I squirm at the term "young professional," though I am undoubtedly young and supposedly professional. It just makes it sound like I have a whole lot more shoes than I actually do. Despite the term rubbing me the wrong way, there are perks to joining young professional arts groups in Houston. It usually means discounts and parties. Here's a look at some of the deals you can get if you're not too old and/or too blue-collar:
• The Houston Symphony's Young Professionals Backstage
Age: 25-40
Perks: Three-concert subscription for $75. Free cocktail before each concert in a special room. Invitations to three free special events (with open bar). $20 tickets to other performances. Meet and greets with symphony members. Discount tickets to other HS social events.
Website: http://ypb.houstonsymphony.org/
Is it a deal? Sounds like a fair amount of opportunities to mingle with people your age, and the fair amount of drinking will make it easier to chat up a hot person. Thumbs up.
• Houston Grand Opera's O.N. (Opening Nights for Young Professionals)
Age: "20s and 30s"
Price: Subscription for all opening nights starts at $84, goes up exponentially from there.
Perks: Discounted subscription rate, intermission mixers, post-performance parties, special events and wine tastings, discount to other HGO social events.
Website: http://www.houstongrandopera.org/page.aspx?pageid=12016909
Is it a deal? Hmm. I don't know. $84 for 6 shows is a good deal, but the parties sound very socialite-ish (their last party featured a fashion show from Tootsies.) I'm going to go out on a limb and say this isn't geared toward the 29-95 audience.
• Houston Ballet's Ballet Barre
Age: 40 and younger
Price: $125 grand tier seating or $396 for center orchestra seating
Perks: You'll see four performances for the prices listed above; discounts to the Nutcracker Market Preview Party and the Ballet Ball; invitations to social events.
Website: http://www.houstonballet.org/BalletBarre/
Is it a deal? You don't seem to get much for your money, just a slight discount to get you to subscribe to four performances. Eh.
• Houston Young People for the Arts (Houston Downtown Alliance)
Age: 23-40
Price: $65
Perks: Members-only social events and performances; members-only parties before cool events (Aurora Picture Show, MFAH, etc.), discounts to fundraisers and galas.
Website: http://www.houstonarts.org/
Is it a deal? Definitely. This way you're not locked into one organization's performances, plus they seem to have a pretty good idea of what's cool in Houston and they host events with regularity. I'd say that price is pretty reasonable, too.
• Society for the Performing Arts' NiteSPA
Age: Under 40
Price: $170 for three events or $200 for four
Perks: Much like the Houston Ballet deal, this is a subscription series with the added perk of a social event tied to each performance.
Website: http://www.spahouston.org/nitespa.asp
Is it a deal? That's a chunk of change, so they're probably looking for people on the higher end of "professional" than me. Not a bad deal, but nothing special.
• Alley Theatre's 1st Act
Age: 21-40
Price: $75
Perks: Three behind-the-scenes events, three mixers, a fundraiser, and a special ticket rate for all 1st Act-designated plays, if purchased together.
Website: http://www.alleytheatre.org/Alley/Development_1st_act_EN.asp
Is it a deal? It's ok. It would be better if they discounted single tickets.
• Museum of Fine Arts Art Crowd
Age: 21-40
Price: $75
Perks: You're considered a member of the museum once you purchase your membership, so on top of free admission to the museum, discounts at the gift shop, discounted film tickets, preview parties, you will also receive invites to four free Art Crowd events.
Website: MFAH.org
Is it a deal? I think being a museum member is always a good deal with a good sprinkling of members-only events. Paying $25 for four parties on top of your membership can't hurt if you're trying to find a date out in this big world, you know?
good grief... only a few more years to be a young professional ... and to think I spent most of that time miss-spelling proffesional...profesional...PROFESSIONAL.
enjoy it while it lasts, it seems to go fast.
In judging whether these are good opportunities, I'd take a look at the different hosting organizations, as well as the type of material they present...as in, the ART. (Since there are indeed cheaper ways to get your drink on, I'd think the art and performances would have something to do with making a decision in this matter.)
I'm glad 29-95 is talking about these groups, but I think a little more information and research would be helpful in judging their respective merits. A lot of these groups bring in top-notch talent and produce performances of the highest caliber, so is it a question of gearing their groups towards socialites or a "higher end of the professional spectrum" or is it a question of trying to reach new, younger audiences while not losing too much money?? (Especially as the economy is squeezing all their historical funding sources.) Furthermore, please keep in mind that, in the case of all the groups you listed, the "young professionals" groups are founded not only to introduce new audiences to the arts, but to also cultivate a younger generation of arts supporters. In other words, it's not always a question of getting a "deal." If a "deal" to art performances is what you want, there is almost always an offer of rush tickets to the performances.
These entities certainly want young, hip people at their events- yes, including the 29-95 audience (whoever that may entail). And I figure a good number 29-95 readers would enjoy ANY of the above groups... my best suggestion to your readers is to go directly to the group to get the best information about the benefits each entails.
On the whole, I think this article would be more complete were it focused more on all the great things you get in ADDITION to the drinking opportunities.
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