Patrons What Is the Importance of Patrons,

¶ … Patrons

What is the importance of patrons, series subscribers, and everyday ticket sales to sustaining a live theater venue?

For most people, one of the most exciting events is to experience the sights and sounds of live theater. Part of the reason for this, is because it adds a certain amount of realism to the plot and the audience can watch performances the way they have been seen for centuries. As the actors will often perform more clearly and will think on their feet during the play. This is important, because a wide variety of individuals will find these kinds of venues more entertaining in comparison with television or the traditional motion picture industry.

However the costs of these kinds of plays have been increasing exponentially. The reason why is many producers will often have to pay rent for using the theater, there are the expenses associated with the support staff (i.e. stage crew) and they must pay for employees to work with patrons on the night of the play (i.e. ushers, janitors, box office employees along with concession workers). These elements are significant, because the combination of them can mean that the costs associated with producing a successful play can run as high as $20 million. Moreover, there are the nightly costs that the production will have to account for such as paying the staff and they must pay the owner of the theater 5 to 6% of the box office receipts. As a result, a number of plays have been focusing on utilizing strategies to increase the total amount of people watching the production. This is accomplished through having special promotions and increasing the publicity surrounding the show. To fully understand the importance of attracting patrons requires examining why tickets sales are necessary for the long-term success of the production. Once this occurs is when we will be able to understand the full impact that this is having on how various shows are created and the strategy that is used to effectively promote them. (Allen)

When you step back and analyze live theater, it is clear that these kinds of productions are facing increasing amounts of competition. The reason why is because advances in technology over the last 50 years have given the general public more of choice about how they are entertained. As they can choose from: television, movies on demand, first run motion pictures, the Internet and video games. The combination of these factors has meant that the ability of live theater to consistently attract a large audience has decreased. This is due to the fact that consumers have more choices about how they are entertained and there greater amounts of control over what they want to see. Over the course of time, this has forced everyone to adapt to changes that have started slowly and have increased more rapidly because of the shifts in technology. Once this occurred, it meant that many lives theaters had to become more creative in promoting themselves and the products they were offering in comparison with their competitors. (Shamblin 74-78)

At the same time, the average costs for tickets to various plays can become somewhat expensive for most patrons. This is because the many of the more popular shows can have prices starting at $49.00 to $60.00 per person. When you compare this with many movies theaters this is lower as they charge between: $13.75 to $17.00 per person. While many of the cable companies will charge from $7.00 to $10.00 per person for movies on demand. In the case of many traditional live theaters this can be problematic, as most people will chose one of the cheaper options that are available. Over the course of time, this can lead to lower gate receipts and higher costs for running the production. Once this occurs, it means that many theaters may not have the ability to adapt to these increasing choices that are available in the marketplace. (Cieply) (Allen)

As a result, a number of live theaters have begun to focus on various strategies to be able to effectively promote themselves. One of the best ways that this is accomplished is through attracting some of the larger more popular shows. This is when they usually will have some well-known actors or actress headlining the performance. Over the course of time, this will lead to a shift in demand for tickets and the interest in the play among the general public. Once this occurs, is when live theaters can be able to increase their popularity among audiences. In the future this will help them to be able to attract a larger demographic of patrons. (Bloom 520 -- 524)