The staff at Stephens Auditorium spent their summer preparing for the Performing Art Series so everything runs smoothly when the season starts in October. To make sure the Performing Arts Series goes on without a hitch, a lot of planning needs to be done.

Subscriptions need renewed and filled, meetings with donors, sponsors and media partners take place. Events such as Celebrity Cafe and receptions need to be scheduled and grants sought after to keep the ticket prices low for the students.

The majority of the summer is spent fulfilling orders and renewing subscriptions. Subscribers order three or more shows out of the 14 in the Performing Art Series selection.

Renewed subscriptions last from May until the new season starts in October.

Communicating with donors to help support the arts is another important part of the planning process.

Donors renew their donations and partnerships with the donors are planned. Meetings are also held with sponsors and media partners to promote the shows.

The staff at Stephens line up guest speakers for Celebrity Cafe before the show and hold receptions at the end of the show for donors.

Celebrity Cafe is hosted by a guest speaker who talks about the different aspects of the show in detail. 

After the show, donors can meet the artist. They collaborate with the company that produces the show and host a reception the artist has agreed to attend.

The affordable student tickets are also something that happens over the summer. The staff looks for grants to help cover some of the costs that general admission ticket buyers have to pay.

“This can make tickets available to youth that may not be able to afford to go to shows,” said Patti Cotter, development and sponsorship manager at Stephens.

The staff at Stephens anticipates the shows that have been lined up for almost a year in advance.

“It’s really fun to think about [it]. What will they [the students] think about the music they hear with the ISU symphony on Sept. 27?” Cotter said. “What will they learn when we have the ‘petting zoo’ where they can actually go up close and see what a cello looks like and how the strings interact with the body of the cello to make music?”