Although the end of any semester is always seems to be filled to the brim with shows from a plethora of campus groups, the number is still growing - as is attendance.
According to Joanne Barnett, manager of the Aidekman Arts Complex (which includes the Cohen and Balch Arena Theatre box offices), not only has the variety of shows offered on campus grown, but the number of students attending the events has also risen.
"There are so many more events now, and the amount of students seeing productions has greatly increased," said Barnett, who is now in her 25th year at the box office.
Students, whether they are aware of the increase or not have noticed "It seems like there are so many different student groups having shows nowadays," junior Ryan Sopelsa said.
The amount of culture shows specifically has risen, a trend which began about 10 years ago, Barnett said.
Not only did they bring more performances to the stage, these shows eventually drew students out to experience bits of culture foreign to them. "In the beginning, they'd just bring in their own cultures, and now it's becoming much more mixed," Barnett said.
"They definitely bring in audiences from the student body that might otherwise not come to shows in Cohen," she added.
Among the most popular, according to Barnett, are culture and dance shows, such as Spirit of Color (SoC) and Tufts Association of South Asians (TASA) shows. "They appeal to a lot of different people," Barnett said.
Sopelsa finds the SoC shows to be the most popular among the people he knows, and other students agreed. According to the SoC website, the group's performances are "a means of cultural expression through singing, acting and
dancing."
The SoC fall show this year nearly sold out in one day, and eventually both shows did sell out. Since SoC has only existed for eight years, its popularity has been an explosion.
Freshman Lisa Yeung, a participant in the SoC fall show, did not expect tickets to go as fast as they did. "I was surprised that the tickets sold out so fast," Yeung said. "I didn't think they would in just one day for the Friday show."
Even upperclassmen were impressed with student turnout at this year's show. "It was packed," Sopelsa said. "It sold out days in advance from what I saw."
Despite such ticket sales, some students were not sure about their availability. "Not a lot of people knew the tickets were going on sale when they did," Yeung said.
She went on to explain that she believed they could have filled the house for yet another show. "I knew a lot of people who wanted to go but couldn't because it was sold out," Yeung said. "I'm sure if we had another show, it would have sold out."
Audience participation is an important part of SoC's shows, and this year's show had lively crowds. According to the performers, it energizes dancers and makes the crowd more enthusiastic.
"It's really exciting to hear people cheering for us, and we feed off of the audience's energy," Yeung said.
Despite the plethora of shows being offered, not all students are eager to be part of the audience. Sopelsa summed up the sentiments of some of his peers, saying, "I'll only go to [an on-campus show] if I know someone in it."
The two principle venues for shows on campus are the Balch Arena Theater and the Cohen Auditorium. The Balch Arena can accommodate 220 people and hosts student master stage shows, like this fall's "A New Brain." Cohen, which seats 600, is home to dance shows, music shows, and visiting lecturers and comedians.
Shows at the Balch Arena may attract smaller student attendance than those at Cohen, but they generally pull a sizeable crowd from the community. Balch Arena shows "sell very well to the outside audience," Barnett said.
Cohen shows, on the other hand, garner a very large student turnout. Over the past decade, several culture-related groups have formed and produced performances at Cohen.
