Students can obtain the free Bass Pass, a membership that allows people to see shows at reduced costs at Bass Concert Hall, starting this semester. 

Tim Rogers, director of education and engagement at Texas Performing Arts, said the Bass Pass cost $50, and tickets were $10 for select events last year. The memberships were also capped at 400 students, and students could purchase limited tickets during a brief window. Now, the membership is free, he said, and a lottery system selects members to purchase Broadway tickets on the Texas Performing Arts website for $25. Members have to enter the lottery for each show they want to attend.

Bass Pass student membership hit a record 1,400 members on Oct. 1 after Texas Performing Arts changed the structure of the membership.

“If we can triple the number of students that are able to do something with us, whether that is see a Broadway show or a stand-up comedian, then that’s important for the campus life aspect of what we’re doing,” Rogers said. “More and more students are able to incorporate the highest quality of performing arts into their time at UT.”

Rogers said students can join the membership at any point during the year. The previous process was similar to buying concert tickets, accounting senior Tabor Clifton said. 

“Sometimes the website would crash because so many people are on there at the exact same time trying to get tickets,” Clifton said. “It’d be stressful.”  

Theatre education freshman Sophia Carter said the more affordable tickets offer a unique opportunity to see professional theater performances. 

“This is such a cool opportunity,” Carter said. “I just love that they’re making tickets so affordable to students across the whole University.”

Clifton said Texas Performing Arts used the new system in September for the recent “Kimberly Akimbo” Broadway tour. The experience was smoother than previous years, she said. 

“This year, I literally got on 30 minutes later than I was supposed to … but they had really good seats that were still available just because of the lottery system,” Clifton said. “It was a really good experience to be able to go in there and know that they had tickets for me.”