Social Distancing in theatres

It's an interesting article but it assumes people go to the theatre alone.  I think many go with spouses, family members or close friends - people they are already in close proximity to.  Spacing between family members would be unnecessary just family units.  Not sure how many that would add to the scenario, perhaps bring it to 35 or 45% capacity?  They would still need to separate rows and keep 3 seats between groups that come together.

Thanks for sharing. One of the comments stuck out to me:

"Computers can handle at least part of the seating problem. Just give the computer the rules: no more than 4 people to a family group, three empty seats between groups or individuals. Let the ticket buyers define the family members. Then there is the challenge of getting people into and out of their seats without violating the distancing rules."

Does anyone know if Tessitura is creating seating algorithms to help with this?

Hi Staci, 

We don't have anything under way at the moment but are keeping a close eye on the conversation. Up to this point we've mostly heard that it isn't financially viable for most members to offer socially distanced seating because of the dramatically reduced capacity, and also logistics of ingress, egress, bathrooms and concessions, along with other considerations. 

We are closely following this discussion, however, because we are also hearing that it may not be driven by financial viability. It could be a case of just trying to get some cash flow at all, vs profitable cash flow. Curious what others on this thread think? Would you be able to use it if we built it? Or would it not be viable? 

Chris Szalaj

Product Owner, Business Facing Products

Tessitura Network

Thanks for the quick reply, Chris! That is where we are at right now as well. Our season doesn't begin until September so we are exploring a myriad of options, including whether it makes sense financially to even have a season. 

At the Museum of Fine Arts Boston we are looking at this and have been asked to find anyway to make programs in our performance spaces viable.  There is absolutely interest in social distance ticketing and these kinds of rules would be useful.  It is a matter of generating any kind of cash flow.  For us, these venues are not the main source of revenue, but they provide an important part of the experience we provide.  This would be one part of a larger effort to explore all options to generate revenue including online content and controlled access to our gallery spaces.

Chris,

As much as I hate to say it, I sort of agree that while it would be nice to have something like this with all the different variables in play it would not be an easy thing to do.

We have been talking about turning off SYOS for a bit and to manually sit families. It is going to be hard to have large difference in price zones, but something that we are kicking around.

FYI ... Rumor mill on the street is that Ticketmaster has a utility that does this. Not sure of the validity as we are not on Ticketmaster, but thought that I would share. 

I expect another consideration affecting capacity will not only be the physical distance between groups, but there may also be government mandates regarding allowed capacities at reopening. So, for example, if locally the mandate were "you can open but only at 25% capacity" (I'm seeing a lot of rumblings about that number in particular), then it wouldn't matter if it were mathematically possible to keep 6 feet between all seated groups and get to 45% capacity.

Alternately there may simply be hard limits on the number of people allowed to gather at once, and that would include the performers, crew, ushers. So a 2,000 seat hall may still be capped at 250 people for a time, depending on locale. I'm a little surprised the article didn't mention anything about how long it would take to get people in and out while maintaining distance. I expect even with significantly reduced capacity, the coming and going is going to take longer than usual.

Hi Chris, 

It is definitely not financially viable, but I think many performance venues don't really have (or haven't come up with) any other options. So I think it would be used, assuming that physical distancing is required but large indoor gatherings are permitted.

There's a theatre in Arkansas that is hosting a concert on MAY 15, using seating arrangements they call "fan pods." Pollstar had a wee article about them: https://www.pollstar.com/article/arkansas-theatre-reduces-capacity-sets-up-fan-pods-to-host-may-15-concert-144495

As far as getting people into the theatre once they've purchased: is there any way to modify timed entry areas without remapping our whole facility?  I'd like to look at the possibility of staggering patron entry times, so that we wouldn't have as many in line/lobby/finding seats at the same time.

Best,

Darryl