The Times Orange County Poll : South County Residents More Likely to Attend Performing Arts Center : Lack of Time Cited by Those Staying Away

Lack of time, ticket prices and general disinterest in “high culture” are reasons given by those least likely to use the Orange County Performing Arts Center, according to The Times Orange County Poll.

Connie Boydstun is typical of those who attend few if any Center events. She was one of several people interviewed earlier this week at several shopping centers in Fullerton. Boydstun and the others did not participate in the commissioned poll, which was conducted anonymously.

The poll indicates that residents of the north county and non-graduates of college attend the Center less often than do other groups.

A 34-year-old Anaheim resident who has completed three years of college, Boydstun said that with three young children at home and a part-time business providing balloons for parties, she does not have much time for cultural activities.

In the past year, Boydstun said, she and her husband, an Anaheim realtor, attended two concerts, by middle-of-the-road pop crooners Wayne Newton and Kenny Rogers, both at the Celebrity Theatre, 10 minutes from their home.

For the Newton concert, Boydstun said she paid $24 for third-row orchestra seats on the aisle. Ticket prices at the Center run as high as $38, and its offerings of pop music are relatively rare (even though according to the poll, 27% of the population named pop concerts as the type of live performances they’re most interested in attending. Pop was second only to Broadway musicals on the list of most requested fare).

Boydstun said that if the Center would provide the music she likes for $20 to $30 a ticket, “I’d be there.” The longer drive to Costa Mesa would have no bearing, she said, noting that while living in Los Angeles she and her husband once drove to Irvine Meadows to hear Anne Murray.

Boydstun said she didn’t know that Broadway musicals, which she likes, are offered regularly at the Center. Of county residents polled, 18% were unaware of the Center’s programs.

Dave and Grace Morris of Orange said they had read about the Center when it opened and drove by it once but had never attended an event there.

“With three kids, it’s difficult to plan on going anywhere,” said Grace Morris, 31.

Dave Morris, also 31, an assistant manager for a discount store, said his leisure activities in the past year have been confined to a couple of Angels games and high school football games on Friday nights. The last concert he attended was by the rock band “America,” at Irvine Meadows two years ago.

Linda Chapman of Fullerton, a single mother with three children and a full-time job as a cashier supervisor, cited the time squeeze and ticket prices as reasons for not getting to the Center but said she wants to take her 8-year-old daughter to a dance performance.

Chapman, 33, who attended junior college, said the girl is taking ballet classes, “so I’ll probably take her in the next year.”

Individual ticket prices of more than $20 make attending such events a sacrifice, Chapman said, but she would consider taking her daughter to something along the lines of “a Christmas present or a birthday present--a special occasion.”

In the past, Chapman has been tempted by lower-priced events at the Center for children, especially around Christmas, she said. The last family outing was to Knott’s Berry Farm, she said.

John Bradley, 24, a newcomer to the county from Los Angeles, said his preferences are dancing and nightclubs. The Anaheim resident, who is in sales, said when he does attend concerts, he likes rock, with a price range of $17 to $25. The Center does not offer rock shows.