Giving Tuesday: Help Us Replace Our 60-Year-Old Theater Seats

This Giving Tuesday, Help Us Give Seattle a Place to Sit, Laugh, and Belong

If you have ever sat in one of our seats, you know the feeling. The lights dim, the room settles, and for a moment the whole audience breathes together, ready for whatever unpredictable joy is about to unfold.

For more than 40 years, these seats have held our laughter, our joy, our first-time students, our longtime regulars, and countless moments of community.

But many of those seats have simply reached the end of their life. Some are more than 60 years old. Others were already a decade old when we installed them in 2012. Today, they sag, wobble, and no longer safely (or comfortably) support the people who come here to connect, escape, and experience live theater.

We have always believed that improv should be affordable for everyone. We keep our ticket prices among the lowest in Seattle, offer free classes and scholarships, and partner with organizations across the community. Because our mission is access, not profit, we rely on supporters like you when major upgrades become essential.

This Giving Tuesday, we are asking for your help to replace every aging seat so we can continue welcoming people into a safe, comfortable, and affordable space where stories come alive, and community grows.

For more than four decades, Unexpected Productions has offered spontaneous, story-driven improv that reflects the people of Seattle. Keeping our prices low is central to our mission. Replacing our failing seats is essential to sustaining that commitment.

Your generosity also supports programs that reduce financial barriers at every level:

• Ticket prices average just $9
• A maximum ticket price of $15 for weekly shows
• $12 tickets for students, seniors, and military
• $5 TeenTix access
• Unlimited work-study scholarships for our improv school
• Four free improv classes annually for more than 300 participants
• Over 500 donated tickets and class certificates to nonprofits serving youth, seniors, communities of color, LGBTQ+ community members, people with disabilities, and people experiencing economic hardship
• Free performances for more than 400 low-income and senior Pike Housing Authority residents each year

This theater has never been about fancy buildings or perfect equipment. It has always been about the people who show up. Your support makes sure we can keep welcoming audiences with dignity and care.

By replacing these seats, you are giving comfort, safety, and a place for joy to unfold for years to come.

Thank you for supporting affordable arts in Seattle and ensuring that the Market Theater remains a welcoming place for the entire community.

Just like our improv, we can’t do this without you.

Thank YOU!

Check out our shows and classes here