Building theatre patronage : management and merchandising (1927)

CHAPTER XXXVI THAT'S OUR BUSINESS THEY used to call it the Show Game. Then it was called the Show game. Then it was called the Show business. Then it was called the Show Business. Now it is called the Show Business. The emphasis is placed where it belongs. It is a business — a business in which the untrained should not dabble. It requires more than a flashy vest, a broad-brimmed hat, a loud voice, and a flashy tie. It was very much of a gamble when canvas tents were the only protection against the weather. Now substantial structures of steel and marble have replaced the tents. It was a gamble when performers were scarce — and temperamental — and when among people generally a living wage and leisure were equally scarce. Even now, because human nature is fickle, and preferences change, and investments must be made before revenue is guaranteed, there is about it some element of uncertainty. But any business which satisfies a natural human craving at a reasonable price is stable. Motion-picture theatre entertainment is founded on a human desire almost as intense as the desire for food. The wholesome gratification of that desire is succeeding; our great motion-picture theatres are monuments to its success. Because it is a business, it requires all the qualifications of the good business man: common sense, tact, willingness to work, ability to sell, plus qualities of imagination, originality, and human understanding. Ability to sell does not mean passing out goods over the counter; mere delivery is not salesmanship. Before compeptition was intense, and when the novelty of picture entertainment drew large audiences, intensive, reliable selling was not so essential. To-day, when the novelty no ionger exists, and when competition is keen, the individual theatre succeeds because of salesmanship. Whether the sales 4?3