The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-05-18

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There is something about the wear
and tear of the duties incidental to the
box Office that prematurely ages q young
man. Stay by him a single day, and
you'll know what it liz. When he comes
to the theater In the morning and ar
ranges his tickets in the rack and counts
out his change and the advance sales on
that day, il is with an air OF resigna-
ton such as kings and queens used to
wear just before they were carried out
for execution.
There are SO many tickets Of various
kinds and prices prepared for each per-
Torrance and duly dated and numbered
and marked with q big letter or number
for the day of the week. This larger
designation is with the view of han
ding rapidly. There are drawers con-
tanning the tickets of the following days,
each day by itself, and when AN advance
sale Is made he puts the money received
for it with the tickets for that day. When
the day is over, he puts that tray of
tickets and money in the safe for the
night. The advance money is thus usn-
ally kept until the day comes around
and then goes into the pile received for
the nights performance.
The peculiarly of this business is
that everything connected with the box
Office Is cash. The sales are cash sales,
and IL a combination show Ii in the
house the settlement with the combina-
ton treasurer is made in cash at the
close of every performance. Simply put,
therefore, at the close of the day the
difference between the number of tick
cts on hand in the morning and the
tickets left unsold is represented in the
cash drawer.
As a matter Of particular fact, how
ever, there are numerous complications
incidental to the operation, and the
treasurer of the house and his assistant
the box Office young man before allud-
ed to-become prematurely old and abb
normally smart graphing with them.
On the rural circuits the travelling
manager is obliged to be very wary in
his dealings with the box Office man As
soon as the theater doors r thrown
open to the public the combination a
ager or treasurer looking after the in
terests of the company playing in the
house makes his appearance and takes
up his stand at the door, where he can
watch both the box Office and the ticket
taker. When you enter any theater
where q combination is playing, you'll
see this wary individual at his post OF
duty. He is there on the presumption
the local people win do him If
they car He knows all the tricks and
wiles of the box Office young man and
the doorkeeper and takes nothing for
granted
He ees that every conner hands ID q
ticket of some kind, and that the door
keeper puts that representative Of SO,
much cash in the padlocked box. The
pasteboard in that tin box represents the
receipts of the house, of which his COM
pany has a certain percentage unless
IN a certainty. He carries the
to that box, and if he is t'fiy'' never
the box go out of his sight. There
another watcher at the gallery door
the same ~precaution. OF course
knows the nice box Office young man
wouldn't cheat him-not for the world!
But all the same he is ON guard against
possible lapse of conscience.
"On the road, said Billy Keogh,
who has had experience in the box Of
ice and as travelling manager and ought
10 be pretty well up in the tricks of
10Th, 1.-THE travelling manager goes ON
he principle that every box officB ID GO
ng to do him up il it can. The first
hing he does is to go to the theater and
ret his mail and size mp the local
nan. And the first thing the local man
Ices is to get fly, and il so it will be
diamond cut diamond. That process
We call .jollying' begins at once.
The travelling man Is always ON the
defensive. He can't beat the other man.
Ill he can do is to prevent the box Office
rom beating him. He must be mp to
he tricks and as hard as nails. You
NOW in small towns the local treasurer
,ets a yearly benefit and the doorkeeper
,ets a benefit. $50 these two men will
play travelling companies for the ben
fit OF their friends at every opportunity.
1.-THE collision between the box Office
the doorkeeper is perfect. Some
they are very sensitive about be-
watched, and sometimes they pre-
end to be indignant. The most indig-
amt treasurer / even met was lin q place
where we caught the doorkeepery who
vas on the landing just above the box
flee, sliding tickets down a crack la
he floor into the box Office below.
Take a popular price house and big
audiences Of from |, 400 to /, 500 people,
md In the rush it is hard to prevent be-
done IL I can manage To hold
hem down to SO or $25 margin, I'm
'retty well satisfied. A new pocket reg
ster has come into use that helps keep
un Of the admissions. You can stand
It the receiver, and with your hand In
pocket count everyperson that goes
INTO the house.
When tie ticket seller and the door
Keeper r close together, there Is the
most danger, for they will communicate
With each other with a nod or by signs
u words that the company's represent
tive win not understand. No, I don't
hink the house itself often profits by
a NR4Nx 1870 E - -