Children's Theatre of Cincinnati (1)
4015 Red Bank Road
Cincinnati, OH 45227
2022-23 MainStage Ticket Subsidy
Now in our 103rd season, The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati (TCT) is the oldest professional theatre for young audiences in the country and draws more people downtown each year than any other performing arts organization with the exception of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Broadway in Cincinnati. TCT programs offer an inclusive space for children and adults to learn empathy, confidence, and imagination.
TCT respectfully requests the Charles H. Dater Foundation to serve as the 2022-23 Season Sponsor for our MainStage series at the Taft Theatre. Funding from the Dater Foundation will support school ticket subsidies for TCT’s four MainStage productions: DISNEY’S DESCENDANTS, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, PRINCESS & FROG THE MUSICAL, and DISNEY’S MOANA JR. This programming will serve over 100,000 students, teachers, children, and their families in the Greater Cincinnati community.
Program Goals:
Providing arts access to all audiences is of utmost importance to TCT. The primary goal of the Ticket Subsidy Program is to enable Cincinnati children, especially those of limited socio-economic ability, to attend a performance so that they may reap the educational and personal benefits of live theatre. When dividing the season production expense by expected audience attendance, TCT’s cost-per-student to attend a MainStage performance is $25. In realizing that $25/student is a steep price for many local schools to pay, TCT provides subsidy so that no school ever pays more than $8 a ticket. Even still, a vast number of schools cannot afford to bring their students at this lowered price due to limited resources and large student populations. Therefore, our School Ticket Subsidy Program allows for further discounts to Title 1 schools. These schools pay only $1-$4 per student or may receive free tickets if a significant financial need is demonstrated.
Funding provided by grants is used to reduce TCT’s production expenses in order to minimize the cost difference so that the School Ticket Subsidy Program may continue and grow. In a typical season, TCT provides over $200,000 in ticket subsidies to schools that would not have been otherwise able to attend a performance. TCT’s goals for the 2022-23 Ticket Subsidy Program are:
1. to secure funding for schools in financial need to attend a MainStage performance at the Taft
2. to ensure that no school ever pays more than $8 per ticket and we are able to offer deeper discounts for schools with demonstrated need
3. to keep admission prices as low as possible for all attendees—school and public
4. to receive feedback from teachers and other audience-members indicating the value provided by MainStage productions.
Program Results:
Through grants, sponsorships, and earned income from public performances, TCT was able to provide ticket subsidies to 100% of schools attending MainStage productions at the Taft Theatre. No school ever paid more than $8 per student, and every child was provided with professional quality, age-appropriate theatrical experiences, that not only allowed them to see themselves represented on- and off-stage through our diverse artists, but also taught important lessons about the power of friendship, combatting stereotypes, acting with courage and compassion and more.
With the support of the Dater Foundation, 96,615 students, teachers, children, and families attended our four MainStage productions during the 2022-23 season through public and school performances – a 126% increase in attendance from the 2021-22 season. Of the 2022-23 attendees, we estimate that 66,512 were children and students. Through MainStage Ticket Subsidy, we were able to provide 37,845 students with subsidized and/or discounted tickets to school field trip shows.
Over half (54%) of the tickets provided to schools are discounted tickets for Title 1 schools. During the 2022-23 season, TCT provided $763,611 in ticket subsidy and discounts, including over $89,000 in ticket discounts beyond the $8 subsidized ticket price to 80 Title 1 schools.
Website:
http://www.thechildrenstheatre.com Amount: $75,000
Date: September 2022
