The price for theater tickets purchased at the doors of a show are raising by several dollars this year, to encourage advance sales and to allow productions to start on time.

Previously, there was no cost difference between purchasing a ticket in advance and purchasing a ticket at the box office before the show. Now, if a ticket is purchased after 5 p.m. on the date of the show, it will be more expensive, according to the new ticketing policy.

“Simply, we wanted to provide an incentive to get people to buy their tickets in advance,” said Jim Bartruff, director of theater. “When they don’t, what always happens is that we have a line in our box office downstairs, because we can only service one person at a time.”

The line at the box office has delayed the start of some productions, according to Bartruff.

“It has delayed some of our performances by as many as 10 or 15 minutes and we owe it to those people who purchased ahead of time to start the shows on time,” Bartruff said.

The decision to increase the price of tickets came after issues with lines during the summer theater season, according to Bartruff.

The tickets bought before 5 p.m. for regular productions will be the same price as last year, which is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for students. However, after 5 p.m. a surcharge will be added and prices will increase to $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $7 for students.

For the Homecoming musical, Pippin, which runs Oct. 18-21, the prices are separated into premium and standard seating. Since the musical helps fund theater scholarships, the prices are more expensive than the regular productions, Bartruff said.

The musical’s premium tickets are $15 for everyone, if bought before 5 p.m. and then increase to $20, according to the ticket policy. Standard seating starts at $12 for adults and seniors and $8 for students. The standard prices then increase $3 for adults and $4 for students, according to the policy.

“That ticket price (for the musical) is always higher and always has been,” Bartruff said.

Tickets for all theater productions can be purchased online at tickets.emporia.edu. They are also available in the Memorial Union ticket office or by calling 620-341-6378.