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  • 1.  Online ticket cost...

    Posted 10-28-2020 12:11
    Hi everyone,

    Just wanted to get an idea about what people are charging for online productions..
    We lost quite a bit in the spring, so we are planning to write our own "something" for the fall.
    We will need to use an online platform such as Booktix or any you may recommend..

    We are a very rural community and charge $10 for our musicals.

    I thought that may be a bit much for a student written production, but I also want to make sure we make a little after paying for use of a online site. 

    Also, how do you handle the "family" aspect. We are no longer selling individual tickets essentially it is a single download... does that make sense? Any recommendations welcomed...
    Just trying to get some ideas!

    Thanks

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    Erika Trahan
    Kaplan LA
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  • 2.  RE: Online ticket cost...

    Posted 10-28-2020 13:23
    I would suggest $5.  It's puny but that's what we are doing for our one act this year.  I think more people will be willing to pay.  You could also do a pay what you can with the minimum being $5.  I've had success with that.  I made a statement that all proceeds go directly toward our student production account.  I would get many who paid the minimum but many who paid more.  I've never set that up with an online site before though so there would need to be some looking into or chatting with the company to see if it's possible.

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    Joel King
    Woodstock GA
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Online ticket cost...

    Posted 10-28-2020 15:25
    That's a great suggestion! I will look into the pay what you can aspect.

    I was thinking $5 also... but wasn't sure if that was too low.
    I paid I think $7 to stream Bandstand and that was professionally done. haha


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    Erika Trahan
    Kaplan LA
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Online ticket cost...

    Posted 10-29-2020 07:36
    My thoughts are $10 being it would be rare if only one person was watching the download. Or, $5 and ask for donations to help make up for last springs loss. Most ticket sites now offer the options of donating, and if they don't I would ask.

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    Kendra Knoblock
    Teacher - Director
    Romeo MI
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Online ticket cost...

    Posted 10-29-2020 08:59
    We are currently working on an original production using material in the public domain. 

    Although we do have cost investments in safety materials, costumes, set pieces and props, along with some tech equipment expenses, our production costs should be much lower than usual. But, we also have no idea how many tickets we will even sell for a production like this. 

    So, we are looking at a graded scale beginning with $5 for a single ticket, $6 for a 'date night' or two person ticket, and an $8 family/small group ticket. 

    We figure folks will be as honest as they are able about how many will be watching and/or pay what they are able and we are okay with that.


    Jill Campbell
    Gifted Support/Learning Enrichment ARTsmART
    State High Thespian Troupe 5029
    State College Area High School
    State College, PA 16801
    jkc11@scasd.org
    (814) 231-4114






    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Online ticket cost...

    Posted 10-30-2020 12:05
    Hi Everyone,
    We just wrapped up the radio play, The War of the Worlds. Students edited an incredible video but kept true to the original radio style. We have been very fortunate to have extremely supportive and appreciative families who come out and support our program. Because of the pandemic and people who may have lost jobs, or other potential struggles, we wanted to use theatre as a way to spread some happiness and cheer to our community. For WOTW and our upcoming December production A Christmas Carol, we are not charging rather we are asking for donations through our school fund. People can donate money to the school and ear mark it for the theatre program. In return they receive a gift in kind letter for tax purposes - BIG WIN for the donors. I spent very little on WOTW and in return received almost $2000 in donations. We are going to do the same for ACC. Most families are glad to make a donation because they are just so happy that their son/daughter is able to perform. 

    Good Luck everyone. 
    Stay strong.
    The Show Must Go On!!!!

    Jim

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    James Fry
    Director of Student Life and the Malvern Theatre Society
    Malvern, PA
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Online ticket cost...

    Posted 10-31-2020 07:56
    We are charging $10 for a single ticket and $25 for a family/group viewing.  Our school is in a very affluent community and they will have no qualms about the cost which is reduced from what we charge for tickets during normal times.  Of course, it's all about the honor system and I'm guessing the teen viewers will buy a single ticket and watch as a group.  The families will be honest as they want to support the program.  We lost a ton of money on our cancelled musical so we are hoping to make up for that loss a little bit.

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    Laura Russo
    Teacher/Director of Theatre Arts
    School District of The Chathams
    Chatham NJ
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Online ticket cost...

    Posted 11-01-2020 07:38
    Knowing what to charge is a big headache these days. My various theatre groups have given away some virtual performances since this pandemic started. We did a freebie of a 1-man show about Nat Turner through the Virginia Stage Company, but we knew that the audience would include some possible future patrons of the show, so it was kind of a quid pro quo. We did the same with Zeiders' American Dream Theatre in Virginia Beach for their Proteus Festival with an original one-man show from our playwriting development group, Dreamwrights--Zeiders usually pays when they use original work--and they charge a reasonable amount.

    However, I've learned that you have to be careful not to charge too little. People tend to place a value on something by what they pay for it. So I wouldn't want to overprice either. Part of it is assessing your community and where they are economically right now. The idea of a minimum and pay what you can is a great idea to me. We did that years ago for performances of new plays that were in the development stage but fairly well along. Some people gave a couple of dollars, but one person left 100 dollars, just to support us. It's a good idea to stress in your marketing that the ticket prices are going to support the talents and education of the children of their community-or the value that theatre experiences add to the lives of families and students. 

    The only time I don't charge these days is when I'm hosting a performance for a student play for the purpose of developing it. I do charge when I'm hosting a student play for the purpose of marketing it. 

    I know I don't have the same issues as many of you, but I hope that some of my thinking about charging for tickets or not might be of help.

    Good luck to all of you in this difficult time. 



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    Jean Klein
    Playwriting Teacher in MFA program, Wilkes University]
    Virginia BeachVA
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    Original Message


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