By Brian Riley
Staff Writer
Entertainment on any college campus is a big part of the appeal to the school. Students are bound to the campus either for classes, class- related work, or living in the dorms. Colleges therefore seek to have a consistent source of entertainment that appeals to a wide variety of students.
At LIU Post, that venue is the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts. The Tilles Center offers a wide array of performances, including contemporary music, classical music, plays, comedy shows, and more. But the question remains: are students taking advantage of these shows?
Aliza Gulab, a junior Broadcasting major, has yet to attend an event in the Tilles Center. Gulab commutes to school, and attributes her absence at campus shows to what she feels is limited marketing. “I think they should advertise more; most people don’t take the time to read the small flyers on the wall,” Gulab said. Although she hasn’t attended any Tilles events, she does feel like they do offer great shows at great prices, and plans to attend her first show, “Guy Code + Girl Code,” on Oct. 10.
Traveling distance might play a part in students’ lack of attendance at shows, according to Ashley Coleman, a senior Psychology major. Coleman, who lives on campus, has attended several shows including Spring Fling and fashion shows. Yet, she believes that commuter students would be less apt to purchase tickets. “Personally, I think I’ve gone to these events because I live here,” Coleman said.
Coleman, like Gulab, felt that increased promotion would help boost ticket sales. Coleman suggested that an Instagram page would be helpful in the promoting events at Tilles.
Other students are completely turned off by events at the Tilles center. Michelle Morey, a senior Journalism major, said, “[Campus events have] never really sparked my interest; they don’t really gear [shows] to younger students.” She also feels that the only event heavily promoted is Spring Fling. Morey is also a commuter.
Eliot Sroka, Executive Director of the Tilles Center for 28 years, stated that he has been listening and catering to the students’ feedback. Sroka attempts to make adjustments with the help of his Student Advisory Committee. The committee was finalized last year, and their goal is to incorporate student opinion into the selection of different events. For example, the “Guy Code + Girl Code” show came directly from the minds of the committee members.
The “Guy Code + Girl Code” comedy tour, which will be showing at Tilles Center on Oct. 10, is clearly aimed towards a younger demographic. The show will be similar to the television show, with a built-in question and answer segment, where students will interact with the comics.
“Dancing Pros: Live,” on Nov. 23, will be a live dance competition where the audience votes with electronic devices they receive at the door. Finally, “Evil Dead,” a Halloween themed musical, will appear on Oct. 24. The show will feature a splatter zone, where the first four to five rows of the audience will be occasionally splattered wirg fake blood throughout the play.
“We always love to hear what might be the interest of the student body,” Sroka said. If students have amy suggestions for shows at Tilles they can contact Clara Zahler, Campus Arts Liaison at 516-299-3235.
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