This is a great idea!  I will definately be sharing this one.  Thanks!

I have found that in general, most theatres get way too hyped up about comp tickets.  When the curtain goes up, what's that empty seat now worth?  Same as an airline ticket as soon as the plane takes off.  Nothing. 

It may be even a little more extreme with theatres than with planes.  If I can get someone into my theatre to see a show, I might be able to get that person to come back for another and another and the next thing you know, they become a subscriber! 

Think of comps as an extension of your marketing program:  it's an investment in a future paying customer.  If you charge, say $15 for a ticket, that means you can spend up to $15 to get someone in that seat to break even.  Giving a ticket away doesn't cost you much, if anything, to get a fanny in that seat. 

The question of giving cast/crew comps is a little different.  You see, they're part of your "sales force".  I'll be talking a lot more about marketing in an upcoming "Kibitzer" article, but suffice it to say for now that when your sales force starts giving away your product, there's something that just doesn't feel right about it.  It's actually counter-intuitive.  I think there are ways to have your cake and eat it too on this one.  Your cast/crew deserve some sort of freebie now and again, but what shape and form that freebie takes can be really important.

Let me give you just one idea on this:  Every participant in a show get's ONE comp for EVERY OTHER show in your season.  "YIKES!", I'll bet you're thinking.  Actually, I've seen this one in action.  First, it builds a sense of community among all your participants of all your shows because everyone shows up for everyone else's shows -- there's mutual support.  Secondly, you're only giving away ONE ticket per show.  Certainly, many people will go with each other, but how many will go by themselves?  Chances are many will end up buying another ticket for someone who will accompany them to the shows.  In addition to all this, unless you don't have a problem selling out your shows, what kind of audience would you like to have out there?  A half-empty house, or one half-filled with supportive and knowledgable audience members?  Which one will give you the best "buzz"? 

Okay, I'll shut up now.

Your always,

The Kibitzer

Well, there's another "counter-intuitive" point!  Forget about ticket prices altogether, comp the whole world, ask for donations, and make more money than when you charged for tickets! 

Art is all about taking risks.  So is the art of management. 

A couple of indisputable facts we have discovered at our 173 seat CT after 32 years:
The only reason anyone should participate in a production is for applause and for your own self-fulfillment. If you feel you need to be thanked for your hours of effort and toil, you're in the wrong theater.
The more comps we give out, the less revenue we realise.
Our theater does not run on good will, it runs on money.
We survive only on the basis of good ticket sales.
This is no art without an audience.

We don't do comps.  We do have a one ticket rule for families of those directly involved on stage or with running the show.  If they buy one ticket, family members can see the show as often as they want.  If we are sold out we ask them to take a less desirable seat.

Several years ago, I was directing a show at a large nearby theater that gave two comps to every advertiser in the program (almost 400 free tickets compared with 1,000 sold tickets!!!!).  That represented a loss of almost $5,000 in revenue - these were people who always came to the theater.  Then they had the nerve to complain that they didn't make their revenue target.