Pay What You Can
The Catastrophic Theatre is celebrating its 16th year as a Pay-What-You-Can theatre, ensuring the experience of live performance is available to every Houstonian.
Why do we do this?
Because we don’t believe the arts should be a luxury and we’re pretty sure you don’t either.
Today, less than half of Houstonians can afford to see a play. Really. The average price of a theatre ticket in Houston hovers around $55. For a single ticket. Over 39% of Houstonians live check-to-check. They work hard and still struggle to make basic ends meet. Another 14% live in poverty.
We believe everyone should have access to the theatre experience regardless of their financial status.
How does it work?
Pay-What-You-Can isn’t a discount program, it’s an honor system. It relies on you paying what you can truly afford, however much that is. Everyone’s financial situation is different. We rely on you to select the price point that reflects your own.
If you can afford to pay more, you make it possible for those that can’t—a radical act of kindness.
In other words, we don’t make it work. You do.