Perf Code Format

How do staff identify the show?

In the tehatres I ahve worked in the Perf Code has consisted of a Show identifier, date and a Time slot (normally M(atinee)/E(vening)) in whichever order they chose.

As a data techie I always wanted to go with full date YYMMDD plus an hour of day (0-9 a-m to cover 0-23) leaving 3 slots available for space and/or event indicator

This makes sense to me because it sorts by date and time and you have the choice of whether space/eventis more important than date or vice versa. ie D(ate)H(our)S(pace)E(vent), EDSH, ESDH, SEDH, DSEH, DESH and this preference would come down to that first question. As are you looking for the Space, Date or Event first.

The only reason any of that matters is because perf code is the more easily viewable unique identifier and is often used in drop downs so having a natural flow to it makes it easier for the people seeing/using it on a daily basis.

Mark

 

To expound a little further on how our staff identifies the show, currently we use Pacciolan and are transitioning to Tessi. Our show codes are set up as such: Hall letter: R for Reynold's Hall, C for Cabaret Jazz, S for Troesh Studio (not sure why), and SP for Symphony Park (we rarely use this perf space as it's outdoors). So currently our show code setup is something like R0713 (if there were a show in Reynold's Hall today). If there is a matinee they do add M...sometimes. And in our Cab Jazz space, if there is a back to back concert, they sometimes put an L at the end for the 2nd show or "later" show. As you can...they could be confusing as there is no year association. I know with the way we can slice and dice reporting in Tessi they year is totally necessary, but it's a helpful tool when selling shows in two calendar years that may have possible same dates. -Chris

Hey Chris,

Our perf codeas are one character for the space, the date in YYMMDD format and a character for the time slot. For example, M170815E is the Evening performance on 8/15/17 in the MAX theatre. This is a holdover from our previous system, but when we moved to Tessitura our box office was adamant about keeping this system. Our time slots are A-AM, D-Day(for Matinees), E-Evening, L-Late. Since we almost never have more than 4 performances this covers everything. We use D instead of M so that when alphabetizing a list of perf codes they come out in date/time order. Other departments struggle a little bit with the year coming first, but the benefit in the box office and using performance dates rather than perf codes in reporting helps. 

For events that don't have a specific space I use a replacement for the space and time slot. The space relates to the purpose (E for education, F for fees) The time slot is usually just S for special, to indicate that this isn't a standard event. 

Dorothy

Hey Chris,

Our perf codeas are one character for the space, the date in YYMMDD format and a character for the time slot. For example, M170815E is the Evening performance on 8/15/17 in the MAX theatre. This is a holdover from our previous system, but when we moved to Tessitura our box office was adamant about keeping this system. Our time slots are A-AM, D-Day(for Matinees), E-Evening, L-Late. Since we almost never have more than 4 performances this covers everything. We use D instead of M so that when alphabetizing a list of perf codes they come out in date/time order. Other departments struggle a little bit with the year coming first, but the benefit in the box office and using performance dates rather than perf codes in reporting helps. 

For events that don't have a specific space I use a replacement for the space and time slot. The space relates to the purpose (E for education, F for fees) The time slot is usually just S for special, to indicate that this isn't a standard event. 

Dorothy

Hey Dorothy, I really like this concept. What's nice about it is you leave 2 open characters from the 10 character limit, should you need them. Thanks for the insight. :) Going to TLCC? -Chris