Director’s View: groups save 20 percent
and get extra-special treatment
I enjoy greeting patrons and observing the anticipation on their faces as they come to our venues. A special treat is seeing a group arrive at the theatre. It’s fun to see them come in the door knowing they’ll get to share a great performance and then talk about it on the way home. Groups are an important and growing part of our audiences.
The Center for the Performing Arts enjoys hosting groups from throughout central Pennsylvania and beyond. Sherren McKenzie, our group sales coordinator, takes the lead in providing the support groups need to have a great time. Last season 155 groups attended our presentations.
We host groups of all types, including Penn State and other university students, women’s clubs, seniors, businesses, professionals, service organizations, alumni, and schools. Groups get great service from Sherren and our staff. Many groups come back year after year. Most come from Centre and neighboring counties, but we’ve had groups from as far away as Potter and Lancaster counties, Hazleton, and Slippery Rock. We love to see them and provide each group with the opportunity to experience a world-class performance.
Though you need twenty people to qualify for a group discount of 20 percent, Sherren has had many group leaders start small, with perhaps six to eight people, and easily grow a group from there. We provide promotional materials, when available, and assist with finding area transportation, restaurants, and hotels. The biggest benefit for group leaders, I believe, is working with Sherren, who brings years of experience, really takes leaders under her wing, and provides them with special benefits.
Performing artists like to say that the true test of a performance is whether you get invited back. The same goes for our groups. Do they come back? I’m happy to say yes, year after year, groups return. And many grow in size.
Here are three of the many testimonials Sherren has received from group leaders. Their words say it all.
Our theatre experiences have always been very enjoyable thanks to the staff. We plan on returning to several shows this coming season. Thank you all for making our evenings so enjoyable. —Terry Farringer
I stress the importance of seeing live performances, not just reading about them. The center always presents performances that are good and appropriate for my class. Deciding on the specific performances for my students is my biggest challenge, since there are so many from which to choose. My students received outstanding savings with the group sales department. My students have been assigned very good seats for the performances. I feel a great satisfaction when I see the students enjoying the experience. —Randy Ploog
Doing the groups gives wonderful opportunities for our Centre Dance students and family to experience professional dance artists, right here in our own backyard. Our groups have experienced excellent, quality performances at Eisenhower at very reasonable prices—much more affordable than New York City. It's easy to coordinate and nice for our students and families to sit together as a group. —Paula Peters
Groups come together throughout our season, and Sherren always works to get them the best-possible seats. Contact her at 814-865-5340 or arts-group-sales@psu.edu.
We look forward to helping even more groups discover how easy and fun it is to come to performances at the Center for the Performing Arts.
And now, here are some thoughts on our performances in early October.
When visiting Mexico City, as I found out a few years ago, it is customary to see Ballet Folklórico de México perform at the grand Palace of Fine Arts. It’s something the troupe has been doing on Sundays and Wednesdays since 1959. It’s quite a spectacle of folkloric dance, perhaps rivaled only by the Russian company Moiseyev (coming to the Center for the Performing Arts January 17). I presented the company in my previous position when its founder, Amalia Hernández, was still alive and touring the world with it. She was an icon in Mexico, and her work lives on through the company she founded. The performance is a nonstop spectacle for the eye and ear, a fascinating tour through Mexican art and culture.
We follow with another international event, Global Drum Project. I’m as fascinated by the skill of drumming as are many, perhaps because we can all “drum” a bit ourselves—who hasn’t tapped out something?—and can appreciate the skill involved in drumming at the highest level. We’ll be treated to world drumming from several traditions as Mickey Hart and colleagues, who performed on the groundbreaking album Planet Drum, perform new music from the October 2007 release Global Drum Project.
The American String Quartet is one of the world’s finest and has performed many times at Penn State. The last was three years ago in my first season and it was a special delight to see again the quartet’s violist Daniel Avshalomov. Dan and I grew up together in Portland, Oregon. Our fathers were both prominent in Portland’s musical scene, and Dan and I were classmates through high school. Our paths diverged, but we always generally knew what the other was up to. With Dan that was pretty easy as the quartet has been performing for thirty-two years. Dan got in touch with me and proposed performing the great Brahms viola quintets during two seasons. He suggested having Penn State faculty member Tim Deighton as the second violist. Tim and Dan have performed together in the past. It’s always fun to arrange these concerts with friends and colleagues who you trust and respect. We have great music making to look forward to, along with the opportunity to hear rarely performed yet great works by Brahms.
Early October has several wonderful events. I hope you can enjoy them all.
George Trudeau
Center for the Performing Arts director
