GENERAL RESOURCES: Glossary
-
- Ticket sales done during the days and weeks before the day of the event.
-
- AGENCY SEATS
- Tickets, seats that are allocated to ticket agencies for sale, to be paid for by the agency and released to the Producer at an arranged time before each event.
- Also called "Pre-show" and "Ins," the hour and a half before the start of the event during which tickets are sold, audience arrives and is seated.
- Formal attire is expected to be worn by the audience, often on opening night. Should be announced in advance.
- "The wallet of a theater," the place where tickets are sold. It can be a resident Box Office which is permanently located at the venue, a ticket agency which is an outlet handling ticket sales for several events, or a temporary set up "at the door" before the event.
- The final accounting of tickets and income for each performance. This report should be created at the end of each performance. Copies should be submitted to the Producer or anyone who is responsible for financial accounting.
- The total number of audience members a space can hold without exceeding the maximum number set by the managers of the space and/or the fire department.
- Abbreviation for complimentary. Complimentary tickets are free and are usually given to performers, event organizers, members of the press, contributors and VIPs.
- Blocks of tickets printed and allocated to the event Producers who sell these tickets, usually through members of the group organizing the event. The Ticket Manager should give out these tickets to group members in small quantities and keep a list of how many tickets have been given out and to whom.
-
- CURTAIN TIME
- The time the event is scheduled to begin.
- The day of the event.
- Seats, locations, tickets deducted from the capacity and intentionally not sold to an event because they offer an obstructed view of the stage (caused by a pole, a conductor, or equipment) or have been removed to accommodate performers, musicians or some special production requirement.
- All unsold tickets that remain after the event for which they were valid.
- The amount of income taken in from ticket sales on a given day minus the starter.
- The practice of selling tickets or placing audience members evenly throughout the seating area in order to avoid large gaps in the House, to give the illusion of a full House if a performance is not going to sell out.
- The lobby and Box Office area or any area inside the building to which the public has access except the theater itself.
- The production staff who deal with the audience coming into the House prior to the start of the event, usually consists of the Box Office staff, the House Manager and the ushers.
- Audience members do not have a specific seat assignment. Seats are taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. A General Admission House may be divided into sections. For example the orchestra may have one ticket price and the balcony another ticket price, but there are no assigned seats within the section. A Producer may request that particular seats be reserved for VIPs in an otherwise General Admission House.
- To sell or give away every ticket for an event.
- Sales of tickets usually 10 or more for which a discount is given.
- Ability for the space to be accessed by patrons in wheelchairs or patron with any disability.
- An additional fee charged to the patron when purchasing tickets, usually for phone orders or credit card purchases.
- 1) To make a ticket unavailable for sale, to put seats aside for use later (also referred to as "pulling" seats).
- 2) Ticket reservations that have been paid for and will be picked up by the patron at the door (also called "at the door holds").
-
- HOUSE
- Also called a Ticket Stub Report. At the end of an event the House Manager and/or ushers count the number of ticket stubs collected at the door to determine how many people are in the House. A report recording the information may be required by the Producer and Ticket Manager.
- The person who oversees the ushers and coordinates with the event Producer and Box Office regarding all audience and seating issues before and during the event. Link to Guide to House Management.
- Also called trouble seats, a pre-determined number of seats held aside by the Producer in case of emergencies, used at the last moment by the Producer, Ticket Manager, or House Manager to solve any unexpected problems.
- A break taken during the event.
- After the event has already begun, audience members continue to arrive and are seated by an usher or the House manager at an appropriate moment during the event.
- Seats that have been held and are unavailable for sale to the public because capacity needs to be diminished or there are obstructions.
- The space where the event is taking place.
- Seats for an event are available for sale to the public.
- If ticket sales are going poorly, giving away a number of complimentary tickets to a wide range of people fills empty seats. It is commonly believed it is better to fill the House with non-paying customers than for the House to appear empty.
- A customer buying a ticket.
- To print all remaining unsold tickets for an event.
- PRESS SEATS
- Seats held aside for members of the press who have been invited to the event and offered complimentary tickets for opening nights and other specially designated performances.
- PRICE STRUCTURE
- The series of ticket prices offered for a particular event including discounts. Reserved seating houses ordinarily have different prices for different seating sections.
- PRODUCER
- The person responsible for overseeing the logistics of an event.
- The organization responsible for overseeing the logistics of an event.
- The event.
- The staff of people who take on specific responsibilities to organize and execute an event.
- 1) A description of the event.
- 2) The printed material given to audience members as they enter the performance space which describes the event, lists the performers and production staff and sometimes contains advertisements.
- The person on the production staff responsible for dealing with all publicity for an event.
- To settle an event financially by completing and comparing reports of ticket sales and income at the end of the day to make sure that ticket sales correctly match income.
- A staff person associated with the venue where the event is taking place. That person should be someone who either schedules the space and/or has building management responsibilities.
- Tickets purchased or held.
- RESERVED SEATING
- The length of an event from beginning to end.
- Also called Seating Plan and Manifest, the printed version of the seating configuration.
- The way the seats are set up and numbered in the House, the two basic types of configurations are Reserved Seating and General Admission.
- The cash needed to give change to customers when selling tickets at the door, usually $100 in small bills and change.
- A legal contract promising that whatever is printed on it will actually occur as printed for the printed price. Should the producing organization be unable to furnish what is promised on the ticket, it must offer a refund.
- A ticket is worth the exact cash value printed on it. Tickets should be handled with the same care as cash. If a ticket is lost or stolen it is the same as if money were lost or stolen. A Box Office may contain tickets that represent thousands of dollars.
-
TICKET AGENCY (aka Point of Sale, Independent Ticket Operation)
- An outlet which is selling tickets for an event, may be operated by the venue itself or may be an independent outlet.
- Specialized small sized envelope meant to hold tickets.
- The representative from the producing organization who is responsible for all Box Office and ticket related issues. Link to Guide to Ticket Management.
- Also called audit stubs, usually a small portion of the ticket which is torn off by an usher as patrons enter the House, used for determining the House count.
- TTY
- Text-telephone used by deaf and hard of hearing people.
- UNPAID HOLD
- A reservation made for tickets which the patron does not pay for ahead of time. They will purchase the tickets when they arrive at the door by a pre-determined deadline or prior to the release deadline.
- A member of the production staff who works in the front of House tearing tickets, showing patrons to their seats, handling late seating and helping the House Manager to resolve seating issues as they arise.
-
- VENUE
- The space where the event is taking place.
- Tickets, seats held for special people who have been invited and offered complimentary tickets. VIPs can be performers, guest artists, soloists, pre-concert lecturers, donors, people who need to be specially thanked for goods or services they gave, faculty, administrative staff and certain production staff such as directors or conductors.
- Sometimes called hardwood tickets. Documents presented at the Box Office in exchange for actual tickets. Can be used for complimentary tickets or special discounts. May also be printed as a blank form on which the appropriate information is written in lieu of actual tickets.
