At Texas Performing Arts, we strive to provide services that will help you have an enjoyable experience. We would be happy to answer your questions or explain our policies.

Download the 2009-2010 Texas Performing Arts Season Brochure

CONTACT THE TICKET OFFICE

HOURS: Monday through Friday, 10 am to 6 pm
PHONE: 512.471.1444
EMAIL: tickets@texasperformingarts.org
The Bass Concert Hall Ticket Office is open for in-person sales Monday through Friday 11 AM to 6 PM, and an hour and a half before performances.

CONTACT GUEST SERVICES

HOURS: Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm
PHONE: 512.471.0611
EMAIL: frontofhouse@texasperformingarts.org

CONTACT SPECIAL EVENTS & TOUR INFORMATION

PHONE: 512.471.0610
EMAIL: specialevents@texasperformingarts.org
Self-guided lobby tours are available Monday through Friday between the hours of 11am and 2pm.

CONTACT US DURING AN EVENT

The following phone numbers are answered during events. If you need us to contact a guest, be sure to have their seat location available.

BASS CONCERT HALL: 512.471.0627
McCULLOUGH THEATRE: 512.471.0805
BATES RECITAL HALL: 512.475.7127
HOGG MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM: 512.471.3749
B. IDEN PAYNE & OSCAR BROCKETT THEATRES: 512.471.5793

GENERAL INFORMATION

OPEN LOBBY HOURS/ART GALLERIES
The lobby of Bass Concert Hall is open to the public from 11am – 2pm, Monday – Friday (excluding University holidays). We invite you to explore the 5 levels of our newly renovated lobby and guide yourself through a tour of our Front of House space.

Texas Performing Arts is proud to exhibit eleven modern and contemporary sculptures from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The sculptures are installed in and around Bass Concert Hall as an initiative of the Landmarks public art program.

In addition to the Landmarks sculptures, we are pleased to exhibit rotating galleries of 2-Dimensional artwork provided by local artists and organizations. For gallery inquiries, please call 512.471.8207.

GUEST SERVICES

ASSISTIVE LISTENING DEVICES
Bass Concert Hall has an assistive listening system that is available at all performances. The receivers are available for complimentary check out at the Guest Services counter. To check out an assistive listening device, or receiver, the patron leaves his/her driver’s license until the unit is returned at the end of the event.

We have four types of earpieces for use with the receivers.

1. A loop works with the patron’s hearing aid; it fits around the wearer’s neck and sends a signal for amplification to the hearing aid itself. Loops only work with Behind-the-Ear (BTE) devices that have a T-coil switch. They will not work with in-the-ear hearing aids.
2. Headphones are preferred by most patrons without hearing aids.
3. Ear buds fit in the ear canal.
4. Earpieces fit over the entire ear.

The assistive listening device, or receiver, has a simple on/off switch. The device will only work once the show begins.

BINOCULARS
Binocular rental is available at the Guest Services Counter in Bass Concert Hall for $5 per pair. A valid ID must be left at the counter until the binoculars are returned.

COAT CHECK
Coat check is available before performances at Bass Concert Hall at the Guest Services window for $2 per item.

EAR PLUGS
Ear plugs are available at Guest Services at Bass Concert Hall for $2.00.

LOST & FOUND
Any lost or found items should be reported or turned in to the Guest Services window in Bass Concert Hall, or an usher or House Manager at any of our other venues. If you believe you have misplaced an item during your visit, please call 512.471.0611.

TAXI SERVICE
Please go to the Bass Concert Hall Guest Services Counter or ask for assistance from a staff member to arrange for taxi service.

WHEELCHAIRS
The Guest Services Counter at Bass Concert Hall does have a limited number of wheelchairs that may be checked out to guests with mobility-impairments for short-term usage during an event. These wheelchairs are for transporting a guest to and from their seat. For liability purposes, our staff is not permitted to assist a guest in getting in or out of a wheelchair, or pushing the wheelchair to their destination, so please be sure that anyone needing extra assistance of this kind is accompanied by another guest who can help.

Please contact the Box Office in advance if you intend to stay in a wheelchair during the performance so that you can be assigned to a special wheelchair seating area. If you wish to transfer from a wheelchair to a standard seat, we will store your wheelchair (or walker) in a safe place near your seat where it is out of the way of other guests. Please alert an Usher or House Manager if and when you’d like the wheelchair returned to you so you can leave the seating area.

GENERAL VENUE POLICIES

The following are standard policies for Texas Performing Arts venues. All policies are subject to management discretion and performance requirements, and may change from show to show. Please contact Guest Services with any questions regarding a specific performance.

ASSISTANCE DURING PERFORMANCES
If you need assistance during any Texas Performing Arts performance, please contact the nearest Usher, House Manager or Security Officer. This includes alerting us of broken seats, disruptive guests seated in your area, unclear sound quality, etc. Please give us the opportunity to solve the problem immediately so that you can enjoy the rest of your performance.

BAG SEARCHES
In any Texas Performing Arts venue, all persons and bags are subject to search. Bags that pass inspection must fit comfortably under your seat. Oversized bags must be checked at Guest Services.

CAMERAS & RECORDING
Photography is only allowed in the lobby areas of our buildings where artwork is not present in the background. Please refrain from any type of photography or recording inside our performance spaces. The use of mobile phones for recording or photography is also prohibited.

CELL PHONES & PAGERS
Please power off your cell phones and pagers prior to entering our venues. Photos from cell phones are not permitted, and texting or any other use of your cell phone during a performance is also prohibited and may result in your being asked to leave the auditorium.

CHILDREN
Texas Performing Arts welcomes children of any age accompanied by an adult. However, everyone entering the hall must have a ticket. Guests that choose to attend an event with an infant do so with the understanding that if their child becomes disruptive during a performance, a Guest Services Representative will reseat them or relocate them to the lobby. Refunds are not available for disruptive children. It is the responsibility of the adult to determine if the event they are planning to attend is age appropriate for their children. Booster seats are available and strollers must be checked at Guest Services.

CONCESSIONS
For most commercial and fine art performances in Bass Concert Hall, Hogg Memorial Auditorium and McCullough Theatre, concession stands will be open in the lobby to provide alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, spirits, soda, juice, coffee and bottled water. In all of our venues, guests are not permitted to bring outside food or beverage into our lobbies, and any drinks purchased at our concession stands are not permitted to leave the building after the event.

In Bass Concert Hall there is a Cafe on Level 3 that opens 1.5 hours prior to curtain time for most performances. The Cafe provides full table service with options such as salads, Paninis, personal pizzas, cheese plates and desserts. Advanced reservations are not accepted at the Cafe, guests are seated on a first-come, first-served basis so please be sure to arrive with plenty of time to enjoy your meal.

For most events in Bass and Hogg, drinks purchased in our lobbies are permitted inside the auditorium as long as they are in plastic containers, however this could change based on the restrictions of each individual performance. In McCullough Theatre, B. Iden Payne Theatre, Oscar Brockett Theatre and Bates Auditorium, food and drink are not permitted inside the house (auditorium).

DRESS CODE
There is no set dress code at Texas Performing Arts performances. In keeping with Austin dress preferences, most patrons prefer dressy casual. It’s not uncommon to see patrons in suits or jeans.

LOBBY & HOUSE OPENING TIMES
For performances at Bass Concert Hall, the lobby usually opens 1.5 hours before the event’s scheduled curtain time. For performances at our other venues, the lobby will typically open 1 hour prior to curtain time.

We generally open the house (auditorium) and begin seating guests 30 minutes before curtain time, however this may change depending on the performance.

LATE SEATING
Every performance in each of our venues has its own policies for seating guests who arrive late or who exit the hall during a performance and want to re-enter. Parking on campus, getting to the appropriate venue and finding your seat in the theatre does take some time, so please plan to arrive to campus no later than 30-45 minutes prior to the curtain time printed on your ticket. This will help you avoid possibly having to wait in the lobby during a “late seating hold” once the performance has begun.

RESTROOMS & WATER FOUNTAINS
In Bass Concert Hall there are Women’s Restrooms on the House Left side of every lobby floor. On the House Right side of the lobby, Men’s Restrooms are located on floors 2, 4 and 6, with additional Women’s Restrooms on floors 3 and 5. Each restroom has at least one stall that is wheelchair accessible.

Drinking Fountains are located just outside the restrooms on each lobby level in Bass.

SIGN INTERPRETED PERFORMANCES
Typically for Broadway Across America tours that perform at Bass Concert Hall, the Saturday matinee performance is Sign Language Interpreted (ASL). Please contact our box office at 512.475.7102 if you are interested in purchasing tickets in the reserved section for those in need of this service. For additional questions about this or other services for the blind, dear or hard of hearing, please contact Guest Services.

SMOKING
Smoking is not allowed in any Texas Performing Arts venue. In accordance with Austin law, smoking is not allowed within 20 feet of the entrances or exits of our buildings.