As far as Ty Hamilton can tell, most student audiences at University of Memphis theater productions are there because they have to be.
Hamilton, senior English literature major, is a transfer student from University of Tennessee-Martin. He said when he went there he was like most U of M students who don't care about student art productions. Since he has been at The U of M, he has already attended two student performed plays.
"It's super important, but not many people really care about it," Hamilton said.
Every semester there are student productions in all of the different art departments. From theater and music to photography and paintings, students who put together shows need an audience to make it complete.
"You can't have theater without an audience," said Stephen Hancock, associate professor in the theater department.
He said students taking theater history are required to see one of the plays, but even those who really enjoyed what they saw don't always come back to see more.
"For as many people we reach every semester, we should be sold out every night," Hancock said.
Some U of M students said not knowing about productions is the main reason for lower student turnouts.
"I don't think they hear about it," said Gretchen Leininger, junior art major.
She said the art department hands out flyers to advertise, but typically the word about shows doesn't get out there as much as is should.
Hamilton said the same idea applies to the theater department."The only people who seem to know anything about them are people in the theater classes," Hamilton said.
Director of publicity and promotion in the college of communication and fine arts, Alice Berry, said the word about shows is out there.She said their budget for advertising is limited, but they announce shows in newspapers, hang up posters and distribute handbills.She said they rely on word of mouth, which works for plays that students connect with.
Most of the students who are in the audience of the plays are there for classes, but there are plays that students see because they want to, Berry said.
She said the recent play "Writer's Block", which was written by Hancock, brought in a lot of students outside of the theater department.
She said there are reasons other than advertising that students don't always support the arts.
"I think, unfortunately, we live in society where they're not trained at an early age to enjoy the arts," Berry said. She said it is unfortunate because live performances of any kind have so much to offer.
Whitney Brown, freshman English major, said she has been to several chorus concerts and thinks there is a lot to be gained from being an audience member.
She said it is a way to be a part of something, and it is important to support the arts.
"It's good to be exposed to cultural events," Brown said. "It's a form of higher education."
