Why hasn't this been done before? The Kennedy Center is allowing patrons to create their own subscriptions for the 2009-10 ballet season. We may now choose to see several performances of one ballet, different ballets on different nights, and we are not required to buy tickets for anything we don't want to watch. See for yourself: http://www.kennedy-center.org/tickets/subs...purchase_type=A

I will certainly be taking advantage of this as soon as possible!

Thank you for this, Hans! What a TERRIFIC idea!! (Is there a "Sylvia" option? )

This is a great idea to sell tickets! I've seen "create your owns" before but they are usually associated with a single company ; i.e. ABT, Met Opera, etc..

Although I guess both Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall in NYC could do this as they host many different orchestras and other types of events. They may already be doing it, I really don't follow their ads.

Kudos to Kennedy Center.

The first time I saw anything like this was in Boston around 1980. I don't remember the sponsoring organization, and the venues were all over the place, but I do remember choosing a Leontyne Price recital at Symphony Hall, and entire weekend of Paul Taylor in a small theater in a bank or insurance building, among the 9-10 choices I made from a quite extensive list.

The NY Philharmonic allows Create Your Own. Carnegie does not. Great idea for the Kennedy Center.

NY Phil or Avery Fisher Hall? If NYPO does it , it's really not all that innovative, lots of performing arts organizations allow you to "build your own" sub under various terms WITHIN THAT PARTICULAR ENTITY. What I see as creative is if the hosting hall does it, spanning over the individual performing companies. That's what KC is doing and it's a terrific idea.

I admit I really don't follow the ads for AVH or Carnegie Hall and I'm not on their mailing lists.

This is great for the connoisseur. But is there a downside? Subscriptions allow programmers to take a chance on lesser-known works, putting in something worthy but obscure along with the usual guaranteed box-office brand names. Allowing people to choose might, inadvertently, lead to fewer Sylvias and more Swan Lakes in the future.

I see where you are going with this and it's a good point. Performing arts organization can "extend awareness" in their own, programmed, subscription series.
I might get a performance of something I wouldn't necessary pick but I could find something new very rewarding. Whereas with the build your own, I might stick to safe choices of works that I already know I want to see (as opposed to works that I didn't KNOW I wanted to see!) So the familiar, popular options will be more in demand and will sell first and in fact could affect the amount of performances allotted to this work or that.

Over the years different subscriptions have introduced me to many works and performers that I weren't familiar with but were rewarded by.

There is a way around this, the best pricing arrangements would be for the prebuilt series with the create-your-own being priced a bit higher but less than single tickets.

Many subscription packages have become more flexible anyway, allowing subscribers to exchange tickets to a performance they're not able (or don't want) to attend. I wouldn't be at all suprised if this has resulted in reduced attendance at ballets, operas and concerts that could be considered box-office poison. On the other hand, it's allowed me to avoid the more populist programming that performing arts organizations resort to in order to fill seats.