Becoming involved in the arts is a process that involves movement through several stages, from disinterest to active attendance at and enthusiasm for performing arts events. Since target consumers at any time will differ in their placement on this continuum, marketing programs to expand arts audiences must first identify where each target segment is and then motivate that group to move to the next stage. A six-stage model, labelled the "Performing Arts Adoption Process," is a first approximation of this process. Data from the survey of Public Participation in the Arts are used to test the model and explore its implications. Detailed comparisons of consumers at adjacent stages in the process, using both bivariate and multivariate analytic techniques, appear to support both the validity and the usefulness of the model to both arts managers and future researchers in the field. (AEM)