Moving Picture World (May-Jun 1927)

June 11, 1927 MOVING PICTURE WORLD 457 np np» JLen lips On Methods That Make The Theatre 1 The Show Window 6 Lighting 2 Cleanliness 7 Courtesy 3 Wanted Persons 8 Lost & Found 4 Warm Weather 9 Good Music 5 Short Subjcets 10 Superlatives A Go-Getter By JAMES D. KENNEDY Manager, Apollo Theatre, Indianapolis, Ind. you told me across a lunch table that your theatre had lost you money, I'd ^1 sympathize and wish you better luck in future, because I do not set up as an oracle. But if you came to me under the same circumstances and said, “As One Exhibitor to another, what do you suppose I can do to build up better business," I would go over the thing with you to see if any experience I have had could be of value to you. It is in that spirit that I write, not proffering advice but rather digging into the things I have found to be practical business builders when properly directed. Come and I will analyze a theatre that will please the most critical person. Your front is attractive. It tells at a glance what you are offering. When the patron approaches the boxoffice a neat and attractive young lady sells him his ticket and smiles and says “Thank You” (and means it). A neat uniformed door attendant takes his ticket and returns half of it for the seat check. As the patrons enters the theatre cheerfulness and comfort greets him. Your lights are soft and mellow, the ventilation is good and the projection is clear and sharp. Your program has been carefully gone over, the picture is the best, your music is pleasing and entertaining, your aisles are noiseless and your seats are comfortable. After being seated by a neatly uniformed usher, the patron can relax and know that he is going to enjoy the show for the surroundings are cheerful and pleasing and every employe has done their duty by being kind and courteous. Your patron will leave the theatre well satisfied, with a desire to return. An important phase of theatre management and one that is often neglected is keeping the theatre clean. It is easy to make your theatre the main attraction in your locality, all that is required of you is plenty of effort and a lot of hard work. A lady soiling her dress on a dirty seat or a railing in your theatre, is something that is hard for her to forget and no doubt she will tell her friends and that means taking the revenue from the boxoffice. When you lose the patrons’ confidence or their good will it is mighty hard to win it back, so look after the theatre, see that it is cleaned properly and thoroughly each night. Keep your theatre up to the standard, as nothing detracts more than a neglected or a dirty theatre. Another thing is the burned out electric light lamps, these should be replaced immediately, nothing looks anymore careless than a lot of burned out lamps and people will hesitate about patronizing the theatre that is neglected. Your lobby is your show window, dress it accordingly. Every theatre’s front is just as important as the show window is to the merchant. If he has an attractive window, nine people out of every ten that pass will stop and look, and likewise it is the same with your lobby, so make your lobby attractive as this is the show window for the public and by your display you are going to sell your program. Make it cheerful and pleasing to the eye, as it reflects the personality of your theatre. In my opinion there is nothing more attractive than hand painted posters. I have been using them for a good many years and find that they add greatly to your lobby. If this is impossible for you to do, then have your posters and photographs in your frames neatly arranged. Great care and good judgment should be used in selecting them, for with a lobby that is not pleasing to the eye one can drive away more people than it will ever bring in. Another department that is essential to a theatre is the “Lost and Found” department and I have always found that this kind of service creates any amount of good feeling toward the theatre. The Captain is in charge of this department and articles that have been James D. Kennedy found are turned over to him, he immediately marks the date on a card when the article was found and clips the card to it, to await the owner’s identification. Every two months we dispose of the articles that have not been called for. Articles found with the owner’s name or address on them are immediately mailed to them. The checking of parcels, grips or umbrellas is another department that is appreciated by the patron, as people coming into your theatre cannot enjoy the show if they are annoyed by having these articles in the seat with them. We have a young man whose duty it is to look after the checking only, as the patron enters the theatre and hands his ticket to the doorman the attendant approaches him thus, “May I check your grip please.” When the patron has seen the show and is ready to leave the theatre, he gives back the check that he received from the attendant upon entering the theatre, and received his grip. Employes are NEVER permitted to receive tips or gratuities. When a patron offers such, they .say “No, Thank You, this is one of the courtesies offered you by the Apollo Theatre.” Doctors coming into the theatre leave their exact seat location with the doorman in case of an emergency call. If anyone wishes another person paged, we run a slide with the person’s name or the telephone number that they are to call printed on the slide. It only takes a second to stop your show and run this slide, and I have found by doing this, it eliminates mistakes and avoids a lot of annoyance to the people who are watching the show and besides it reaches everybody in the theatre at the same time. In conclusion I wish to say that the name of your theatre should be the symbol of the best that can be found. Now that the warm weather is approaching every effort should be made to create an atmosphere of coolness in the theatre. Your theatre can be decorated in warm weather so as to create a maximum of comfort. Attendants should be garbed in cool clothing and it might be a good suggestion to have the men in the orchestra wear palm beach suits. Green electric light globes should replace all red ones. Amber or blue are very effective. Light summer drapes should replace the heavy velour. I believe that all forms of advertising should be kept at a minimum during the hot weather, and in the extremely hot weather features should not be heavily exploited as it is very costly and you are in the summer holiday period. About your music, people don’t care for cheap