Give Me a Break: Ticket Sales and Deadpool.

In the whirlwind that is the closing of THE THIN PLACE last weekend, and the preparation for our annual gala one week later, I find myself keeping books. I’m spending more time in our office than I usually do, and I’m watching our intrepid staff, Gabe and Catherine, do their regular jobs of marketing and development, but also pick up slack. Our managing director left us a month ago, you see, so here we are doing things he used to do. That’s why I’m doing bookkeeping, anyway.

Our board is searching for Tim’s successor, but that process takes time. So it is, as they say, all hands on deck. I don’t love bookkeeping, but doing it reminds me of the early days of the theatre, and that gives me pleasure.

At our regular, weekly company meeting earlier today, we all talked about how happy we were with the artistic side of THE THIN PLACE. And though our audience hasn’t met the goals we set out at the beginning of the season, we recently learned that we’re not alone. Most theatres across the country are down in ticket sales by nearly 30% since pre-COVID. We quickly decided that we felt a lot better about the box office! THIRTY PERCENT! (JCA Arts Marketing)

Thirty percent of ticket buyers are still staying home. If you’re reading this, and you’re one of those people: come back! It’s safe, and it’s fun, and it’s still really good theatre here at 4th Wall. 

By the way, just today someone smacked me over the head with a story about someone they met who didn’t know what the fourth wall is.

I rubbed my smacked head, thought for a second, then said, “Yeah, if you never studied theater, you’ve never heard of it.”

“But it’s everywhere in pop-culture,” said he, “I mean, I used the example of Ryan Reynolds talking to the camera as Deadpool to explain it to this person.”

“Did it work?”

“No, they didn’t know what DEADPOOL was.”

Well, you can’t help everyone, but perhaps I can help those of you who are still struggling…

If a character in a play or movie looks at and addresses the audience, they are “breaking the fourth wall.” They are doing away with the pretense that the character is not aware of the audience.

Simple as that.

-- But why do we call it the “4th wall”?
Because if you think of a traditional theatre with a set of, say, a room sitting on stage, there are three real walls, and one invisible wall, the one the audience sees and hears through. It is the missing fourth wall. Simple as that. Do you have any more questions?

-- Yes: why isn’t it the first wall?
I have no idea.

-- At 4th Wall Theatre Co. the stage usually has audience on three sides; does this mean you’re breaking the second, third, and fourth walls? 

Probably, but it might be the first, third, and second walls. 

-- Now I’m confused.
No, you’re not. 

Perhaps it’s time for me to continue doing the books…

I wish you a wonderful holiday season, and I can’t wait to see you back at 4th Wall in January for THE SOUND INSIDE, by Adam Rapp.

Til the next one,
PL