B.5.f
Front of house policies. Every
theatre venue—ours included— establishes restrictions on audience
behaviors in order to preserve the integrity of the aesthetic event and to assure
a safe, comfortable, and satisfying experience for its ticket-buying patrons. Without
wanting to appear overly-picky or snobbish about the “manners” of
its audiences, it is the responsiblity of University Theatre to insist on behaviors
which do not distract from the aesthetic experience which has so carefully been
put in place. In other words, we aren’t happy
about working for weeks to get something right, only to be upstaged by some outrageous
non-social, thoughtless person in the third row whose cell phone rings at a crisis
line; Or an alarm watch beeping at the wonderfully
tender spot in the show; Or people talking loudly
about having owned a dress “just like that one” at the ingenue’s
entrance; Or that little red light on the video camera
coming on, going off, coming on, going off, the only thing the performer can see
when looking out the house from the platform. These
things have happened, and more than once. These behaviors
need to stop, for the sake of the production yes, but also for the sake of decent
people who have paid good money to enjoy the production and can’t because
the person behind them keeps kicking their seatbacks! It’s
also our task to see to it that the experience our audiences receive with us is
safe, convenient and pleasant. For this reason every
theatre producing organization develops policies for the control of the audience
atmosphere. Ours are pretty standard, and seek to
curtail thoughtless rather than vicious behaviors. The
implementation of these policies is entrusted to the House Manager. Below
is a copy of information distributed to our audiences by the Box Office.
We
hope that the following information will make the experience of our upcoming production
more fulfilling for you. We’re working hard
to prepare for the moment when performance, production and audience come together
to create that brief aesthetic contact we call theatre. We
want the experience to be a significant one, and draw your attention to some details
which will assist us all. •
Parking Parking
is free and available to you in all university commuter parking lots after 5:00
p.m. The lots most convenient to the theatre are the
Crawford Faculty and Staff lot (behind the Music building) and the terraced Dravus
lot (entered at 4th Avenue West
and West Dravus Street).
Take care not to park in lots or stalls restricted to residence halls.
•
Accessibility A
limited number of wheelchair-accessible spaces are available in the E. E. Bach
Theatre. They must be reached through a special entrance
off the Crawford parking lot. Please contact the House
Manager in the lobby or, preferably, let us know your needs when you
make your ticketing arrangements. Wheelchair-accessible
restrooms are available only in Crawford
Music Building
next door to the theatre, and are reached through the Crawford parking lot.
The Studio Theatre in the lower level of McKinley Hall has no wheelchair
ramp, but if portage is useful for you, the House Manager will make the arrangements.
The restrooms on the lower level are wheelchair-accessible. •
Late Seating We
attempt to begin our performances promptly at the announced time.
Latecomers may watch the performance on a television monitor
in the lobby until such time in the performance as is established by the director
for late seating. Even then you may possibly not
be seated in your chosen seat, although you are free to take it at intermission.
Note also that if you leave your seat after the performance begins you
may also be subject to such restrictions. There
are no refunds for latecomers. •
Courtesy in the Theatre The
informality of film and television viewing has contributed to an unfortunate deterioration
of audience manners in our society. The theatre acoustics
which enable you to hear the actors also allow the actors and all other members
of the audience to hear every sound that you make. Out
of simple respect for others, please refrain from whispering, unwrapping candies,
rummaging through purses, or other such behaviors once the performance is underway. Please
turn off your cell phones, pagers, and wrist watch alarms.
For your convenience, these items
may be stored at the lobby coat-check room. Due
to copyright restrictions and our limited performance rights, taking pictures
and sound/video recording is not permissible. No
cameras or recorders are allowed. These
may also be left at the lobby coat-check room. •
Children Our
plays are chosen for the constituent communities of Seattle
Pacific University.
The more challenging ones may not be suitable for children.
Please check with the Box Office at the time of ticketing if you have specific
concerns. Generally,
children under 5 years of age are not admitted.
This restriction has been established both from experience and a desire
to see to the comfort of our other paying patrons. •
Food and Drink For
the sake of audience safety and comfort, no food or drink is allowed
in the theatre proper. Coffee served at intermission
is to be consumed in the lobby or outdoor areas only. No
smoking is permitted in any of the university buildings. •
Ticketing Issues Our
Box Office in the Lobby of McKinley Hall is open each weekday afternoon two weeks
before a new production, and as announced all other times.
Call (206) 281-2959 at any time for information and ticket inquiries.
All tickets in the E. E. Bach Theatre are for assigned seating; Studio
Theatre productions are festival seating. There
are no refunds or exchanges on purchased tickets. Ask
about restrictions on holding tickets at the Box Office for later pick-up.
Group sales are also available. Again, inquire
at the Box Office or online at www.spu.edu/boxoffice. •
Fine Arts Mailing List If
you are not already receiving announcements of upcoming Seattle
Pacific University
arts events, why not add you name to our restricted mailing list?
Ask an usher or at the Box Office for a sign-up card.
Next
Section: B5g:
Box Office Operations | 
