What I'll miss about my 20s...

One thing I’ll miss about my 20s, aside from the fact that I will no longer be a twenty-something, is all the theatre and cultural discounts I will no longer be eligible for. I was reminded of this when I was reading about the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, which is the new home of the Canadian Opera Company. There was mention of a program for patrons under 30 that made available 120 seats for $30 each. When the new season opens in the fall, it will be too late for me to take advantage of this program. I'll have to pay regular price like everyone else.

I’m not a big symphony fan and never have been, even though I was a member of the "symphonic band" at school—memories of sitting through TSO rehearsals at Roy Thompson Hall on high school field trips and trying really hard not to fall asleep come to mind—but because of tsoundcheck, which makes available $12 tickets to young people aged 15-29, I went to quite a few performances in the last couple years—without falling asleep, even. I guess taking away the “must-do” element of school helped alleviate the boredom and want-to-fall-asleep factor. They also occasionally offered special ticket prices to performances by the National Ballet of Canada and productions by the Canadian Stage Company, which I also took advantage of.

As a theatre fan, what I will really miss are the discount programs at Stratford Festival and the Shaw: Stratford’s Play On lets anyone aged 18 – 29 buy tickets to selected performances for only $20—BUT! It seems after visiting their website, that Stratford has a new program called Play Encore, for people aged 30-35, which affords savings of up to 50% on designated performances all season long. Yay!

Shaw Festival also has a similar Pay $30 if you’re under 30 program for regularly-priced performances at all three theatres. For whatever reason, I was always a Stratford Festival chick as opposed to a Shaw Fest chick, despite the latter's close proximity to the Niagara wine region. (Last year was actually the first year I had gone to the Shaw and the $30 tickets certainly made it more appealing.) Too bad there isn’t an extension for those 30+. Boo.

The stereotypical profile of a patron of the arts as one who is well-to-do, older, and white is not sustainable. It's to the benefit of cultural institutions to reach out and target young people. If you hook 'em while they're young, there's a greater chance that these young people will remain patrons and supporters of the arts.

These discount programs make culture more accessible and affordable. A classical concert isn't necessarily something that would appeal to the regular twenty-something at regular prices starting at about $30. But at $12, less than it costs to go to a movie, it might be considered a viable option when considering what to do on a week night after work. It certainly was for me.