If you want to see a show, you need a gorram ticket.

[Wesley]

Two issues, concerns, questions, etc. about working the box:

1. Just an observation from several recent shows, but there are a lot of people going upstairs without a ticket to watch shows. I don't mean comps, I mean people just wandering up.

Normally, we don't sell enough for this to be a problem, but last night it almost was. The first show was a sell-out (congrats!), and I went to help sell tickets for the Cage Match. Because the first show was so packed we counted out exactly 50 tickets to be sold for the Cage Match show to avoid overselling. I sold/comped 20. When I went up there wasn't a chair to be had. There were about 50 people up there. Luckily, most of the audience for the Cage Match was leftover from the 3fer, but if more people showed up to buy tickets I would have happily sold another 30 not knowing that there was no where to sit. The secondary problem was that half of these people were not improvisers and essentially didn't pay (15 x $6-10 = $90-$150 the Hideout didn't make. And unlike the improv community, the Hideout itself is a business and should be reimbursed for the space. See my second concern).

In the new year I propose that we make it very clear to improvisers that they need to at least come by the box and get tickets, even if they are comped and getting in to the show for free. Just so we can keep an accurate count (use the fire code limit as an easy, built-in excuse). And if they have friends, they need to tell them to come back down and at the very least get a comped ticket--or preferrably pay--for the same reason. Some people who are not improvisers have still become so comfortable with our typical laxness that they just breeze right on by the box, especially between shows (come down get a drink and head back up without getting another ticket). As we expand our schedule and bring in new audience, this could become a problem.

I'd also recommend that we always clear the house between shows. The obvious reason is so that we can clean, reset, and work on next-show business like lighting and sound cues without people hanging around. I also think that this would help encourage people to remember to come down and get a ticket as opposed to just lounging around.

Another thing I'd propose is to have different colored tickets for each show and maybe even a ticket taker at the theater door if we start driving in that kind of audience. But if tickets were different colored for different shows, it may remind people to come get a new ticket.



2. Speaking of money, which I know is an uncomfortable thing that most people don't want to speak about...What is the official policy on who pays and who doesn't and when?

I know we have sort of a standing "improvisers get in free" rule. Is this for all shows or just for shows that are by the Hideout house troupe, Heroes of Comedy, like Maestro? For example, if there is a door split with the troupes, such as in a 3fer show, is it fair to have half the audience coming in totally free? Is there a difference in policy for shows with a split and those without? I know the standard answers of "it isn't about the money" and whatnot, but practically speaking, some troupes may want to use that money to self-promote, apply to festivals, travel together to do shows, etc. And, there is still the business end of the Hideout, which should be compensated for the space as much as possible. And if we want to get some troupes from around the state to come perform, that house money could help with their hotel bill and travel expenses, so you don't want to cut it down too much.

Also, do performing troupes get to comp people (a guest list fro friends and family)? If so, how many people?
It didn't happen last night, but I have sold tickets before when people come down and say "I'm in the show and 7 people are coming, let them come in for free." 'My mom and dad' are one thing, but 7 people? Again, if there is a troupe split, is it fair for one troupe to let in 5, 6, 10+ people for free when that eats into the other troupe's share of the door?

Most of these questions I ask because they aren't really big problems yet, but if we are going to expand the schedule, try to pull in troupes from out of town, push for audiences that are not friends and family, etc. then I think we should open discussions on some of these things and consider adopting some more concrete policies. Just an idea for discussion.

[andrea]

i agree with wes about having someone take tickets at the door perhaps this person could also be responsible for ushering and general crowd control

as volunteer coordinator i will add this to the list of suggested duties for host teams

[beardedlamb]

here's what i suggest.
put a sign in the box office that says the box office is upstairs. have someone stationed up there who takes money and issues a ticket. the ticket is for coming and going, not necessarily the initial entrance to the theatre. if the box office person is upstairs right next to the door, this will cut down on freebie bastards. another policy that should be put in place that sucks a little for the door man is to require them to stay outside in a money taking position for latecomers even after the show has started. some of our audience is in the habit of coming late because they know they will be uncontested for admission money. so having them stay in whatever "box" we have until fifteen minutes after the show starts is the best move.

as for early show goers sneaking into the second show, there should be a combo price that allows them entrance to both. by showing their ticket from the early show, they can get into the late show for a low-low price of only $4 (or whatever.) people should be accounted for for every show, comp or not.

as for other improvisers in the co-op paying for a show that they are not in or helping with, i say half price. this will encourage them to respect other people's work and it will also encourage them to volunteer to help out rather than just show up and hang out for free. and it means you see both shows for only $6. hell of a deal. i think this helps everyone.

you're right, money is always a tough subject and i'm going to be the asshole here and say that we need to be strict about our door policies. for me, i'm trying really hard to make this my career. and that means that everyone who slides in under the radar and enjoys my services for free is stealing from me unless i have offered it to them for free. i'm a professional improviser (albeit part time.) i know it sounds bad, but i am upset if half the audience gets in free to a three-fer show because everybody else just willy-nilly comped them in. or the door people were too lazy or passive to confront people who came up the dark stairway 30 minutes late and snuk in.
some people don't need the money from these shows personally. they have nine-to-fives or some other form of income. i totally understand that living off of improv money is difficult. believe me. but if the people who don't need the money from the door don't want it, let them donate it back into the co-op. a business needs to make money and keep an accurate measure of income, especially one that is in the rumblings stage of possible huge expansion (i.e. a new space.) the investors who give you money for that are going to want to know if they're going to get it back and how successful the business has been up to that point.

plus, not paying money to the hideout is a big deal. it's excrutiatingly expensive to keep a theatre like that running, even just talkin upstairs. every time someone sneaks in, they put us one step closer to being a homeless improv collective. right now, having a space is a huge gift and if the individual improviser can't pay $3 to see someone else's show, they're taking that gift for granted.

it struck me when the battle of the sexes show happened and the door take was way below what it should have been for a sold-out mainstage show. then i heard from some friends that some people hadn't paid. i don't know who it was or if they were on a comp list or something, but as the guy who watches the money for my business (the cupholders) it was unsettling.

another problem i noticed was that the 10:30 cage match show started at 10:50. this is either a function of the early show running too long or the cage match just not starting on time. this might wear on the audience and teach them that coming twenty minutes late is okay. it's not like we're a movie theatre where the fuckin thing doesn't start until 20 minutes after the published start time. not to mention the fact that we're going to three shows a night in january, right. we gots to keep that shit tight.

and as suggested at the last meeting, a hired house/stage manager will help to tighten down some of these screws and i think it is something we should get into in the new year.

sorry to be the hard ass about money. i just enjoy paying my rent and having more incentive to come to austin. this is my job and i respect it's potential. you're on it, wes, this needs to be addressed.

did i just rhyme?

bearded lime
bah humbug

[kbadr]

I think just having someone to collect tickets upstairs, and do a strict job of it, should take care of any problems. An official comp policy for troupes and resident players definitely needs to be drawn up, though.

[sara farr]

We should add [better signage] to the Hideout's wish list. This could include:

1) A (lighted?) "box office" sign that sticks out from the wall so that people coming in through the Hideout's main door know where to buy tickets

2) Roped off area to help ticket buyers and pre-show audiences line up. The shows are general admission, but part of the benefit of arriving early is to get a good seat.

3) A *large, noticiable* sign indicating the "Main Stage" downstairs, and an arrow pointing to the upstairs "Cabaret Stage".

4) A large, noticable sign (above the box office? on the back wall of the box office?) that indicates what the shows are that night, and when each show starts.

It would be great if we could seat the audience 10 (to 15?) min before the show starts. To do that, the show would need to start on time - otherwise the audience would get restless and (like JL suggested) learn that they can come late without missing any of the show.

[erikamay]

as the financial lady, i'd like to draw up an official policy this week (when i am off, and my type A brain joneses for things to do).

i 100% agree that there needs to be strict door policy with comps and admissions.

two reasons:
1. financial - we gotta make this junk viable now and in the long term for the space and performers alike, an'
2. professional - what sort of precendent does it set for the audience when they get in for free? i'm talking less about comps here, and more about the off the street dude. $6 for professional-caliber entertainment is unbelievably cheap to begin with...dont think its too much to ask people to pay it.

side note - i think we need to set up a policy for students as well - for those who dont know who are in classes, lets get some sort of identification/policy in place.

more later.
e

[Wesley]

Another policy that should be put in place that sucks a little for the door man is to require them to stay outside in a money taking position for latecomers even after the show has started. some of our audience is in the habit of coming late because they know they will be uncontested for admission money. so having them stay in whatever "box" we have until fifteen minutes after the show starts is the best move.
That's a whole separate issue in some ways. We do have a lot of people show up late and the box person is supposed to stay down there until 15 mins after the show has begun. Those people should not be getting in free. Another question is "should they be getting in at all?" a few minutes is one thing, but too often people come tromping through the seats 10, 15 minutes into a show and it is distracting for players and audience alike. Maybe we haven't been enforcing a closed door policy at the start of the show due to low audiences, but if we start to grow those audiences, I think we should consider having a 5 minute after start of show cut off. (Maybe people can come in while the host is on, but not once the first troupe takes the stage. The host's first duty after warming up the crowd, introducing the first troupe, and leaving the stage is to go downstiars and cut off ticket sales. Just an idea).
As for moving the box itself upstairs, I think a ticket checker is enough (they don't even have to take them, just mark them like they do your receipt when you leave Sam's or Costco, then people can still come and go). And different colored tickets sould keep people from just flashing the one from the show before. Plus, the downstairs box has more room and hopefully can be used more for things beyond ticket sales like selling DVDs and t-shirts for troupes and Austin Improv as a whole. It also prevents logistical issues like lines forming on the stairs and two-way stair traffic more than an upstairs box does.

as for early show goers sneaking into the second show, there should be a combo price that allows them entrance to both.
I think that's a good idea. Use your previous show ticket to get $2 off the price of the next show or something. Or allow people to buy both shows' tickets before the first show, though that may well run into other logistical issues with keeping money separate, ensuring accurate ticket counts, and getting people to clear out of the cabaret between shows. I think some sort of combo/discount deal is a great idea.

as for other improvisers in the co-op paying for a show that they are not in or helping with, i say half price. this will encourage them to respect other people's work and it will also encourage them to volunteer to help out rather than just show up and hang out for free. and it ]means you see both shows for only $6. hell of a deal.
I agree. I'm not opposed to "improvisers get in free" in theory, but I don't want to see "can" get in free become "only" or "should" get in free and become abused. This is as much for the Hideout business side of things as for the troupes. If we are to grow, we need to take some aspects more seriously, including the concept that we pay each other and the space to see shows, even if it is only three bucks. It's not the amount of money so much as the acknowledgement that this isn't merely hanging out with friends, but a show with the trappings of a show including payment.
Also, on rare occasions, it has happened that free improvisers have filled the seats and paying customers were turned away because we were full. This has the effect of not only lessening the potential take but keeping new, non-improvisers from seeing shows, which are who we need seeing shows if we are to grow. If we keep the "improvisers get in free" rule, maybe it should be "improvisers get in free only after all paying tickets have been sold."

for me, i'm trying really hard to make this my career. and that means that everyone who slides in under the radar and enjoys my services for free is stealing from me unless i have offered it to them for free. i'm a professional improviser...some people don't need the money from these shows personally. they have nine-to-fives or some other form of income. i totally understand that living off of improv money is difficult. believe me.
That sums up most of why I broached this topic. My troupe isn't necessarily in the mindset of professionally living off improv money (yet), but other people are. Plus, while not trying to live off it, a larger split would be a great boon in allowing my troupe to self-promote through flyers and ads, travel, and festival applications. One door split could be the application fee for a festival. Two or three can add up to gas and hotel money for us to go do a show in Dallas. Four shows could allow us to screenprint t-shirts or takeout a Chronicle ad for our next show. Again, it is not about the money per se, but about what we can do with it to keep this movement growing. The less we get because of freebies, the less we can do.

plus, not paying money to the hideout is a big deal. it's excrutiatingly expensive to keep a theatre like that running, even just talkin upstairs. every time someone sneaks in, they put us one step closer to being a homeless improv collective.
This is a very real second reason I bring it up. The Hideout is a business before it is our home. If it cannot break even, it will someday go away. The owner, one of our own number, is extremely generous and helpful to let us do all we do there, but he has a fair expectation that at some point he should be compensated for it.
Now, I am not an employee and cannot speak for the Hideout in any official capacity, but I would think that the better we treat it, the better it will treat us. And one of the best ways we can show our appreciation is to make sure the business stays solvent and profitable or else someday we truly may be a homeless collective. We are in the middle of an opportunity for growth and I'd hate to see that go away for something as short-sighted as not paying the theater and having it disappear out from under us someday.

I just want to make sure that, as Erika alluded to, we are prepared for the long-term growth when it inevitably comes.

[valetoile]

I would also like very much to see the money in th box office itself a little more organized. I'm sure this will come with the development of the house manager position. We need to have a set opening bank, in at least a cash box and not just an envelope, for every show, with maybe $50-$100 in small bills, so no one has to go beg performers to borrow $20 to start the box. We need a safe to drop the bank in at the end of the night. Whoever is looking into the house manager position, I would be happy to help out with the bank creation. Cause I've done this before at work.

[Mo Daviau]

How about an "Austin Improv Membership Card," for sale to the public for, say, $60 for 10 prepaid shows. Flash your membership card and get a ticket from the box person. This does not allow you to jump ahead in line. You'd still be subject to the first-come rule, unless we have a reservation system in place.

There could also be an improviser version of the card, 10 opportunities to have your butt in a seat for $30.

At Out of Bounds, we had a rule about not occupying a seat that could otherwise be paid for. I think changing the "free for improvisers" rule, because of our own success, might be a good thing overall.

Happy Boxing Day!

[arclight]

Back in the day, you earned comps to shows by volunteering for show support roles. We regularly had someone act as doorman to take tickets, hand out programs, and keep people from sneaking in. Nobody got in for free.

At the time we rarely sold out the house so the policy changed first to comp people who were taking classes, then to let in Heroes (troupe) members. We did this both to pad out the audience on nights when shows were unlikely to make, and to expose new troupe members to the forms.

A couple major changes occured in the past year: the Heroes are defunct as a standing organization, and shows rarely fail to make, and often sell out. The reasons for the open attendance policy don't exist anymore.

Here are my proposals:

• Comp people who support shows by doing box, door, lights, music, hosting, scorekeeping in Micetro, and being the Gorilla in Gorilla Theatre.
• Improv students should get comped in as long as they're taking classes.
• Regularly schedule someone as door, responsible for ensuring only paid patrons and comps are seated and verifying the aisle is clear and the house is within fire code and habitability (A/C) limits. Move the podium from the green room to the upstairs landing to give the ticket-taker some authority.
• Play on the mainstage on the weekends it's not rented out. This implies that we know the rental status of the mainstage and that the mainstage is in presentable, working order.
• Improvisors take least precedence; let non-performing improvisors pay some reduced price if they want to get in before the comp crowd, but in general a paying customer should take precedence over a non-paying one.
• Seat comps last. Seat comped improvisors dead last. Seat latecomers after that.
• $20 for a seven-show improvisor pass to co-op shows is not unreasonable. Hint: this is a good way to support the co-op.
• $25 for a five-show or $50 for a ten-show improv-lover pass to co-op shows is not unreasonable. Hint: this is a good way for your friends to support the co-op.
• Our rates were once $12 for regular price, $7 for students (this might explain why the audience often didn't make...) Charging students $5 for co-op shows is not unreasonable.
• A lesson from Out Of Bounds: All performing improvisors start backstage, not in the seats. You go on, do your set, and go back to the green room because there may not be enough room for you to stay in the house after your set. Plus, it looks more professional and gives you more quality drinking time.
• Another lesson from Out of Bounds: Do not seat anyone once a set has started - absolutely no exceptions. For the three-fer, that means latecomers get seated after the first act, eXtreme latecomers get seated after the second act. Fuckups don't get seated at all. There are a lot of freeloaders and fuckups out there.
• The lighting operator has final say on who and how many people can cram into the light booth.

[Mo Daviau]

I also think it's time to raise ticket prices across the board. Maybe $10 for everything except Micetro.

[mcnichol]

I'm writing quickly because i'm at work so I may miss a few points here (we're covering a lot in this thread) but I wanted to express my thoughts on some of this.

First, I don't care if anyone in the Austin Improv community pays for a show I'm in and I would honestly prefer to not pay for an Austin Improv show (this excludes Heroes shows or shows where a theater is rented by another group). This has next to nothing to do with the fact that I have a 9-to-5 job and mostly that I strongly believe that on-going education for an improvisor (ie. me and anyone else) includes seeing as many improv shows as possible. Having to pay for a show is a deterrent honestly, especially when anyone in the AI (or reading this pretty much) is already doing less financially tangible things for the Hideout/AI. Having it be free for those in the community welcomes more community support and growth, period.

Now, to be clear, I do not think that an improvisor seeing a show for free has the same "rights" as someone who paid for a $6/$10/$whatever amount ticket at the door. Improvisors should be able to sit in a seat if it is unoccupied. If someone with a ticket comes through door, it's time to stand and watch from the aisle/lightbooth. It is a shame if people were turned away from previous shows because non-paying improvisors were taking up the seats. That should not happen.

I want to make this a community for improvisors to learn and grow -- having to pay every time I want to support a team or a show at the Hideout deters that. And if it does mean that we are all paying for each other's shows, wouldn't that simply cancel out any profits/losses, so long as improvisors getting in for free aren't taking away seats for paying customers? I'm aware that this isn't the case with everyone in the community, but I am not doing this for the money. I've never done this for the money (I performed weekly in Chicago in front of sold out shows and never got paid -- no one does at IO/Playground, etc.). I do this because I love it and because I want to continue to grow as a performer. The way I've always learned and grown -- besides taking classes -- is watching people perform. And the way the community can stay strong is by encouraging those in the community to make this place a home and a place to call our own.


On a separate note, yes we should indeed be more strict about off-the-street people paying at a box office (whether that's downstairs or somewhere in the hallway where it's easier to stop people). This is not for the money but because we are a professional theatre and not a bunch of people making jokes in a room in the back. We cannot be taken seriously (ha ha, yes i know) if people can just walk in. This is something that goes hand in hand with keeping the theater nice, having proper lighting, hosting, starting on time, etc.

[cargill]

I came from a similar background as Bob in that improvisors were always able to see shows for free, unless there were paying customers who needed seats; in which case, we were always asked to give up our seats. At Improv Olympic, we were given performer or student cards that were checked at the door. The improvisors were seated in a certain part of the theater and if the show was sold out, they had to give up their seat or stand. Also, when I started out at Comedy Sportz Austin in 1997 all players (especially new ones) were required to see 4 shows a month as part of their training process. It was a great way to show support, learn and hang out together. I like the suggestion of maybe a ticket "booth" at the top of the stairs and maybe improvisors could stay in the green room or downstairs until all paying customers were seated, then let in to watch shows if there is room. I personally love seeing my friends in the audience and on stage, like Bob, I do not do this for money, so my stakes aren't as high for some that do. Hopefully we can figure out a way to accommodate improvisors and to better manage audience members sneaking in without paying.

[Evilpandabear]

i really don't want to push that fact of NOT letting late people into shows. simply for the fact that a lot of shows struggle to get packed. improv isn't theatre nor is it opera. and that is a good thing. so long as they buy a ticket, i see no reason for letting people in a little late. i've even sold tickets half off when the audience member comes late and misses half the show. they wouldnt have ppaid full price so i took what money i could get. for a more formal setting like the out of bounds i can understand why you wouldnt want to let late people in. but for the week to week run of the year, i honestly don't see a reason for such strictness.

[Evilpandabear]

a stricter door policy is something everyone agrees with. naturally a house stage manager will add a significant amount of ease into this situation. the house manager committee should be meeting next week sometime (holidays came and every one got busy) and we will look into this matter seriously.

in the meantime,
i highly suggest that we have some one volunteer to do door this weekend. if you want to whine and bitch about it someone better be able to do it. have all improvisors (who get in free) receive an actual comp ticket, as to not confuse the door guy. no one in with out ticket

simple enough for the time being.