While their classmates worked with traditional Houston businesses, including oilfield service firms and energy production companies, one group of University of Houston College of Technology students chose something different as the final project for their degree in Supply Chain and Logistics Technology.
The five-member team is hoping to help Houston's Theatre Under The Stars draw a younger audience to TUTS Underground, a series of musical theater performances described as "edgy, captivating, rockin' and occasionally a bit risqué."
The team will get a sense of how well they have done later this month, when the theater by measuring attendance for "Murder Ballad," a musical murder mystery, which ran from April 17 through April 27.
Theatre Under The Stars created TUTS Underground last fall, staging shows in a 500-seat theater at the Hobby Center, offering a bar in the theater, tickets starting at $24 and other inducements to attract a younger crowd.
While the core TUTS audience is 45 and older, assistant marketing director Christian Brown said the target audience for TUTS Underground is 18-36. The audience for the first two shows was considerably older, however.
Michael Nguyen, team leader for the College of Technology students working on the challenge, said they found several reasons for that, including competition for entertainment dollars.
"I think it's mostly awareness," he said. "When I think of downtown, I think of the big shows, The Nutcracker. I'd never heard of TUTS Underground."
After basic market research, Nguyen and other team members, working under the direction of instructional assistant professor Carol Brace, began a survey of UH students this spring, hoping to increase awareness and better understand the obstacles to drawing students and other young adults to performances.
Team member Vincent Patillo said early surveys indicated that relatively few students are familiar with TUTS Underground, although interest seemed higher among foreign students. The survey also asked where students get entertainment news, with options including Facebook, Instagram, television and family and friends.