PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN
Ticketing
What It Is
Leave a Penny. Take a Penny
Such a simple concept. Drop coins in a dish, not knowing who it will benefit, but it feels good. Someone is two cents short on their coffee, and the cashier scoops from the dish to make the till even. No speeches. No promotion. Just neighbors quietly helping one another, day by day.
That’s what we’re doing (our dish is just a little bigger).
Pay-What-You-Can means you choose the ticket price that matches your budget, and the community fills the gaps together.
If you can pay more, you’re helping keep professional theatre alive in the Motherlode.
If you can pay a little, we’re glad you’re here.
This is theatre for everyone, including the person who thinks “live theatre is too expensive for me.” Not here.
How It Works
Ticket sales alone will never cover the costs of creating professional theatre. They never have.
Our Pay-What-You-Can model survives the same way every good town survives: together.
It works through people who:
pay a little more when they can
bring a friend who isn’t really a “theatre person”
choose a Pay-It-Forward seat
show up on Community Night and send the weekend tourists our way
believe professionally produced, bold, thoughtful stories belong in the foothills
It works because our community decides Murphys Creek Theatre matters. And because you do.
Why We Do It
Theatre is often financially out of reach, especially in small towns that aren’t supposed to be cultural hubs. We don’t accept that.
The experience of live theatre is irreplaceable. Despite the myriad of viewing options available to us, nothing on a screen quite matches the palpable energy shared between actors and an audience. If you know, you know.
Pay-What-You-Can lets our audience reflect the full spectrum of the people who call this region home, and that shared experience is what gives live theatre its power.
Our community tells us that a town with live storytelling is better than one without. We have faith in our patrons, and as long as you keep showing up, in person and financially, we will keep answering with meaningful, crucial stories you might not otherwise encounter.
That’s why we do this.
Ticket Options
PATRON TICKET — $45 + fees online / $50 all-inclusive at the door
The going rate for a reasonably priced professional theatre ticket in a small town, still below what many regional theatres charge. It doesn’t cover our full costs (we wish), but it reflects the real value of the work onstage and directly supports artists, crews, and programming. Perfect for the person who prefers to keep their art and mathematics separate.
PAY-IT-FORWARD — Suggested $90 — “Leave a Penny”
Give above the Patron price to help make access possible for someone else. Enter any amount you choose. This is generosity, not a rule.
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN — “Take a Penny”
Choose the amount that works for you right now. Same seat. Same show. Same experience. If you’re usually looking for a student, senior, or group discount, PWYC means you apply the discount yourself, whatever makes joining us possible.
COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS
Free tickets for veterans and first responders are available through the Betty Higgins Wings of Freedom Foundation.