Theater Audience Research Project

Our recent PA CultureCheck 2023, done in partnership with PA Humanities, shows that only 15% of performing arts organizations reported regaining full attendance after COVID-19, compared to 41% for museums, historical organizations, and libraries. The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance has also heard from its members that performing arts organizations and theaters need help attracting and retaining audiences. 

To better understand this issue, the Cultural Alliance will conduct an audience research project with the goals of:

• Identifying who is attending shows, how many, why, and their motivations for attending theater performances
• To identify the general public’s current performing arts going habits via a public opinion survey
• To identify how performing arts and theaters continue to recover compared to other organizations in the sector in Greater Philadelphia.

The research is three-part: analysis of our 2024 CultureCheck survey, a public opinion survey of Philadelphia, and audience intercept surveys at participating theaters throughout Philadelphia. Audience intercept surveys will occur between December 14, 2024, and April 30, 2025. 

To guide this research, the Cultural Alliance will collaborate with ten Advisory Committee members and their theaters throughout Greater Philadelphia for feedback meetings and listening sessions and as a survey venue. With input from the Advisory Committee, the Cultural Alliance will ensure that a wide range of theaters and perspectives are represented in the report. To thank committee members for participating, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance will pay advisory members a stipend of $500. Interested in participating? Email Kristen Vinh, Director of Research and Data, at kristenv@philaculture.org.