Run ticketing for a comedy or performing arts show

Build the show from the theatre template

Create a new event and start from the Theatre show template, which lays out Stalls, Circle and Balcony tiers, a programme add-on, door and last-entry times and asks whether you offer concessions and an opening-night reception. A stand-up night with tables starts better from the Club show template, and a one-room comedy club from the Concert template with seated chosen.

Note: The tiers, add-on and settings the template builds are yours to rename and reprice in the steps below. A show you ran last season is quicker to duplicate than to rebuild.

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Group the house into ticket categories

Create a ticket category for each area of the house, such as Stalls, Circle and Balcony, by entering its Category Name, and put every price release for that area inside it. Buyers choose where they sit first and the price second, and a returned ticket is offered to the waiting list for the same area.

Note: A comedy club with one room needs one category, or none. Keep standing room as its own category so it never resells as a seat.

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Create the price releases and concessions

For each area, create a ticket type per price, such as Stalls, Stalls concession and Stalls preview, with its own allocation and sale window, and select Create Ticket Type. A concession is a ticket type at its own price, with the proof you ask for named in its description.

Note: Opening night, previews and a matinee are separate performances, so their prices live on their own copies of the show in the duplication step below. The ticket types guide walks every field.

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Sell the programme and interval drinks with the ticket

Open Add-Ons, create a Programme add-on and an interval drink or drink-token add-on with their prices and stock, and select Create Add-On. Buyers add them in the same basket, and the bar and front of house read the counts from the add-on report.

Note: A two-drink minimum is sold as a drink-token add-on limited to the ticket types it applies to. The add-ons guide covers stock, ticket restrictions and taking an add-on off sale.

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Duplicate the show for every performance

With the first performance complete, open it and select Duplicate Event for each further date and time, keeping the tickets, categories, add-ons and settings. Change the date, then the price of any performance that differs, such as a matinee or a preview.

Note: Each performance is its own event, so a sold-out Saturday never blocks a Tuesday and each night has its own comps, arrivals and report.

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Put the whole run on one page

Open Brand, then Event Series, select Create Event Series, name it after the show and turn on its public page. Every performance whose name matches joins the series, and buyers pick their date from one address you can print on the poster.

Note: Future performances you duplicate later join the series on their own while their names match the rule. The series guide covers the rule, the address and editions that do not match.

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Set doors and the latecomer rule per ticket

On each ticket type, turn on Different door times and set when its holders may enter and the last time they will be admitted. A stricter last entry on stalls tickets than on the balcony keeps latecomers out of the sightlines.

Note: The scanner refuses a ticket after its last-entry time, so front of house can seat a latecomer at the interval by hand rather than by scan.

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Issue comps for press, reviewers and guests

Open Guest Tickets, enter each person's name and email against the ticket type and performance they are coming to, and select Send Guest Tickets. Each guest receives a ticket with a barcode, and the guest list shows who has used theirs.

Note: Guest tickets draw from the ticket type's stock, so add the house seats you hold back for press to the allocation. The guest tickets guide covers spreadsheets and cancelling a comp.

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Give cast and crew a multi-entry pass

Open Multi-Entry Passes on your brand rather than on one performance, create a pass type for cast, crew and reviewers, then Enter Recipient details for each person and send. A pass made on the brand works at every event that brand runs, so one covers the whole run without a ticket per night.

Note: A pass made on a single performance works at that performance alone, and uses are counted per event, so set the maximum high enough for a holder who leaves and comes back during a show. The passes guide covers editing and removing a pass.

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Measure every listing and let the acts sell

Create a tracking link for each listing, newsletter and partner site, and send each comedian or company member a promoter link with Send Promoter Links when you publish. The tracking links report shows which placement sold, and the promoter report shows which act brought their own crowd.

Note: A tracking link measures a placement and does not include a reward. A promoter link belongs to a team member and counts their sales.

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Follow arrivals while the house fills

Open the check-in page for the performance and select Hourly to watch arrivals against the seats sold as the doors open. Staff scan with the Entry Fairy app, and a ticket refused for a passed last-entry time shows the holder's area so front of house can seat them at the interval.

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