By Koo Hwangbo
Taking the kids out to a performance can often be a stressful and expensive venture. In an effort to alleviate that stress and to introduce young people to the arts, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announced its Young at Arts program.
Young at Arts is an accessibility initiative designed to create opportunities for families to connect with their children through the arts at an affordable price. For select shows this summer, ticket-buyers receive one free youth (17 and under) ticket with each adult ticket purchased.
“We’ve received a lot of feedback, and it was quite immediate and very positive,” says Arvind Manocha, president and CEO of Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. “It’s a great opportunity for families with children to more easily engage with the arts.”
The Young at Arts program further establishes the Wolf Trap brand of affordability. Wolf Trap prides itself in providing high-caliber performances in a cost-effective manner. Examples of this include letting patrons bring in their own food and beverages, free parking and producing two free performances every year.
“It’s always been part of our mandate to lower the barrier of entry because we want people to engage with musicians and artists of all sorts,” Manocha says. “I’ve heard from many patrons who say things like, ‘I come with a family of four … and it’s a great night out, and it ultimately costs us less money than when we take the kids to the movies.’
“Of course anytime a ticket is given away for free there is a potential of lost revenue, but we are not looking at this with revenue in mind,” says Manocha. “The motivation behind this program was to help our community bring their children in and expose them to experience great arts without barrier.”
For Manocha, the ultimate goal is to see more children in the theater. “We’re all about cultivating the next generation, whether that means cultivating them as arts lovers or enriching them as young adults,” he says. “[Children] can come to the ballet for the first time, come to the opera for the first time, come to a national symphony concert for the first time. We think that this is something that is going to continue to be very popular with our audiences and something we hope to do for years to come.”
Events that are eligible for the Young at Arts program include Riverdance, performances from the National Symphony Orchestra, American Ballet Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet and more.
The program starts on June 9 with the musical Ragtime. Many of these performances include an educational pre-performance discussion before the show starts.
Visit wolftrap.org/youngatarts to purchase tickets and for more information.
