Arts Box Office

Where and when

The Arts Box Office is in Applied Arts Building Room 104, in the east lobby that Heritage Auditorium and Thorsen Theatre share. The window is open Monday–Friday, noon–5 p.m. during the fall and spring terms and closed during university breaks. On performance days a window at the venue opens one hour before curtain and stays open through intermission. Jazz nights in the Founders Ballroom have a table at the door instead.

Tickets can also be bought online through the arts listings on the events calendar. There is no fee at the window and a $1.50 per-ticket service fee online, which goes to the ticketing vendor and not, despite persistent rumors, to the theatre’s paint budget. The box office manager is Lorna Bakke. Parking is free in the Applied Arts lot after 5 p.m. and on weekends; see visitor parking.

Prices

Faculty and staff pay half price with a Porter Card. Single tickets and passes for 2026–27 went on sale August 24. The public season pass costs $48 and covers one admission to every ticketed event in the season, which pays for itself by about the fourth show; see arts season passes. The dates for everything are on the 2026–27 season page.

Free student tickets

Any enrolled Porter student gets one free ticket per performance with a Porter Card. For concerts, just show the card at the door. For theatre, reserve a seat at the window or online with your MyPorter login. Student seats are released two weeks before each production opens, a few days ahead of public sales. Also:

• You can buy one guest ticket at the senior/youth price on the same reservation.
• Reserved student seats not claimed 10 minutes before curtain go to the standby line. The Black Box seats 96 for the winter drama, so this rule matters there.
• Seeing a production twice is fine. Reserve the second performance for the final week, which tends to have more seats.
• Family Weekend performances (October 23–24) sell out first. Reserve family seats with your own.

Accessible seating and services

Every venue has wheelchair and companion seating, which you can book at the window, by phone or online. Assistive listening receivers are free at the venue window with a photo ID. Heritage Auditorium and Thorsen Theatre also have a hearing loop in the center section. At least one performance of each production offers each of these services:

Every relaxed (sensory-friendly) performance keeps the house lights partly up and opens a quiet room off the lobby. Other accommodations can be requested at least a week ahead. Students who need an accommodation for performing rather than attending should contact Accessibility Services. Accessible parking is at the Applied Arts east entrance, the step-free one.

Refunds, exchanges and weather

• Exchanges into another performance of the same production are free up to 24 hours before your original date, subject to availability. Season pass holders can exchange up to two hours before.
• Refunds are given only when a performance is cancelled. Otherwise, a ticket you cannot use can be turned into a credit for later in the season.
• Weather: if the university closes (see weather closings), evening performances are cancelled. Ticket holders are emailed by 3 p.m. and can choose a refund or an exchange.
• Late seating happens at a suitable break. There is no late seating for What the Coulee Keeps, because the only way into the Black Box is across the playing area.

Groups and schools

Groups of 10 or more get 20% off adult prices on any production, with one coordinator ticket free per 15. K–12 school groups pay $5 per student and chaperones get in free. The musical has a weekday school matinee on Wednesday, April 21, 10 a.m., with a printable study guide and a 15-minute talkback with the cast. Bus parking is at the Applied Arts loading dock off Founders Drive. Schools in the Porter Falls Area and Cedar Bluff districts can ask about bus-cost help for the matinee, which the department has covered for any school that asked the past three years. Email the box office to start a group order. Group orders are paid by invoice no later than one week before the date.