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166 Building Theatre Patronage
performance under the auspices of a local newspaper or a local club.
The so-called "Old-Timers' Night" is set aside for those who have lived in the community for twenty-five or fifty years. Their attendance is announced in newspaper stories which call attention to the fact that the coming photoplay is based on the spirit or of the period of the "old timers."
27. School and College Nights. — To arouse interest in a coming photoplay of college life, set aside one night for each of the local schools or colleges. The marquee can carry school or college colors. The orchestra or organ can play the school or college march. The cheer leaders can be present to give a demonstration. Showcases of trophies from the college or school trophy room can be displayed in the lobby. Newspaper sporting pages can carry all-star teams. Perhaps members of athletic teams can parade to the theatre in uniform and occupy a reserved section. Evidently each school or college will do its best to get a representative attendance on its night, and consequently school bulletin boards can be used for theatre announcements. High-lights in the coming photoplay can be the basis for athletic reminiscence articles.
28. Souvenirs. — -Often business can be stimulated, particularly at matinees, by the presentation of some inexpensive souvenir, such as a postcard of the star or one of the standard sales novelties or some trinket from a specialty store. There are a number of houses specializing in the supplying of this material, which provide assortments as low as two or three dollars a thousand. Where you have only a limited supply, and cannot supply all, do not advertise that you will give souvenirs to the "first hundred" or whatever your limit. Say that you have only a hundred but will distribute them while they last.
29. Cut-Out Program Holder. — Where the theatre cannot afford the cost of a program boy, managers have built program holders. These are either compo board life-size figures designed according to the ushers' costume of the house, or life-sized cutout figures taken from the posters of coming attractions. In each case the figure holds a tray on which the programs rest. By using cut-out figures of stars in coming attractions, patrons are reminded of coming attractions.