First off it's an interesting economic principle that doesn't make the most sense at first. But the reality is, you make no money from empty seats. The costs of production are already paid, over and done. Your job is to make as much money as possible. So sticking to a strict pricing policy makes no sense. If you can find a way to sell out no matter how little you make it's more than you make from an empty seat.
Some of the interesting things around here that I've seen:
-Tickets $10 to any show for anyone under 25
-Many of the theaters in town turn their empty seats over to a vendor that sells tickets for half price day of show only. There are two places you can go to and get all kinds of great tickets for half price.
-Season ticket packages for those under 30 that feature everyone going to specific performances so it's a younger audience. They then do special events before and after the show. The Symphony has what they call the
Wolf Gang for 20's and 30's. They do all sorts of special events.
-The Symphony also picks one or two performances a year and designs it to appeal to younger audiences. I just went to "Science Fiction" night with George Takei as the special narrator. It was fun to go hear classical music that my generation grew up listening too... Star Wars, Close Encounters, ET, Superman. It was great.
-A community theater in the area has a very stuffy older audience base (surprise). They've taken up doing these alternative shows that are young, hip, and edgy. They are controversial, full of profanity, and all the nasty stuff that would horrify their normal audience but appeals to a young crowd. They only have one stage so they do these shows on the apron with the curtain closed in between mainstage shows. While the alternative show is going on out front, they are building the set for their next main stage show. No not actually at the same time... but in the same two week time period that the theater would normally sit empty. This means they are actually generating money at a time that the theater would usually be dark. Hopefully they are expanding their audience for the main stage season as well.
-One theater reserves a midweek performance of every run for "Pay what you can night". You can buy a ticket for $1.
-There are coupons everywhere for many theaters.