Engaging Elderly Theatre Patrons: Identifying Strategies that are Good for Patrons and Good for the Theatres

Abstract

Theatres have a vital resource in elderly patrons, which if properly accessed, leads to assuring the engagement of future generations in the arts. This paper explores the different ways theatres should view elderly patrons and how theatres can engage them through technology and analysis of data. Effective collaboration and inventive methods create an environment enriching these evolving lives. The paper demonstrates the important benefits of art engagement for elderly patrons. My research found a desire among arts organizations to understand that engaging the elderly and leveraging the interaction between technology and arts effectively expands arts’ reach and captures these benefits.