The word ‘Theatre’ is the act of performing stories in front of a viewing audience using combinations of things, such as speech, music and dance. Theatre as we know it, takes on many forms such as opera, plays and pantomime.

When one wishes to see a performance at the theatre, we have to purchase theatre tickets. Here are some buying tips to bear in mind: -

1) Check the face value of the theatre ticket. If you are purchasing this ticket in person, ask to view it first.

2) Check that your chosen seat does not have any restrictions from a viewing perspective. If in doubt ask to see the theatre seating plan.

3) If you are purchasing tickets from a theatre ticket agency, ensure that they are a member of ‘STAR’ (The Society of Ticket Agents & Retailers).

4) If you go to buy tickets from a ticket agency in person, check the form before signing for it. Every ticket should show the value of the ticket and where you are supposed to be seated.

5) When buying tickets over the phone or on the internet, ask if you can collect your tickets before the theatre performance.

6) Theatre ticket agents invariably charge a booking fee. This will usually be no more than a quarter of the indicated face value of the theatre tickets.

7) Discount tickets for a lot of shows are available from the theatre ticket booth.

A lot of theatres now sell tickets on the internet. However, please note that a larger range of tickets are often available from the box office.

9) If you or someone attending a theatre performance is disabled, always check with the the theatre about disabled access before you make a booking.

10) Don’t buy tickets from ‘ticket touts’. They can often be found on the street trying to sell tickets.

If you have been going to the ballet for years, then you can probably remember when the only place you could purchase theatre tickets was from the theatre box office itself. Today, there are several ways to get tickets. If you are like many people, you work hard and have to schedule the time to attend a ballet theatre company performance, so not having to make another trip to purchase the tickets can be very helpful.

When you first decide that you want to go to a ballet company performance, you first need to decide which way of purchasing your tickets will work best, as there are different ways to do so. If you find yourself constantly on the computer and online, then your best avenue would be to go to an online ticket sales website to make your purchase. Most theatres have their own websites, with a link to the box office so that you can easily order tickets for upcoming shows.

Calling the theatre and placing an order by phone is also an option. This is great for those of us who would prefer to speak with someone about the upcoming ballet and have any questions answered.

Purchasing tickets online and by phone are great ways to ensure that you get the seating you prefer. The tickets can then be mailed out to you, or you can pick them up at the box office before the performance.

Theatres also offer discounts on some of their theatre tickets and you only need to ask to see if you would qualify. When going to a ballet performance with a group of friends, it may be in your best interest to purchase group tickets. By purchasing group tickets, each individual ticket costs a little less than what a regular ticket would cost, saving everyone a little money.

If you are a student and possess a student ID, then that it is easily verified, and you have the option to purchase tickets at a discount. A student discount is great for those who find themselves running low on funds but still want to immerse themselves in a cultural performance.

And for those that find themselves going to ballet performances frequently, there are season tickets available. Season tickets end up saving the purchaser a lot of money and they can avoid having to purchase tickets to each individual show.

Seeing a ballet performance in a theatre is a wonderful experience. And to make that experience more accessible to audiences there are different ways that theatre tickets can be purchased. There are also discounts available if you possess certain qualifications. All in all, being able to see a ballet performance in a theatre is achieved quite easily and it will be an experience you will never forget.

Online ticket brokering market places provide a service for fans wishing to buy and sell hard-to-find event tickets. Secondary ticket holders may resell their tickets to a wide fan base at premium prices. Buying and reselling tickets within the online ticketing market place has many distinct advantages.

Online ticketing market places have all of the benefits of the free market experience. Ebay is an excellent example of the free market platform where millions of buyers and sellers advertise the same products at different prices, thus increasing competition and driving market prices down. This is good news for ticket buyers. With ticket agents, sellers have the flexibility and advantage of changing the price of their ticket listing so that the ticket price reflects the current supply and demand of the ticket in their possession.

How ticket reselling and buying work?

It’s very simple.

• The seller lists his or her tickets in the marketplace
• The buyer purchases tickets in the marketplace
• The seller sends the tickets to the buyer
• The tickets arrive and the seller gets paid!

Marketing SourcesEmail Marketing

News letters via email are some of the most effective ways to keep customers up to date with new events and hard to find tickets going on sale. Email marketing enables fans to buy and sell tickets at fair market prices to a vast selection of sporting, concert, theatre and other live entertainment events including those that are “sold out”.

Search Marketing

Search engine marketing using Google, Yahoo and MSN are among the most popular search marketing media. Online ticketing brokers advertise on major search engines, thus increasing the visibility of the site. Sellers who have bought tickets from the official seller and then realize that they do not want or need them may resell the tickets on the ticket brokering site and earn a profit.

Text Message Marketing

Some popular ticket agents provide a text alert service. This allows the seller to be alerted when an event has become “sold out” and their ticket has increased in value.

Why sell your tickets at an online market place?

Online market places are secure and hassle free options to standing in front of the gates to an event waving tickets in front of fans. Instead you are able to sell your tickets 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the comfort of your own home. Many online marketplaces even reward their customers with credit for future purchases. Being a seller on any online market place has the following benefits:.

• Fans may resell unwanted tickets for a profit
• Online market places eliminate the need of a ticket broker
• Tickets are posted directly to the buyer, cutting out the need for a third party (agent or reseller).

TrendsCompanies are collaborating with each other in order to create a better ticket reselling environment and have digitized the process, making buying and selling tickets 100% secure. Cutting edge security systems have encouraged ticket brokers to buy hard to find tickets from primary sources and to resell them at a large profit.

“Fans have embraced ticket resale, and the combination of TicketMaster and TicketsNow will allow us to provide a safer, more reliable and efficient resale experience,” said TicketMaster president and CEO Sean Moriarty, in a statement. “We are confident that combining TicketsNow’s strong resale network with our audience and distribution capabilities will enable us to set a new standard in the resale category.”

“We believe that the best we can do for our consumers, clients and the UK live entertainment ticketing industry is to actively engage the exchange and resale sector of the market. We look forward to working with GET ME IN! to provide consumers with the highest levels of choice, protection and service and to keep the value of a ticket as much as possible where it belongs, within the live entertainment industry,” said Chris Edmonds, Managing Director of Ticketmaster UK.

Buying a product to sell it is not a new concept, and is indeed the basis for many commercial businesses world wide, but it is an emerging strategy in the online ticketing industry. This strategy is a risk-free stepping stone to build and expand your online ticket brokering business.

Mobility Devices: Effect on Marketplace

The internet has brought dramatic changes to the way companies communicate and people conduct their business relationships. One of the hottest marketing trends for businesses across all industries is fueled by the advantage of mobility that the internet offers. The internet allows one access to all of the information you need to run your business successfully and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, thus increasing the time one may invest in making their business more fruitful.

Tips to Earn Great Profit

i-Grab the best:

Choosing the right event at the right time is the first and the most important aspect of online ticketing brokering. Buy tickets at face value from the primary seller. Then list the ticket at premium price or at least above the face value. Sometime this tactic is risky because some events are advertised as “sold out” when they are not. If there is a large supply of the tickets on ticket brokering websites, the demand, and thus the value of the ticket decreases.

ii-Choose the right marketplace

The second most important action to take is to choose the best place to sell your tickets. If you are in possession of tickets with good seating but you list them at the wrong place at the wrong time you are compromising your profit levels. Make sure the online ticketing market place you choose is advertising on search engines so that the chances of reaching potential buyers are increased.

Before you list your ticket with any online market place, spend time researching other similar event tickets on the internet to gauge the interest in the event you hold a ticket for. This will help you determine the value of your tickets.

iii-Keep an eye on your listing

Once you have listed your tickets it is imperative that you keep an eye on your listing so that it remains competitive and thus has a greater chance of selling. The market value of your ticket may increase or decrease. Some online market places do keep sellers up-to-date with market prices for their listing.

Popular Ticketing Marketplaces

Below is a list of the most popular online ticketing market places and statements from their websites:

Seatwave

“Seatwave is an online marketplace where fans can buy and sell tickets for concerts, theatre, sport attractions, special events and just about any other kind of live event”

Getmein

“GET ME IN! is the leading open marketplace dedicated to tickets in the UK and Europe. Fans can buy and sell live entertainment tickets for sport, music, theatre and other live events - at open market prices - in a safe and trusted environment on GETMEIN.com. GET ME IN! guaranteed every transaction by vetting sellers, managing shipment of tickets, and withholding payment to sellers until a buyer has safely received tickets. GET ME IN! was founded in 2003 and has served over 50,000 customers since launch. Visit website for more information”

Costcosta

“Coast To Coast Tickets is a privately owned ticket agency. As a ticket marketplace for all sports and entertainment events, we buy and sell tickets on the secondary market at above face value. Prices quoted on this site are often substantially higher than the price printed on the ticket as they reflect our cost of obtaining premium seating. Inventory”

TheOnlineTicketExchange

“The Online Ticket Exchange is the place for buying and selling hard-to-get tickets. We give fans the chance to get their hands on and sell the most sought after tickets at fair market prices. We are a safe and easy-to-use online marketplace for fans and enthusiasts to buy or sell tickets for events all over the world. We sell concert tickets, theatre tickets, sports tickets, festivals tickets, championship tickets, world cup tickets and sold out event tickets with UK and worldwide”

StubHub

“As the leader in the secondary ticket market, StubHub’s sales data is an excellent barometer of the secondary demand for the most popular touring acts. We feel it’s valuable to provide insight into the increasing popularity among fans who utilize StubHub and other secondary resources to buy concert tickets,” said Chuck LaVallee, Head of Music Business Development for StubHub. “We hope the information provided in the report can be useful to those who follow the business of the music industry”

ticketmaster

“Ticketmaster is the world’s leading ticketing company, operating in 20 global markets, providing ticket sales, ticket resale services, marketing and distribution through ticketmater, one of the largest e-commerce sites on the Internet, and international Web sites including Ticketmaster.co.uk”

• How to pick up tickets at face value and then resell them for massive profits
• How to increase visibility and rankings on search engines as possible
• Learn how to advertise your tickets for you for FREE.

The musical Hairspray is now playing at the Shaftesbury Theatre and will run through October 24, 2009. This show has won many standing ovations from its audiences, as well as several recent awards. It won the Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2007, and in 2008 it has won the Best Musical in the Olivier Awards, the Critics Circle Awards and the What’s on Stage Theatergoers Choice Awards.

Hairspray tells the story of Tracy Turnblad, a big girl who is determined to earn a place on a popular dance show, The Corny Collins Show. Tracy is played by Leanne Jones and her mother is played by Michael Ball. The pair won the 2008 Olivier awards for Best Actor in a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical for their roles in this production of Hairspray.

Other cast members include Mel Smith as Wilbur Turnblad, Ben James-Ellis as Link Larkin, Tracie Bennett as Velma Von Tussle and Natalie Best as Inez. The show is based on the film, which was directed by John Waters. The musical is directed by Jack O’Brien and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, with music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman.

Recent productions at the Shaftesbury Theatre include Daddy Cool in 2006, High Society and The Far Pavilions in 2005, Bat Boy: The Musical in 2004 and Thoroughly Modern Millie and Calamity Jane in 2003.

One of the most notable performances held at the Shaftesbury Theatre was a production of the musical Hair in 1973. After 1998 performances, the theatre was forced to close Hair when part of the theatre’s ceiling collapsed. Shortly after that, the theatre was listed on the ‘Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historical Interest.’

Other notable productions include Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying in the 1960’s and They’re Playing Our Song in the 1980’s.

The Shaftesbury Theatre was built in 1911 and the first production was The Three Musketeers. The theatre was originally called the New Prince’s Theatre and was renamed as the Prince’s Theatre in 1914. The building was designed by Bertie Crewe for Walter and Federick Melville. It originally seated 2,392 people.

The Shaftesbury Theatre was remodeled and redecorated in 2006 and seats 1,389 people. The seating is arranged in three levels: the stalls, the Royal Circle and the Grand Circle. The views in the last few rows of the stalls and the Royal Circle are affected by the overhang of the level above. If you are short, you’ll want to avoid the first two rows of the Grand Circle. Otherwise, you may have trouble seeing over the handrail.

As you can probably guess from the name, the theatre is located on Shaftesbury Avenue. It is near Centre Point and Dominion Theatre, and the closest tube stations are at Tottenham Court Road and Holborn. The stage door is off Bloomsbury Street, at the rear of the building.

London Theatre Tickets are one of the most resilient of animals having overcome a multitude of challenges to still reign supreme in the world of entertainment. All we had was theatre tickets for years and years then suddenly there are hundreds and thousands of new kids on the block. Movies, TV, the Internet and computer games all vying for the attention of a public who is being pulled this way and that. But still top shows sell out night after night, and this can really be put down to some great writing and amazing new shows that constantly hit the stage each month and year.

London Theatre - Not All Shows Created Equal…

Some of these shows are really special like Wicked and The Lion King which seem to transcend theatre and plant you in a world of magic and wonder! Other shows don’t hit the public imagination at all and are gone with the wind before they even get started.

The best shows for me start off with a small production touring the county and then get bigger and bigger as word of mouth spreads and causes more and more demand. Most of the time a successful show will run for maybe three years then clever producers will end the run when they see that sales are waning a little. Only to reopen a couple of years later when the public have forgotten they were ever getting jaded. OLIVER! is a great example of that.

You sometimes get really a monster hit like ‘Phantom of the Opera’ that runs for many years and show no sign of loosing pace. AND Mousetrap has now been on for a whopping 50 years!

Your first night in the West End will be a shining life long memory if you’re anything like me, probably you will have a pre-theatre meal at one of the many delicious restaurants spotted around Theatreland. Then make your way with butterflies in your stomach to the theatre and take you seat to the sound of the band tuning up. The first show I ever saw was Oliver at the Palladium and it was marvelous. My sister loved it so much in fact that she made me take her again the very next week. Even though we are all grown up now she still wants to see every show I get tickets for

Take the Kids!

Theatre Tickets can be a very rewarding gift for your children, you just have to look at the excitement in their eyes and see the sheer joy that young people get from good old showbiz. So much of what children consume these days is hurtful and violent, but theater is an altogether more wholesome experience showing the value of hard work, talent and confidence.

With that being said we’ve been going out more and more recently seeing all kinds of shows from all over the world, some great and some not so great but there have of course been our favorites: Sound of music, We will rock you and Billy Elliot all stood out as being far ahead of the competition. My next trip will defiantly be Zorro, what could be better than a mixture of swashbuckling action and gypsy kings music!

In my darker moments I really want to take my wife to Avenue Q as we were both big fans of the Muppets and I’ve herd it absolutely superb, like a total laugh-a-minute wet your pants kind of show. (If a little blue.)

I know that not everyone is going to like every show but I think the key thing is to get out there to keep trying things on for size. If we all stay at home and watch Eastenders every night we’re going to shrivel up and die. (Whoa I’m getting a little spiritual there!)

Theatre is most resilient of animals and none shall overcome…

Benith Smyth - Discount Theatre

London Theatre Tickets / Theatre Tickets