It started with a screenshot of my Gammage tickets and a question: What else could I attend?
I already had my Broadway season lined up at ASU Gammage. But Phoenix offers so much more, and I wanted to explore the seasons at Phoenix Theatre, the Phoenix Symphony, Arizona Opera, and Herberger Theater Center. Could I add another subscription? Would individual tickets make more sense? And how would any of it fit around the commitments already on my calendar?
I could have figured it out myself. It would have meant opening websites, comparing production dates, finding individual performance times, reviewing ticket packages, and checking my calendar repeatedly. Then I would have needed to organize everything into something I could actually use.
Instead, I asked ChatGPT to help.
What followed was a surprisingly useful example of how AI can turn a collection of possibilities into a practical plan.
Starting with What I Already Had
My existing Gammage tickets became the starting point. Those performances were already purchased, with specific dates and times, so everything else needed to fit around them.
The first step was to compare the other organizations’ seasons with those fixed dates. That gave me a broad view of the possibilities: locally produced musicals, symphony concerts, opera, and Herberger performances.
But a production’s date range is only the beginning. Knowing that a musical runs for several weeks doesn’t tell me which performance I should attend.
The next step made the response much more valuable: checking my actual Google Calendar and selecting specific dates and times.
The Logic Was What Impressed Me
I was pleased with the options, but I was especially pleased with the reasoning behind them.
The plan considered the differences between organizations and their ticket packages. A fixed subscription might work well for one season, while a flexible package or individual tickets could be a better choice for another.
It also considered the demands on my time. My calendar includes family activities, photography events, camera club meetings, gallery receptions, artwork deliveries, and other commitments. An empty space between two appointments doesn’t always mean I can comfortably attend a performance there.
Allowing time to arrive, park, and get settled mattered.
One particularly useful example involved Gershwin to Garland at Herberger. The evening performance conflicted with my camera club meeting. The afternoon performance offered a way to enjoy the concert while keeping the evening commitment.
Another involved the Phoenix Symphony’s Paul Simon concert and Arizona Opera’s The Pirates of Penzance. Their Sunday performances competed for the same afternoon. Choosing Paul Simon on Saturday evening meant I could potentially attend both.
Those are the kinds of details that take time to uncover when you are doing the research yourself.
My Calendar Needed Some Interpretation
There was also a reminder that a calendar cannot explain everything about a person’s life.
Mine includes recurring soccer, swim, and gymnastics practices for my granddaughters. Those entries were initially treated as scheduling conflicts. I clarified that I don’t regularly attend the practices, so they could be ignored when planning my theatre outings.
That distinction matters. I want to know about the girls’ activities, but having something on my calendar does not necessarily mean I will be there.
Games, meets, tournaments, and other family commitments still deserve consideration. Regular practices don’t need to rule out a performance.
The exchange helped refine the plan around how I actually use my calendar.
Checking the Details Changed the Recommendation
The research also caught an error in the earlier description of Phoenix Theatre’s Big Six package.
The actual package includes SUFFS, Mary Poppins, Unlock’d, Sweeney Todd, In the Heights, and Legally Blonde. Spamalot and Kimberly Akimbo would require additional tickets or an eligible exchange.
I appreciated that correction. It made the recommendation more useful because it connected the shows I might want to see with what the package actually provides.
The response also identified a few dates that could not confidently be called clear. An uncertain birthday-event entry and a trip shown on a shared calendar needed qualification. Rather than presenting every option as equally workable, the plan explained where more context was needed.
From Research to Something I Could Use
By the end, I had specific performance choices organized by venue, along with explanations for the selections and the remaining questions.
I could see where a subscription might be worthwhile, where individual tickets would give me more freedom, and where a different performance time solved a conflict.
Nothing had been purchased or added to my calendar. I still had the opportunity to decide how much of this season I wanted to take on.
And that is important. I enjoy theatre, music, photography, and making art. I want a calendar that gives me things to look forward to while leaving room for the rest of my life.
The Time Saved Was Remarkable
This work came together in a very short amount of time compared with what it would have taken me to research and organize it on my own.
The benefit went beyond gathering information. ChatGPT compared the options, applied scheduling logic, checked the details, and explained its choices in a way I could review.
I was very pleased with the response. It gave me a clear path through a season full of possibilities—and let me spend more time imagining the performances I might enjoy than sorting through the calendars needed to get there.
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