A Working Actor's Lament (Chapter 64)

Poor, Poor Actors

I believe that most actors should take it upon themselves to check out as much industry productions, whether it be on the stage or in the movie theater. However, you know as well as I do (and every waiter and waitress out there) that unless you take out a second mortgage on your home, this is an impossibility. So I thought I would share some of the hidden secrets out there where it might only cost you a weeks worth of groceries to see some great stage shows (sorry, I can't help you with AMC).

1. 1. Half Price Ticket Sites Online - Sure, this isn't a great secret, but it is very helpful. If you plan ahead only a couple of days, you can go to these sites and get regular price tickets for about the price of a cheap sushi dinner. There are some stipulations on some of the sites (you don't know where your seats are until you pick up your tickets, you must register first), but who cares? You are going to see great theatre. Some of the more popular sites are TheatreLA, Goldstar Events, CeeLA, LA Stage Alliance, and Plays411.


2. The Lottery - No, I am not talking about MegaMillions or your local Super Lotto. I am talking about a wonderful thing that Jonathan Larson started with "Rent". If you call up your local theatre, ask them if they offer a lottery, where a couple of hours before the show you can stand it a line with your fellow peers in hopes of getting your name pulled for seats to the next performance. We have done this 3 times for "Wicked" at the Pantages Theater here in LA and have got in twice. Again, there are stipulations: for the Pantages, you have to pay cash ($25 per ticket) and you are only allowed 2 tickets, but ALL the tickets are for the FRONT ROW!!! Check with your local theater to see what their rules are pertaining to their lottery.


3. Rush Tickets - This is one where you really have to have luck on your side. Some theaters offer "Rush Tickets", which are tickets that, for arguments sake, are discounted seats that the house sells to fill up the theater. These could be anywhere within the house (recent cancellations, un-sold seats), and they are sold at a fraction of the price, too. Are you ready for the stipulations? The major one is most of these seats are not released until ONE HOUR before the show starts, if there are any released at all. At least with the lottery there are guaranteed seats you are fighting for. Here, there might not be any. However, to cheer you up, I will tell you I recently did rush tickets for "The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee" with the original Broadway cast out here in Brentwood at the Wadsworth Theatre and was lucky enough to get FRONT ROW CENTER. The tickets that are going online for $140 were sold 'rush' to us for $28 a piece. Can you say "Hell, Yeah!!!"?

I am sure there are many other ways to get great seats at cheap prices, and if you know of any please comment on this blog so others can know about it, too. We need more actors who are not series regulars to see who they are losing the acting jobs to (sorry, I couldn't resist).