Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Ticket Sales

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k8tt
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Joined: 4/05/05
Location: Canada
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Posts: 73

Topic: Ticket Sales
Posted: 6/27/05 at 12:07pm

Here we are AGAIN with Opening Night on Friday and ticket sales are dismal. We put posters up everywhere, we advertise in the papers and on the radio, and in community newsletters and on outdoor signs. What else can we do to boost ticket sales?

Our shows do well after the first couple of nights, usually - it seems people need to hear about the plays before committing to tickets - but this stresses us out to have only 15 tickets sold for Opening Night at a 100 seat venue! It's demoralizing for the cast.

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Topper
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Posted: 6/27/05 at 12:32pm

Most theaters (both professional and amateur) do
what is commonly called "Papering the House" for
previews, opening night and sometimes even
opening weekend if it plans to be a long run.

"Papering the House" means giving away free tickets
to an invited audience. Not the ENTIRE audience,
mind you, but enough to get more bums in the seats.

These freebies often go to student groups, senior
citizen groups, or any other group that might not have
the funds to pay for tickets themselves.

Sometimes the tickets are given out as "thank yous"
to an organization that helped the production in
some way (for example, a hardware store that gave
you discount on paint or materials; a print shop that
helped you with the program or posters; etc).

You said yourself "people need to hear about the
plays before committing to tickets." So, the best way
is get people into the theater at any means possible.

Best of luck.

"None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone

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dboris
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Posted: 6/27/05 at 12:53pm

Related to what "Topper" suggested, if you give out comps to you cast and crew, restrict the comps to opening weekend. Another idea to make you first night a "preview" night and charge a lower price.

Dan

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Scott B
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Joined: 12/08/04
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Posted: 6/27/05 at 2:33pm

I had posted earlier about issuing tickets in blocks for church groups since we're doing Smoke On the Mountain. One other thing we're going to do is issue an invitation to area ministers to attend our last dress rehearsal. Since word of mouth is so extremely important we thought this would be a good way to do so.

I realize this doesn't help you with opening night, but as someone else said earlier ... you could do the same thing for opening night to at least have some type of audience to play to. I really like the above idea of issuing tickets as a "thank you." We haven't done that enough in the past. I think I'll suggest it at our next meeting.

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Shatcher
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Joined: 2/21/05
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Posted: 6/27/05 at 3:38pm

you could try sending invites to you loyal patrons for opening night. Maybe with drinks and meet and greet after the show. this will get the word of mouth going a little faster. I have seen many an opening night with a small house.

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Sueshoo
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Joined: 4/29/05
Location: United States
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Posts: 27

Posted: 6/27/05 at 3:40pm

We have the same problem at our community theatre, one thing we tried for the first time was to puchase a mailing list based on residental postal routes within a 15 mile radius of the theatre (6000 homes approx).

We created a less expensive version of our show mailer and "invited the first 100 callers to get 2 free tickets" valid for our preview night. Our house was packed on what is normally 10 or 15 friends/family of the cast. People called, even though they were not available on the preview night, to purchase tickets for subsequent performances.

We also made cast/crew comps valid for the opening weekend only. Overall our opening weekend attendance was higher than it has been in years.

Good Luck to you.

Susan
Life is not a Dress Rehearsal

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k8tt
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Joined: 4/05/05
Location: Canada
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Posts: 73

Posted: 6/28/05 at 11:54am

Thank you all for the helpful ideas. I brought a couple of them up with the Artistic Director but she is loathe to give out free tickets to people who aren't sponsors/donators. Our dress rehearsal night is open to family/friends of cast (who would not be able to afford a ticket) and the local youth theater for free.

I think she is hoping for lots of 'at the door' ticket sales.

We like the idea of selling blocks of tickets at a lower price and will try that for the next show. I'm going to ask the Board about the mailer idea, too. We did do a Free Draw for tickets at our booth at the local Farmer's Market but didn't get many people to enter.

Our Community Theater is still young (only 2 1/2 years old) so we are still trying to build a base of loyal patrons.

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Linda S
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Joined: 4/16/05
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Posted: 6/29/05 at 8:07am

Something we have done to get the word out early is to invite the press to come to a rehearsal so they can write a preview. We get a press packet ready with a great picture. (I think it is the worth the money to have a professional photo taken.) I give them plenty of notice. I try to plan it so that it will appear in the paper 3-6 days before we open.

For shows that may not have the draw of a big musical, I invest in a banner to hang in a very visible spot in town. The fence in front of the high school works well for us.

And yes . . . I have been known to paper the house.

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Dustmac
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Joined: 5/25/05
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Posted: 7/02/05 at 9:35pm

If she doesn't want to give out free passes, etc. at least give a couple to a local radio station or newspaper. Also, we tried something that really worked for us. Find local businesses and set up a box, where people can write their name, phone number. etc./. Then you give away one free ticket to the show. You see most people are not going to come alone so whoever wins will likely bring someone with them. Do this in a few places and it helps spread word of mouth, etc.

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k8tt
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Joined: 4/05/05
Location: Canada
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Posts: 73

Posted: 7/12/05 at 12:18pm

Great Idea about the boxes in local businesses, Dustmac! Just finished the run and we only had full house one of the six nights. Dismal. I think we'll lose money. Thanks for all the ideas.

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Author	Message
k8tt Star Joined: 4/05/05 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 73	Topic: Ticket Sales Posted: 6/27/05 at 12:07pm
	Here we are AGAIN with Opening Night on Friday and ticket sales are dismal. We put posters up everywhere, we advertise in the papers and on the radio, and in community newsletters and on outdoor signs. What else can we do to boost ticket sales? Our shows do well after the first couple of nights, usually - it seems people need to hear about the plays before committing to tickets - but this stresses us out to have only 15 tickets sold for Opening Night at a 100 seat venue! It's demoralizing for the cast.

	IP Logged

Topper Celebrity Joined: 1/27/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 543	Posted: 6/27/05 at 12:32pm
	Most theaters (both professional and amateur) do what is commonly called "Papering the House" for previews, opening night and sometimes even opening weekend if it plans to be a long run. "Papering the House" means giving away free tickets to an invited audience. Not the ENTIRE audience, mind you, but enough to get more bums in the seats. These freebies often go to student groups, senior citizen groups, or any other group that might not have the funds to pay for tickets themselves. Sometimes the tickets are given out as "thank yous" to an organization that helped the production in some way (for example, a hardware store that gave you discount on paint or materials; a print shop that helped you with the program or posters; etc). You said yourself "people need to hear about the plays before committing to tickets." So, the best way is get people into the theater at any means possible. Best of luck.
	"None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone
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dboris Celebrity Joined: 2/10/04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 124	Posted: 6/27/05 at 12:53pm
	Related to what "Topper" suggested, if you give out comps to you cast and crew, restrict the comps to opening weekend. Another idea to make you first night a "preview" night and charge a lower price. Dan
	IP Logged

Scott B Celebrity Joined: 12/08/04 Online Status: Offline Posts: 239	Posted: 6/27/05 at 2:33pm
	I had posted earlier about issuing tickets in blocks for church groups since we're doing Smoke On the Mountain. One other thing we're going to do is issue an invitation to area ministers to attend our last dress rehearsal. Since word of mouth is so extremely important we thought this would be a good way to do so. I realize this doesn't help you with opening night, but as someone else said earlier ... you could do the same thing for opening night to at least have some type of audience to play to. I really like the above idea of issuing tickets as a "thank you." We haven't done that enough in the past. I think I'll suggest it at our next meeting.
	IP Logged

Shatcher Celebrity Joined: 2/21/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 251	Posted: 6/27/05 at 3:38pm
	you could try sending invites to you loyal patrons for opening night. Maybe with drinks and meet and greet after the show. this will get the word of mouth going a little faster. I have seen many an opening night with a small house.
	IP Logged

Sueshoo Player Joined: 4/29/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 27	Posted: 6/27/05 at 3:40pm
	We have the same problem at our community theatre, one thing we tried for the first time was to puchase a mailing list based on residental postal routes within a 15 mile radius of the theatre (6000 homes approx). We created a less expensive version of our show mailer and "invited the first 100 callers to get 2 free tickets" valid for our preview night. Our house was packed on what is normally 10 or 15 friends/family of the cast. People called, even though they were not available on the preview night, to purchase tickets for subsequent performances. We also made cast/crew comps valid for the opening weekend only. Overall our opening weekend attendance was higher than it has been in years. Good Luck to you.
	Susan Life is not a Dress Rehearsal
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k8tt Star Joined: 4/05/05 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 73	Posted: 6/28/05 at 11:54am
	Thank you all for the helpful ideas. I brought a couple of them up with the Artistic Director but she is loathe to give out free tickets to people who aren't sponsors/donators. Our dress rehearsal night is open to family/friends of cast (who would not be able to afford a ticket) and the local youth theater for free. I think she is hoping for lots of 'at the door' ticket sales. We like the idea of selling blocks of tickets at a lower price and will try that for the next show. I'm going to ask the Board about the mailer idea, too. We did do a Free Draw for tickets at our booth at the local Farmer's Market but didn't get many people to enter. Our Community Theater is still young (only 2 1/2 years old) so we are still trying to build a base of loyal patrons.
	IP Logged

Linda S Celebrity Joined: 4/16/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 312	Posted: 6/29/05 at 8:07am
	Something we have done to get the word out early is to invite the press to come to a rehearsal so they can write a preview. We get a press packet ready with a great picture. (I think it is the worth the money to have a professional photo taken.) I give them plenty of notice. I try to plan it so that it will appear in the paper 3-6 days before we open. For shows that may not have the draw of a big musical, I invest in a banner to hang in a very visible spot in town. The fence in front of the high school works well for us. And yes . . . I have been known to paper the house. L.
	IP Logged

Dustmac Lead Joined: 5/25/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 42	Posted: 7/02/05 at 9:35pm
	If she doesn't want to give out free passes, etc. at least give a couple to a local radio station or newspaper. Also, we tried something that really worked for us. Find local businesses and set up a box, where people can write their name, phone number. etc./. Then you give away one free ticket to the show. You see most people are not going to come alone so whoever wins will likely bring someone with them. Do this in a few places and it helps spread word of mouth, etc.
	IP Logged

k8tt Star Joined: 4/05/05 Location: Canada Online Status: Offline Posts: 73	Posted: 7/12/05 at 12:18pm
	Great Idea about the boxes in local businesses, Dustmac! Just finished the run and we only had full house one of the six nights. Dismal. I think we'll lose money. Thanks for all the ideas.
	IP Logged

Topic: Ticket Sales( Topic Closed)
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