Should reviews discuss the price of tickets?

Should reviews discuss the price of tickets?

I'm regularly reminded that I'm lucky to get free tickets to shows. I KNOW! But I also know that (like most web writers), I spend hours of my time writing about these shows for free. I think it's a fair exchange and would do it even if I won lotto and didn't have to panic about next month's rent or try to save $3 by picking up a pizza treat instead of getting it delivered.

Like many arts workers, I know that spending $100, $50 or $10 on ticket is something that needs considering and is out of the reach of many people.

So, if I think a show is or isn't worth $98, I'm going to say so.

I've already discussed that tickets should cost money because artists (even writers) deserve to be paid, but am going to continue to support discount ticket organisations. Not because I want artists to starve, but because I want starving artists to see as much theatre as I do.

If you can afford a full price ticket, you'll support the artists and buy it, while others can support the artists by telling other people how great the show is and encouraging them to buy tickets.

How to get cheaper tickets?

Join Little Birdy right now and save $100s next week.

Drop by Half tix in Swanston Street

Check Lasttix.

Follow your favourite companies on Facebook and Twitter.

And please tweet (@SometimesMelb) me with deals and offers and I'll pass them on to eager audiences.

Little Birdy cheep tix

Tickets should cost money

If I didn't write about theatre, I wouldn't be able to see anywhere near as much theatre as I do.

I don't get paid to review*, but I get tickets, which I'm able to share with friends who mostly work in the arts so also can't afford the luxury of seeing a lot of theatre.

Theatre tickets aren't free because theatre is created by people who deserve to get paid in the same way that your doctor or postie expects to get paid for doing their job. And if you think theatre pays well, take your ticket price and divide it by the number of names on the program, then throw in the costs of front of house staff, venue hire, insurance, cleaning, publicity, rights, printing and the wine and sandwiches for reviewers and friends on opening night.

There's little appreciation of the hours it takes to create any performance by those who don't do it.

I used to work for in local government programming live entertainment for large festivals. I had to stop counting how many very well-paid staff members would ask me if the entertainers would do it for free or for a crap hourly rate because "they'll be seen by people" and  "that's what they want".

I once had a fight with a friend once because she'd figured out a way to sneak into a large Adelaide Fringe venue via a toilet with two doors; she didn't accept my argument that if they don't give you the ticket, it's stealing.

But knowing and supporting that creators deserve to be able to pay their rent doesn't solve the problem of how to support and enjoy theatre when you don't have a pile of ready cash – which is often because you're a creator and spend your free time doing things you don't get any money for.

Then there's the problem of how to get people to love and appreciate your work. Unsold works, posts with no hits and empty seats can hurt.

Little Birdy

Ronnie Fazekas also understands these frustrations.

So she formed Little Birdy Tix to give artists access to new audiences and folk like us access to tickets.

Ronnie says, "My background is in ticketing, managing the ticketing for quite a large number of festivals, venues and events both here and in the UK. I spent a lot of time with upset artists, producers etc who either couldn't afford publicity for their show or simply didn't understand how important new audience members are to the growth of their ticket sales.

"On the flip side, I dealt with thousands of general public members who were overwhelmed by choice and quite possibly were very unfamiliar with seeing live performance in general, often choosing to buy a ticket based on a sold out sticker (buying to another date) or walking away not buying anything.

"I wanted to help both groups!"

And she has.

Audiences

For punters, it costs $55 to join Little Birdy. For this you can have two tickets for shows promoted on the site. This usually makes your membership pay for itself after one show. Ronnie says that in the eight months Little Birdy has been running, some members have used over $1000 worth of tickets. That's gotta be the best deal around.

However, if you can't make it to a show, you have to cancel within two hours of the start or risk losing your membership. Fair enough, I think.

If you join now, you could nab tickets to eleven shows including see Midsumma's Gaybies at the Sumner Theatre, AcidTongue and Dollface at the Owl and the Pussycat, Equus at Revolt and not a very good story at La Mama.

Gaybies (which may have already sold out)

AND if you want to head to SA for the Adelaide Fringe, you can already grab tickets for shows at The Garden of Unearthly Delights. There's enough free shows to fill a few days, which could leave you with enough money to get to Adels, buy beer and spend your change on seeing more Fringe shows.

Promoters

If you have empty seats or want to bring a new audience to your shows, listing your show on Little Birdy is free. FREE!  (That's easier that asking an arts journo to write a story about you.)

Members hear about you through the Little Birdy website, the weekly newsletter, Twitter or Facebook. And members are asked to share the love and create the buzz by sharing on their accounts.

You're not getting ticket income, but if your show is great, the chances of audiences recommending you to their friends and paying to see your next work are pretty good. And they'll probably buy a wine and a program. Regardless, it's always better to have bums on seats and it's amazing what good word of mouth and a couple of full houses does for the rest of your season.

Please join

I think this is one of the best new ventures I've seen.

Little Birdy Tix are joining audiences to shows and artists, while encouraging and helping people to see a lot of theatre.  This can only help to build all audiences and support all companies and venues, and I suspect that it's going to be wonderful during festivals when the choice scares the best of us.

Become a Little Birdy member HERE.

* But if anyone wants to give me a job where I get paid to write about theatre, I'll say yes please and promise to submit on time. And there's a donation button on the right.

Ticket deals

Last night, Melbourne's theaterati gathered to thank Alison Croggon for eight years of Theatre Notes. Melbourne's theatre people are bloody lovely and generally create amazing stuff, so why are there so many empty seats in town this week?

I had to leave the party to go to Short and Sweet: Theatre. I missed some drunk pontificating (thank you Twitter for the photos) and the chance to write in Alison's book of thanks, but I saw the strongest week of Short and Sweet; saw it with a handful of people. There were more people on the stage than in the audience. That sucks.

Sweet Short and Sweet offers

OK, so some past Short and Sweet plays have been bad. And by bad, I mean so atrociously dull or ranty that their ten minutes was enough for many to decide to never go to S&S again. I stopped writing about S&S because it just wasn't fair. This is theatre that should be supported, seen and loved, but it aint ready to be reviewed. 

This year's program has had its share of shockers (I'm one of the not-so-anonymous judges), but there have also been some delights. It's these writers and creators who will be welcomed and written about by the theaterati and are worth seeing now.

Week 3 of S&S is the most consistent week by far. A couple need to go back for another draft, but the rest are terrific. It's the first week that I've scored a play full marks (two of them actually) and there's one that has so divided opinion that I want everyone to see it. I loved it.

So don't let the fearsome ghost of S&S past keep you away this week. Or there's the gala on the weekend. Book here.

If a $30 ticket is keeping you away, there are options.

Lasttix have a 2 for 1 deal. $15 is less than a movie.

Halftix have $18.50 tickets, if you're in the city.

or

Join the wonderful new enterprise  Little Birdy Tix.

For $55, you can get two tickets to S&S Week 3 AND to the Gala AND to S&S Cabaret AND and you'll score freebies to all sorts of shows (including films and music) for the NEXT YEAR! 

$55 for a YEAR of shows! For that, it doesn't matter if you see some duds.

Pompeii, L.A. for half price 

Another show with a Lasttix and a Halftix offer  is Pompeii, L.A.

As this is the best piece of theatre on in town this week, I have no idea why it's not sold out. I'm still fumbling for the right words, but the reviews have been exactly what it deserves. Here's Chris's and it was Alison's last official TN review. And as a bonus, the Herald Scum hated it!

Last week, someone asked me if it's worth seeing. Hell yes!  He then asked, "Is it worth $58?"

Oh. 

That's a significant amount of money. 

But it's wonderful, intelligent, mind-fucking theatre. 

If $58 is keeping you away from Pompeii, L.A., get to LastTix for a $35 ticket or Halftix for a $34.50 ticket.  

ATP, perceived value and blah

I know that if I didn't write about theatre, there's no way that I could see so much theatre. 

I used to work on the side of the arts world that puts complex ATP (average ticket price) formulas into Excel (remember to include your comps in that calculation) hoping to find a magic number that promises a break even budget while ensuring that the people who want to see a show can afford to see it. Theatre companies need income and income comes from ticket sales, so managers and marketers talk about price points and perceived value and do everything possible to get pre-sales, subscriptions and keep subscribers happy.

But ticket price still keeps people away from theatres, especially artists and students and freelancers who want to see a lot of theatre and should see a lot a theatre so that their own artistic practise will be better.

I don't know the answer to this problem. If I did, I'd be selling it to every company in the country and be able to afford tickets to every show I wanted to see.

In the meantime, last minute deals are a great way to get the price down for those who need it. And I've always believed that giving an empty seat away is better than making performers face empty seats.

MTC and Red Stitch offers

Last weekend, MTC were giving away tickets to Elling for full-time students. Best to keep an eye on their Facebook page for more offers.

And I hear that Midsummer at Red Stitch hasn't sold out. Really!? It's gorgeous.

Best place to for deals is Red Stitch's Facebook page. This morning there was a double pass on offer.

Pompeii, L.A. photo by Pia Johnson

Elling photo by Jeff Busby

Midsummer photo by Jodi Hutchinson