One week before:
Make sure tickets are being printed.
Make sure programs are being printed and folded.
Make sure you have seating charts and treasurer forms (bug the TD and the treasurer if you don’t have these).
Kresge Little Theater (KLT) seating chart: KLT-seating-chart.pdf
Make sure the treasurer gets a cash box from SAO.
Make sure the producer got ushers.
Make sure you communicate with the Reservations Mgr about passing off the list of reservations (typically a google doc with both people having access to it).
Talk with treasurer about cash box handoff and confirm where the keys and cashbox are being stored.
If in KLT, have the producer check with CAC if there are events going on in Big Kresge during show nights.
Ask the producer which seats are best and if there are any obstructed views.
Make sure the producer has informed you (and everyone involved in the show) what the comp policy is and the confirmation process.
Day of the show:
Talk to the stage manager about when house will be closed/procedure for closing house.
Talk to the director/producer about late seating policy.
Make sure the seats are labeled and that they are the same as the seating chart (mostly for Sala but also check the balcony in KLT).
Have tickets and programs ready. You may choose to assign seats for reserved tickets.
If you assign seats, it's a good idea to lay out the tickets for each reservation by name. This will let you process them quickly when people come to pick up their reservations.
As of August 31, 2018, seat D5 in KLT is broken. Do not let anyone sit in it.
Pay attention to whether people need handicapped seating. In KLT, these are the aisle seats on the balconies (e.g. K12, L22).
If there are a lot of reservations, ask someone on the prod staff to do crowd control.
If there are a lot of reservations, find another person to run the waiting list.
Welcome ushers and show them which end of the ticket to rip off and save.
House manager:
Make sure the house is clean!
Lay out the reserved tickets. (We find it’s best to put strips of masking tape down and label the tape with the names in alphabetical order and the associated number of tickets. The associated tickets go underneath. It’s helpful to note if any are comps or pre-paid. We don’t recommend marking the tickets because people often are no shows.)
When a ticket is picked up/sold, mark the sold seat on the seating chart.
When a ticket is sold, mark on the ticket what price the ticket was. This will be a big help to your box office manager.
When reservations are released (10-15 minutes before curtain), figure out what tickets are still available and sort into groupings so you know how many tickets are together.
Confer with the stage manager about when to close house.
After the box office closes (give it a few minutes for those late stragglers…), count the number of remaining tickets. Then count the number of ticket stubs from the ushers. The number of remaining tickets should be (total house size minus stubs). Sort the stubs into price categories to determine how much revenue should have been generated. Check this number against the cash count from the box office manager (the total cash count should this number + the starting cash count).
Box office manager:
Make sure there is enough change. If there are not enough 1s or 5s, ask Anna’s or Subway for change. Don’t ask Verde’s unless you want to get yelled at.
Know the ticket prices and talk to your house manager about notation for groups.
After the box office closes (give it a few minutes for those late stragglers…), count the money. Have someone else double count it. Don’t forget checks and change. Check with the house manager on what the cash count should be. Be sure to account for the starting cash count.
Make sure the same starting cash is left in the cash box for the next night/for return to SAO.
Follow the treasurer’s procedure for filling out the night deposit form and treasurer’s form. Make sure the cash box is returned to the office or to the treasurer.
Waiting list:
If the reservations are “reserved out,” make a list of people who still want tickets. Write down the names and number of tickets in order.
About 10 minutes before the show starts, the box office will stop selling reserved tickets. Call out the names of the people on the waiting list and have them line up in order, ready to tell the box office folks how many tickets they want.