Cal Poly Arts added a new student discount for tickets to shows at the Performing Arts Center (PAC) this fall.
Students can purchase up to two reserved tickets to a PAC show for $15 dollars each, compared to the 20 percent discount in years prior.
“We want to give students the feeling that they’re just like regular patrons and that they can buy tickets,” director of Cal Poly Arts Steven Lerian said.“But obviously, price point is a concern for some students. So, we decided to make tickets available at a reasonable price for nearly all shows.”
The discount excludes Broadway shows and other “high end” shows, according to Lerian, for contractual reasons.
Cal Poly Arts will continue to sell $10 student rush tickets at the door on the night of a show. However, this new discount allows students on a budget to plan ahead and purchase reserved tickets for a guaranteed seat.
Box office manager Ryan Gruss said he saw more students purchasing tickets at the box office since the discount was implemented at the beginning of the academic year.
“Historically, we’ve had a lot of students buy at the window on the night of the show, but I think the new student discount is encouraging them to purchase tickets ahead of time,” said Gruss.
According to Lerian, purchasing tickets ahead of time also allows for “better” seats — the select bundle of discounted tickets provides seats about two-thirds back from the stage.
“We want to encourage students to come out and see shows that they might not see otherwise,” Lerian said.
Shows scheduled for this fall include best-selling author George Saunders Sept. 30 and multi-platinum selling singer Gavin DeGraw Oct. 4, among others listed on the Cal Poly Arts website.
“Our mission is to provide the broadest range of artists, particularly artists from other countries and other cultures within our country, that students don’t get an opportunity to experience very often,” Lerian said. “It feels like it’s our role to make those
opportunities available.”