Theatre Design & Technology - Feb 1967 - 9

Of course, the establishment of such a system can't be
done in one fell swoop. It will require experimentation. As
long as we have our outmoded laws in New York, there
can be very little experimentation here. The Exploratory
Commission is hard at work on plans. Two theatre men
have built a computer-printer system; but we are always
stymied by outmoded laws.
However, many of you are connected with theatres in states
and cities which do not have similar repressive regulations,
and I beg of you to start trying out new ways and means.
There are many different ways in which tickets could be
sold, and in a free economy, we should be free to choose
the best ones. What's more, we shouldn't let the myths

3,234,376
GLARE-FREE LIGHTING FIXTURE
Michael J. Cel:lia, lOOK AbinJ:ton Terrace,
Haddonfield, NJ.
Filed Feb. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 257,387
24 Claims. (Cl. 240-106)

1. Article of manufacture for use with a light source,
comprising a multiplicity of lillht-refractinll elements. including three solid elements located sequentially with respect to the source. the first element being closest thereto,
the third being furthest therefrom, and the second being
intermediately located and having its opposite surfaces
juxtaposed to adjacent surfaces of the other two elements
the adjacent surfaces of the first and intermediate ele:
ments being characterized by respective interengaging
protruding and intruding surface portions in essentially
mating engagement with one another throughout, there
being an interface pair defined by each two juxtaposed
element surfaces such that essentially all light incident
upon the interior surface of either adjacent element at an
angle with respect to a perpendicular thereto less than
the critical angle therein is transmitted essentially unaffected across the interface pair and into the other adjacent element, and essentially all light incident thereon
at an angle greater than the critical angle is reflected back
into the interior.

3,211,938
INTEGRAL REFLECTOR TUBULAR LAMP
Richard H. Holcomb, South Euclid, OhIo, assignor to
General Electric Company, a corporation of New York
Flied Oct. 21, 1962, Ser. No. 232,015
6 Claims. (Cl. 313-113)

7-(i):
8

1. An electric incandescent lamp comprising an elongated tubular double walled quartz envelope having in·
ncr and outer quartz walls, a filament extending longi·
tudinally within the interior of the inner envelope wall,
support means engaging said filament and engagcable
with the inner surface of said inner envelope wall for
supporting the filament from said inner wall, seal portions closing opposite ends of said envelope and sealing the filament therewithin, lead-in conductors extending through respective said seal portions and electrically
connected to opposite ends of said filament, and a metal
reflector in the space between said inner and outer envelope walls.

FEBRUARY 1967

that I have described stop us from choosing the best. Let
me tell you one more story. It's about the priest who found
himself on an airplane sitting next to a real old Fundamentalist hard-shell minister. As dinner approached, the
hostess asked if the gentlemen would have cocktails. "A
double whiskey," said the priest. The Fundamentalist looked
shocked and said grimly, "I would rather sin with a woman
that have intoxicating liquor cross my lips." "Excuse me,"
said the priest, "I'd like to change my order. I didn't realize I had that choice."
Well, the theatre has a choice - lots of choices. We don't
have to retain the Terebratula Ticket System. We can
choose other ways. Help us to do it.
Mr. Wharton's discussion was followed, on Wednesday,
October 26, by A CRITICAL LOOK AT THEATRE INCOME. The speaker was T. Bruce Birkenhead, Vice
Chairman of USITT Committee for Theatre Administration and Assistant Professor of Economics at Brooklyn
College.
BIRKENHEAD: I would like to consider several problems,
the primary problem being one of ticket pricing: a ticket
pricing policy which leads to under-utilization of theatres
in terms of seats and dollar capacity. Along with that, we
will have to address ourselves to some remarks made by
John Wharton last night. These comments concern Wharton's
own proposals for a change in ticket pricing policy on
Broadway. We hope that our conclusions will find some
use in regional theatre as well as in New York. I should
also like to discuss the over-all picture of truly flexible
pricing as outlined by Richard Sakal a couple of years ago.
This system has also caught the attention of Milton Friedman who, given his orientation as an economist, supports
the system in theatre pricing as well as in other pricing.
What we have on Broadway are houses which play to 50%
of capacity, on the average, during a given season. If you
address yourself only to active theatres, those which are
occupied, you find that they run at about 75% capacity,
Obviously, there are too many empty seats.
The first question becomes: why not fill the empty seats
through a pricing policy which will encourage larger attendance?
As you know, the first problem is that the theatre itself is
limited; it can only seat so many. If a hit production is in
the house, there is obviously no incentive to lower prices.
If a show is running below capacity, this is the only time
that you begin to question the rationale of a pricing scale
which tends to match that of the hit. For the hit or the
bust, the price range is the same.
The only degree of flexibility which is generally found is
the "two-fer." This discount ticket is normally distributed
to a very specific market - that referred to by the economist
as an "elastic market." It is a market where, hopefully, a
lowering of price will prompt a more than proportionate return in attendance. This concept is in contrast to the belief
that the overall demand for theatre is inelastic. That is,
people will generally tend to purchase the higher priced
ticket and will not respond to lower prices by flocking to
the theatre.
The inelastic demand for theatre does tend to be borne out
empirically. If you observe the behavior of ticket prices and
theatre income on Broadway, you will find that they move
hand in hand. That is, if theatre ticket prices go up, the
gross income of the theatre industry as a whole goes up in
rough proportion. Attendance, looking at the other side of
the problem, remains relatively stagnant. Attendance fluctuates around a median of about 8.8 million seats filled per
season.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Feb 1967