As tickets for Styx with special guest Kansas go on sale at 10 a.m. for the Oct. 2 show, John R. Emens Auditorium officials remain optimistic the venue's 2009 event calendar will draw in a steady audience.
Compared to previous years ticket sales have been up, Director Robert Myers said. Emens netted $932,000 in 2008, up from $780,000 it profited in 2007, he said.
Despite the improving trend in sales, Myers attributes consumer sentiment as an important indicator as to how ticket sales for entertainment performances will go from year to year.
"People who feel things are bad [economically] tend not to spend as readily," he said. "My contribution to reverse that is to continue to have programs and be optimistic that things will get better."
Because Emens is subsidized by student fees, some shows require students pay a fee for tickets, associate director of marketing Darcy Wood said. Free tickets usually aren't distributed until two weeks before shows take the stage, but a student section of seats are held for students on a first-come, first-serve basis, she said.
Wood said event performance dates are usually arranged with promoters the April before the next year's performance calendar. She said she expects ticket sales to remain steady for the upcoming performance season.
"It was a different time in April [financially] for us, but we kept our heads above water," she said.
So far a lot of students have expressed interest and in tickets for "Avenue Q," on the schedule for April 20, 2010, she said.
Muncie is considered a tertiary market for touring productions because of the low number of shows the auditorium is able to sustain for each production, Myers said, and each show's promoter sets ticket prices for performances.
Ticket prices for the Kansas show range from $39.50 to $69.50.
"It's a case-by-case basis in terms of what entertainment acts are fiscally possible," Myers said. "If we have opportunities to bring popular acts in, we do it."
Myers also pointed to "The Opera Show," coming to Emens on Feb. 3, as an example of the diverse lineup of performances.
"They're trying to provide some of the best-known melodies in the MTV world with lights and modern presentation," he said.
Some of the highlights on the performance lineup include Styx on Oct. 2, Joan Osborne with The Holmes Brothers and Paul Thorn on Nov. 8 and Groovaloo, an alternative hip hop dance troupe, set to take the Emens stage Jan. 25.
"My mandate is to bring cultural and academic opportunities to the community and experiences related to the academic institution," Myers said.
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Emens box office hours are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets are also available online at ticketmaster.com.
2009 performance schedule:
- Nai-Ni Chen Dance, Sept. 18
-Styx with special guest Kansas, Oct. 2
-The Wedding Singer, Oct. 7 (Student ticket distribution begins Sept. 21)
-Brian Regan, Oct. 9
-Yamato Japanese Drums, Oct. 27
-Lord of the Dance, Oct. 29 (Student ticket distribution begins Oct. 12)
-Loretta Lynn, Nov. 6
-Joan Osborne, The Holmes Brothers and Paul Thorn, Nov. 8
-Tweaksters, Nov. 14
-Cirque Dreams Illumination, Dec. 10 (Student ticket distribution begins Nov. 23)
-Moscow Festival Ballet - Swan Lake, Jan. 12
-Groovaloo - Jan. 25
-Wizard of Oz - Jan. 28 (Student ticket distribution begins Jan. 11)
-The Opera Show - Feb. 3
-The Adams & Jefferson Letters - Feb. 9
-Air Supply - Feb. 13
-Doktor Kaboom! - March 13
-Avenue Q - April 20 (Student ticket distribution begins April 5)
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