On Reservations (and online reservations)

Do you remember?

Once upon a time, and it wasn’t long ago (wait, no, it was long ago) you could make a reservation to see a play at a theater the way you could also make a reservation at a restaurant, by calling them on the phone and reserving seats and then just not show up, like you can with a restaurant, having put no money down and suffering no financial penalty to yourself.

This remained true for most small, community or nonprofessional theaters through the end of the twentieth century. When we started Bad Epitaph in 1999, we made an arrangement with a new, online ticketing service (which just happened to employ one of our company members) and took reservations this way exclusively. It was a bit of a shock to some of our patrons.

“Surely, I can call you and make a reservation and play with cash when I arrive, right?” one might ask, and I would respond, “If there are seats, you can purchase them for cash when you arrive.” Some found this impractical, even rude, and said so. After all, most had not yet purchased anything online, and the idea of typing their credit card numbers into their home computer made them uncomfortable.

They had every reason to feel uncomfortable, and really, we all still should, be we’re just used to it now, like eating while walking or wearing pajama bottoms to the grocery store.

And I did feel rude, asking people to do this, to pay for their tickets in advance, and online only. But it was the 90s. It was the new millennium. Things were changing. Today it might seem rude to contact a theater and attempt to make a reservation without paying in advance. You might not show up and just who do you think you are?

Fundraising, too, has gone digital. Every ticketing interaction includes an opportunity to kick in a little more, you know, for the education programming. For the children.

I have used the internet, several times, to make independent productions and projects possible. Bad Epitaph used to throw benefits (really high-tone rent parties) to raise necessary funds for pretty much each show. Some of them were surprisingly iconic, though each of them gave me a killer migraine. My 35th birthday party was actually a fundraiser to send I Hate This to Minnesota, which felt weird at the time. Still does.

More recently, however, we have used Kickstarter to get Double Heart to New York, and GoFundMe so I could attend a playwright’s conference in Alaska. I have not used either service more than once, not because they weren’t successful, but rather because I have found diminishing returns when doing the same thing twice.

"Double Heart" fundraising video (2013)

Right now I am conducting a stealth campaign for an upcoming project, and for that I have gone back to the egg. I am mailing letters. Through the mail. Using stamps! And I would very much like to send you one, if you would like to learn about the thing before anyone else, share your mailing address with me via pengo (at) davidhansen (dot) org and I will send you a letter. 

It's just that simple.