that it might be possible to extend that model to musical organizations both large and small. I hope Jeremy Wechsler succeeds beyond his wildest dreams with his experiment and I’d like to see some enterprising managers from musical organizations engage in similar experiments.

If anyone knows of a performing arts company who is actually doing these sorts of things, I’d like to hear about it. If successful, this stuff could result in a dramatic paradigm shift.