The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-12-30
BOX OFFICE TRICKS.
THE BERTH OF A THEATER TICKET
SELLER IS NOT A SiNEcuRE.
why the Man who sits Behind the
Wicket Must Be n Good Judge of
Husan Nature-The Art of "Dress-
Ing" q Light Hsuse.


who sits behind the wicket In the box
Office and sells tickets seems 10 have
one OF the sinecures OF earth. True, ho
has to answer many fool questions and
deal with many fool persons who are
often ugly because others with more
foresight have picked up early all the
good seats. lie has 10 handle diplo-
fnatlcally the woman who wants dollar
seats for 10 cents aud with the other
fellow who wants first row, center"
after the play has begun and that has
been sold for week ahead. But all
these things seem but his share OF the
minor ills Of earth. Outside OF them
apparently his job Is what is generally
known as q "snap."
But the man In the box office has
other things to do besides sell tickets.
True. that Is where he comes in con
tact with the general public, and that
is all that ls usually thought about his
duties. But at the same time he is
serving the public he ls WORKING Tor
two masters behind the scenes, the
proprietor OF the house aud the mana
ger OF the attraction, and he must
serve them equally, while their inter
ests sometimes conflict sharply. Fur
thermore, he must serve them as
against the public II need there be, ana
Il keeps him hustllng TO hold his job
TO do it too.
The man behind the wicket IL good
man II he can make you buy seat
that costs you more than you Intended
to invest TO see that particular show
ALL attractions in playhouse are
"shows" I'm the parlance, be they opera,
comedy or vaudeville. Now, most men
think they know what they are going
10 get when they visit theater, ana
they especially have the price liked In
their minds. Perhaps, psychologlcaily
speaking, they arc stronger minded
than the house treasurer. Then they
do get what they want, and he never
questions Il. But the average man is
not. The treasurer IL trained In ticket
selling. II Is his daily routine while
II is an occasional act on the mans
part. Hence he IL fortified for the pub
lie, and the latter IN not for him, ana
SO when the people step up, especially
lf II is rather late and there Is some
thing OF rush, clever ticket man
can easily get the extra price out or
them for n higher selling seat.
How does he do It? Largely by the
power OF suggestion. He implies that
you want It, for instance, when you 20
up. In other words he puts the ques-
ton az TO what priced seat by asking
you about the higher ones before he
mentions the lower ones, and when he
does refer TO the latter, at your sugges-
tlon, he does II rather apologetlcally.
He has the higher rate tickets In his
hand, and if you do not take them he
reaches to the rack for the others. and
all the time the line IL waiting. those
back of you are scowllng, If not max
Ing remarks. and every one within ear
shot OF the window knows that you
have refused the higher seats for the
lower priced ones This IL embarrass-
Ing. Especially Is It so II n girl Is with
you, waiting just outside the rail that
separates the mob from the line, and
the chances are 10 to 1 that you will
take the cue, lnvoluntarily, and pay n
quarter more, when you had no lntcn-
tlon Of doing 40 when you approached
tho clever man In the box.
That In one way. 1t doesn't require
any falsehood IL does require good
knowledge OF human nature. Some men
wouldn't "stand for" that. They would
be offended. and it might hurt the
house. That In for the treasurer TO
beware. lie must "size up" his Gus
toners and act accordingly.
There Is n great gain In time in sell
Ing without chart. A man will then
step mp and ask for good seat
about certain place. Running
through his lists, the seller finds him
something very near there, and he Is
satisfied. That one man Is finished In
few seconds. 1t would take minutes
lf the sheets were there. Time is i'm
portant when the orchestra is playing
and the curtain about to go up.
still further. the absence OF n chart
enables the seller TO "dress" his house
provided the sale Is light and to keep
out singles" II It is heavy singles"
nre seats left alone when the adjoining
pairs have been selected from n chart
Singles" are hard to sell because very
few persons attend theater alone. AL
most all seats are sold In pairs. A
treasurer with bunch of singles on
his hands, even with "A house threaten
Ing TO sell out, Is 'up against IT," for
often he will lose sales that would
have meant capacity but for the fact
that he cannot place n couple I'm ad-
Joining seats, though he may have sew
eral odd ones left.
Dressing" house il the avoidance
OF this condition I'm one sense, but II
applies 10 light houses generally. When
n show IL not doing well il is UP TO the
box office 10 make the house look full
even though IL be only partly solid
He does this by scattering the crowd.
Instead of selling section solid and
leaving adjoining sections vacant he
sells few here. few there, and thus
the empty spaces are not concentrated.
Men usually dress house from the
renter out. They will sell good part
Of the center section, scattering, and
then. will work out on the left and
right. This Is because seats OH the ex-
trcme edge OF the house are not 40
good. and people expect them 10 be va
cant except in q heavy house anyhow
aud do not notice them 80 soon. He