Ticket Sales

What's going on in Perth? Why the move to using a ticketing agency such as BOCS for amateur theatre productions? Earlier this year I saw JCS at Marloo, And had to book through BOCS. The performance was oversubscribed, and extra seats were brought in and placed in the aisles. Now I see Harbour are using them for their one act season. Is it because companies can't find someone to take on the task? Surely within a clubs membership there is someone capable/willing to do it. I guess it does stop the problem of no-shows, as you have to pay upfront - is this the reason? It does add a slug to the cost of the ticket. If you're paying $100 to see Phantom, then $6 isn't much in relative terms, but on top of an $18 ticket it seems excessive. Any answers?

Most people will forget that it costs money to have a dedicated phone line as a bookings operation. It also costs money to have someone do the bookings, keep track of any sales, and print out tickets. Outsourcing this means that a production does not have the extra worry of doing it themselves, and can ensure that it is done properly. You don't have to worry about someone on the cast/crew using a mobile phone or home phone/answering machine, you have access to the ticketing agent's mailing list, and the service pays for itself (by having fees). Yes, it's a drag for audience members, and even companies don't want to see the fees going to the agency (I'm sure most cast and crew would rather the money go back into the company/production). But for something that is extremely time-consuming, it may actually be a good thing to hand over ticket operations to an outside party. Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip

Hi Jeff, There are lots of reasons why the clubs are all starting to use BOCS. Probably the main reason is that the huge BOCS publicity machine works for us, for very little outlay. It reaches many, many people whom we could not dream of reaching otherwise. It simplifies the booking process. It is nothing to do with laziness, as you implied. The process of taking bookings for a production is an horrendous business at best. You are expected to be available to take bookings practically 24 hrs/day. People want to book for specific seats, then change their minds. People make group bookings, promise to collect and pay for tickets, then don't. We turn away people who would have both paid and fronted up. Most of the clubs who are using BOCS are also keeping a certain number of seats available to members and regular patrons through the club - no booking fee - but only for certain nights, or for a limited period of time before opening night, or some such restriction. It is worth enquiring. The main benefit of using BOCS however, is the new patrons it brings into the theatre. The other night at Playlovers I got chatting to a couple of women who had previously been totally unaware that the world of Community Theatre even existed! They asked me all sorts of questions about how the production came to be. They found it absolutely fascinating to realise that this whole process went on all over Perth. And that nobody got paid!! I ended up giving them the address for this website so that they could find out more for themselves. They are looking forward to attending more amateur shows. None of this would have happened if we had not used BOCS. We have had full houses of 200 every night for the season of The Vagina Monologues, and most of them have been people who do not 'belong' to the world of Community Theatre. I think this is wonderful. And by the way Gordon, yes, we did put out flyers, contact our local paper, (I got interviewed, but as far as I know the article was never published), I talked to Dita on Radio Fremantle, Mel at TAZ publicity did a great job for us, and we certainly posted plenty of stuff on this website. But BOCS beat us hands down with the number of people they reached! So. Yes, we are using BOCS, and we will almost certainly continue to do so. Most of the clubs either are using them already, or considering the idea. Yes, it costs a little more, but that can usually be avoided if you are a member. Look for an alternative phone number on the flyers. A lot of people are grumbling, but they are all people who have never tried to handle the bookings for a production or do the publicity for a show. Keep an open mind, I truly think you will recognise in time that it is a substantial benefit to the world of Community Theatre in general.

I concur with Sue on this one. Jeff, I would like to add that JCS was the first production that Marloo Theatre used BOCS so the situation you described was probably part of their learning process. With regards to publicity, not many amateur theatre companies have megabucks to allocate to it, after paying for venues, overheads, utilities, bar licenses, bar stock, royalties ,insurance (Yes! We have that to pay too! Public liabilty is something we need to worry about like everyone else!) and other expenses to simply put on a show,(and yes, in lot of cases only just scraping through.)there isnt usually much left over to have paid publicity...if at all! Free advertising is out there, but often in obscure places. Most clubs have posters, and send media releases etc, but remember that it has to compete against the overload of information that people providing free advertising are bombarded with. Most clubs tackle advertising from several different angles, but keep in mind most of the members of clubs that do this are doing it "after" everything else AND unpaid. One of the most frustrating things is thats after YEARS of having advertising out there, many people in the community STILL do not know we exist - go figure! Jeff, you say that the $6 fee is a bit steep,and yes I can see your point, but then I can't remember the last time a show in amateur theatre charged over $100 for a show. There is another added bonus of BOCS, we are becoming visible to Joe Public, theatres that might have been a quarter or half full(or in some cases much less than that) are now near or total sell outs - BOCS very well may be the saviour of community theatre in Perth - financially at least. So the fee may be distasteful to you, but I am sure you don't begrudge theatre groups the opportunity to use a service that has had so many added benefits than simply being a ticket bookings provider. Of course if you could suggest some faithful individual, that prints tickets, has their own website that is high profile reaches the community at large and can take bookings online, and has a flair for publicity - please let us know their name! BOCS takes the headache out of bookings, and instead of having to bank several cheques in small amounts (for those companies brave enough to risk the dishonour fees!)at the end of the season, you get a nice big one that isnt going to bounce! I doubt that an individual could provide the same service for a 6 dollar booking fee - it would be substantially more. I think the benefits of BOCS far outweigh this fee, but look at it as a donation to keeping our art alive, as an avid theatregoer I am sure you dont want to see us disappear!

And the benefit of BOCS is that if there are no-shows at the door, the theatre doesn't lose out, as the tickets have been paid for.

Exactly

Thanks to all for your replies. I raised the issue to find out the reasons for clubs using the service, not to denigrate the process. I am a comittee member at Melville theatre, and am aware of most of the issues that have been brought up. We have had problems with a show being 'sold out' and then the whole front row doesn't show. As well as losing out on the money from the ticket sales, there are ten people who could have taken those seats. I guess I'm more thinking about the pensioners (who make up a large portion of our audience) having to fork out the six dollars.

I can understand why the companies are using BOCS and the like. I can also understand where Jeff is coming from. From my situation, I am going to be on a limited budget from next year and I must admit that paying an extra $6 on top of the ticket price will be an absolute stretch for me. The $15-$18 ticket price is all well and good but the extra money especially if I do want to see a few shows is going to make a big dent. It will limit the amount of shows I could see (three shows with the $6 fee on top could have paid for 4 shows). Like I say though, I understand why the theatres are going that way now - they don't miss out on the money and people are more likely to show up when they've already paid for the tickets. However, it will certainly put a limit on some people....

You forget that a large portion of subscribers tend to be pensioners. (Hey, a lot of large companies at any rate have a big portion of their subscriber list as pensioners). Subscribers tend to buy through booking services anyway. Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip

I should have added to my response before that there is another way - many venues are now adding online sales capabilities, which lower the fees involved, and encourage sales to a broader audience. I know that online sales are extremely popular during festival time in Melbourne, and in fact are more popular than the usual ticketing services (ie. Ticketek, etc.). Many new services are appearing online for selling tickets to shows, including a new site that (if I remember this correctly) allows you to sell your own show through their site/service. Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip

Well the $6.60 fee you pay is considerably less per head if it is made for a group booking as it is a flat booking fee. Yes, I understand it can be difficult for those on a limited income, but when you sign up your show with BOCS you also specify if you have different prices for adult/concessions etc. Alternatively go to a BOCS outlet where there is no fee charged, yes it might be a bit inconvenient, but then some of the different groups bookings can be a little awkward to say the least! With added bums on seats and therefore added income, perhaps after a few BOCS affiliated shows and therefore added income from the added visibility,the theatres may be able to lower their prices, which probably went up in the first place because the demographic that made up the main proportion of theatre goers started to die off both figuratively and literally! go to www.bocsticketing.com.au and click on "other ways to buy" and it details how the fees work, and also the various outlets. As a person that has done bookings and former ITA Treasurer organising the last 2 Finley Awards nights, I love using BOCS - it is a shitload less of a headache on all levels than doing it yourself, and I pretty much think its where most theatres will be headed in the next five years, so I don't think its going away. A few thoughts. Cheers Robert

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