El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-06-22
DHE theatrical season of 1s1,

Some of the small theatrical managers
are practically bankrupt, and more
than one famous firm is staggering
under the aggregate cost of an appall-
ing series of failures
Four causes have contributed TO the
evils of the theatrical business which
eliminated in the disastrous season
just closed. In the order of their i'm
portance they are. automobiles, NOV
ing pictures, reckless distribution Of
passes and free tickets, and the the
atrical civil war. Under the last head
ing is included over production of the
alter buildings and deterioration of
plays and acting. The third cause
passes-was also born of the theatrical
fight.
Two Reasons for Slump.
Automobiles and moving pictures
have caught the theatrical world be-
tween an upper and neither milestone.
Men and women who were regular pa
irons of the theater a few years ago,
now spend their evenings in the open
air until the cold Of winter forces them
to store their machines. AS soon as
spring is at hand, owners Of motor cars
turn deaf ears to the lure of the box
office. As a result, their patronage
is not only confined to three or four
months, but through drifting away
from the theater going habit, it is con-
siderably cut down during the heart of
winter The desertion of the people
who ride in automobiles leaves great
gaps on the lower floor of the thea
ter moving pictures have wrought
greater havoc in the gallery and bal
cony.
For purposes of generalization. the
statement has been made that moving
pictures prey on the purchasers OF
cheap tickets in the big theaters. As
matter of fact, the film houses are
making inroads into the dollar-and-a-
half and two-dollar seats. Last win
ter representative of a big New York
theatrical firm counted 80 automobiles
standing before a moving picture house
in the outskirts Of Chicago Nearly ev-
cry day during the sessions of the
United States supreme court in Wash
ington, two or more of the distin-
guished justices pass into the moving
picture theaters located in Pennsylya-
MIA avenue and spend a quarter or half
an hour gazing at dancing shadows
before continuing their journey to
their homes and social duties.
Much Papering Done.
Wholesale distribution of passes.
known as 'papering the house.
reached appalling proportions during
the past season The run of a play in
New York or Chicago depends to
considerable extent on the business, or
apparent business, attracted to the
theater during the first few weeks Of
It's existence. Its drawing power IL
smaller cities and towns after a met
ropolitan engagement depends very
much on the length of the New York or
Chicago run Consequently, the size
of the first few audiences is a matter
of supreme Importance to the owner OF
play. He knows that many theatri-
cal attractions which have played TO
capacity business during long runs on
Broadway were "papered' for the first
or second week. The work of putting
out the paper" requires the undivided
attention of one or two men, and has
been reduced to an exact science
1t is quite easy to fill a house on
the first night of a play IN New York
Eighty or 100 seats are turned over to
the New York and Brooklyn newspa-
per critics and a few magazine review
ers. Friends of the actors in the com
pany and employees o. various theatre
cal business offices gladly accept from
100 to 500 seats. If the first night sale
# tickets is light, it is possible to give
away a considerable number of sur
plus coupons to actors out of an en-
gagement, who swarm to opening per-
formances. The real work of paper
ing" comes on the second and succeed
ing nights, if the play does not make
an instant and genuine hit
Giving Away Seats.
The easiest and most effective meth
cd of putting out paper" is distribu-
ton through the big department stores.
If a manager wishes to give away only
a few seats. the necessary number OF
passes or uniform tickets, which are
punched to show that they have MOI
been sold. are turned over to the head
of a department in one of the stores
He gives these to the buyers from out
Of town stores, telling them that he
has a friend" in that particular the
alter. If it Is necessary to deal out
blocks of tickets. the heads of depart
ments turn the passes over to the en-
ployes of the store, or telephone a list
of names to the theatrical office with
the request that the seats be left at
the box office in the names of the men
and girls set forth on his list
1t is, of course, impossible to calcu-
late the exact number of passes which
were issued this season, but managers
know that the aggregate is almost I'M
believable. One expert declares that
5000 seats were given away during
single week by the theaters in Chi
cago last winter. A play which ran for
several months in New York, closing
only a few weeks ago, played to week.
~ receipts that passed the $4,000 mark
just once. The sale of seats each
night except Saturday, averaged be-
tween $3.50 and $50. If every seat had
teen sold, the receipts would have
amounted to nearly $500 a night, or
about $4,000 a week. Yet the hSIse
was filled to capacity at evAry per-
Torrance. During the entire run. seats
worth $1,000 or $1,000 were given away
at least six times a week.
The snow storm of passes that fell
upon virgin territory in New York,
Chicago and other large cities this
season and last has created an army Of
"deadheads" which is a menace that
can be appreciated only by the men
who put their money into the business
of catering to the public's desire for
entertainment.
Result OF OverprOductiOn.
Over production of theaters, which
was a fruit of the theatrical war. has
had a result which anyone can under
stand and which a school boy might
have predicted. The theatrical business
does not, in many of its elements, diff
fer from any other business. If ons