Astronomical tickets to the theater

Theater News Base: If the brigade contract had not been forgotten by the change of management, it could have established a norm in the theater during these years by fixing and resolving its shortcomings; A rule that may be seen in public theaters because of protections and regulations, but does not exist in the private theater, which owns 70% of the theater. Now there is no news about the brigade contract with all its shortcomings, nor about the meter and criteria for pricing theater tickets. We are not going to say that this increase in ticket prices and reaching ticket prices to 6-digit numbers in the theater is good or bad, or what contribution it’s to the quality and quality growth of the theater?
What matters is the share of the audience in theater today; This is a topic that the directors of private theaters themselves say and believe that on the one hand there is no support and on the other hand when after 2 years the theaters have their performance and the price group determines and the spectator comes, it is no longer a rule.

The first curtain
Sometimes a theater with a large group and the title of commercial theater, which has opened in the past few years, and of course it has its own definition, is staged in a hall with a capacity of more than 2,000 people; A theater whose audience may be generally different from that of audiences and theater enthusiasts, but now this price increase is happening in downtown theaters. One theater ticket is 40 thousand tomans and the other is 250 thousand tomans! On what basis is this pricing model formed?

The second curtain
It is normal to increase the ticket price as usual and every year, both in the theater and in the cinema, but this increase is normal while today the audience with a thousand problems can not buy a ticket to their favorite show and go to the theater. But sometimes the astronomical prices set for theater tickets confuse the theater audience; An audience that inevitably removes theater viewing even once a month from its cultural portfolio and subconsciously creates a class difference between theatergoers; An issue that calls into question the slogan of theater for all government managers.

Third curtain
A quick look at the tickets to the shows that are performed shows the presence of faces; Faces who come on stage with high wages and inevitably make tickets more expensive to sell. In our theater, the sudden rise in ticket prices seems to be related to the actors and their salaries; Not how hard they work and spend time trying to get a show on stage in a matter of months. It seems that when the actor sees the faces and names of cinematographers or musicians in the theater, the price of tickets also goes up.

Hallowners can not be forced
Of course, there is one point to consider; As Shahin Chegini, president of the Association of Private Theaters, points out: “The lack of a decisive rule in all theater matters, from production to performance.” “The corona was not yet widespread,” he told Hamshahri. “We were talking about support, and when the corona came, the theaters were closed for two years.” “Now that we are back to normal, we have a lot of problems, one of which is the price of theater tickets.” He continues: “The theaters that go on stage have their own criteria that guarantee sales, and the group determines the ticket price. We can not set standards when there is no support. A hall with a high cost and rent welcomes this ticket price when the ticket price increases; “Because he can make up for the damage and he knows he will have his audience.”
Chegini believes that rules can be adopted where there is order in all its affairs. When the salon owner is supported, he must accept the ticket determination criteria and set a balanced ticket price for the floor and ceiling hall.

The spectator who fills the hall
Shahrzad Theater Theaters, among other theaters, stage the most expensive plays. The floor of some of the plays in this hall is 40 Tomans, but there are also plays with a ticket of 250 thousand Tomans. The average of some performances is between 60 to 70 Tomans. One of the plays is “Oriental Songs” which is performed by Rahim Norouzi, Amir Ali Danaei and Shabnam Gholikhani. In this concert, Hojjat Ashrafzadeh sings. The ticket price for this show is set at 100 to 250 thousand tomans. Other plays include “He and His Friends”; A working group show whose ticket price is estimated at 80 to 120 thousand tomans. “Back to Black”, which started its performance on the 2nd of December and continues until the end of the year, will be performed with a ticket of 70 to 150 thousand Tomans.
Another theater with a 6-digit ticket sales floor is Hafez Hall; The play “Hammer-Eating Metals” directed by Arash Sanjabi and produced by Parviz Parastavi and starring Morteza Aghili will be performed at a ticket price of 100,000 Tomans.

We have to increase the price
Some managers believe that they have no role in the high price of tickets, and sometimes the halls, due to their economic problems, are forced to increase the price of tickets. With the outbreak of corona and the unhealthy situation found by private theaters, one of the theaters was Iranshahr, which was on the verge of closing; A theater that can be said to be neither public nor private, but it can not be overlooked that professional theaters are performed in two theaters. Majid Rajabi, the managing director of the Artists ‘House, had repeatedly complained about the condition of the complex, saying that if there was no support, the Iranshahr Theater and the Artists’ House would be closed. Rajabi-Memar also stated about the increasing trend of current wages and expenses, government splits and heavy electricity costs in Iranshahr Theater: Eliminate, but now, given the special circumstances that have arisen to cover the costs and try to overcome the financial crisis, we have to make changes in the current procedures, despite our inner desire. “We used to receive a small amount under the title of sales floor, and now, due to the circumstances, we have to increase the amount of sales floor to 2 million tomans for each performance.” Now this price increase can be seen in Iranshahr halls.

Tickets of 100 thousand Tomans in Iranshahr
In Iranshahr Theater, the play “Baby” directed by Afsaneh Mahian and starring Fatemeh Motamedaria, Mehran Nayel and Shiva Fallahi will be staged with a ticket of 100,000 Tomans. In the same theater, “Toofan” by Mostafa Koushki will be performed at the same ticket price.