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o n lo c a t i o n Singing the Box Office Blues by Shonna Morgan "I'm sorry, sir, that show is sold out." ··What do you mean. S O L D OUT!?*#@+!' " "I'm sorry, sir. which word don't you understand?" 7 I always managed lo smile, bite my lip, and carry on. Anyway, back in those days, I learned that out there in the land of the general public, there are always a few who lack in e. respect and general good . W e l l , when I moved up the career ladder to a job in the theatre world. I thought that things would change. Arts patrons would be different, more reasonable. Instead, sometimes I wonder just which way is up--after all, those tips weren't so bad, and the general public in this new world is every bit as unpredictable! I now realize that it isn't only waiters and waitresses who have to deal with ignorant customers. Take the opening scenario, for example. Okay, so it's suddenly my fault that this person didn't plan ahead. The tickets have been on sale for 5 months. The event is taking place the very next day, and the customer is yelling at me because it's sold out?! He says, "Why didn't you advertise more? I didn't even know about it until yesterday!" M y head spins as I think to myself, " N o w , why would we advertise M O R E if the show has already sold out?" But 1 try to smile, and tell the kind customer that I can't get him tickets for this show, but that perhaps he'd like to be on our mailing list so that he can receive advance notice of upcoming events. He grumbles and says, "Oh, okay," leaves his name and address, and storms out. I just hope that when he does receive his calendar and sees something that sparks his interest, that he picks up the phone, dials the box office and urders tickets right then and there! Then we could avoid one more "What do you mean, S O L D O U T ? " scenario. A n d you never know, if enough people purchase in advance and the show sells out early enough, perhaps another show could be added. What better way to support the arts? Anyway, that's just an excerpt from a day in the life of a box office clerk. Luckily our days here at Centennial Theatre are also filled with lots of wonderful customers who make it very easy to smile. Now, to make sure you are well-informed about upcoming events at Centennial Theatre, call us at 984-4484 and ask to have your name put on our mailing list. A calendar of events will be delivered to your door once every two months. Editor's note: At press time, none of the shows scheduled for March or April had sold out. Why should anyone ever have to put up with this? Okay, so maybe I ' m asking too much. I mean, after all, everyone (or at least anyone who's worked in the service industry) knows that there are rude and ignorant people out there, people who've had a bad day and decide to take it out on an innocent bystander, such as myself! I know, we're in a day and age where it isn't appropriate to make generalizations, but I learned this fact about humanity back when I was a "waitron" during the r of Expo '86. Praine girl moves out to Beautiful British Columbia...lotus land...where all the people are happy campers. Well, I was quickly welcomed to the real world with an apron and an expensive computer key. and told to put my best smile on for all those happy campers. Well, I must admit it wasn't easy to smile for E V E R Y O N E . In fact, some customers came very close to getting a glass of red wine spilled across their table--by accident, of course! A n d i f it weren't for the outrageous cost of wine in this country, perhaps I would have had a "free-er" hand in the matter. But I didn't. festivals Seeking Multidisciplinar} Artists " A stage without performers is like a car without wheels." The Developmental Arts Society (DAS) is looking for performers and works in five artistic disciplines to launch the society's fourth annual festival. This year's festival will be held at the Pacific Cinematheque, Secret Space Theatre, and Basic Inquiry' over a 12-day period in June. The Society's Artistic Coordinator, Susan Shank, says that D A S is accessible to a variety of people wishing to fulfill a wide range of artistic goals. Performers may be established artists who are looking for an ouUet for an exploratory piece that steps beyond the bounds of mainstream productions. They may be recent graduates who are looking for their first out-of-school experience. Or they may be recognized artists trying another medium for the first time. DAS was established in 1989 and grew out of the community need to provide both a venue and a creative opportunity for upand-coming B.C. performing artists. "It gives new performers or lesser-known artists a chance to establish an identity for themselves in the artistic community," says M s . Shank. The Society also tries to reach as diverse and multi-talented group of artists as possible by offering an ambitious 12-day program that features a cross-section of all the Fine Art disciplines, including music, theatre, visual art, film, and dance. D A S provides the venue, all the publicity and even a small honorarium for each o f the participants. M s . Shank says the Society tries to accommodate as many performers as it can during the festival. Last year over thirty people participated in the festival. In choosing performers and pieces, D A S especially looks for works of an interdisciplinary and/or multicultural nature. Priority is also given to people who have graduated from a recent B . C . Fine Arts program. 77ie deadline for application is April J, 1993. For more information andlor application forms, please contact Susan Shank at 872-5442. Theatre B . C . North Shore D r a m a Zone Festival The following plays are being entered in the Theatre B . C . North Shore Zone Drama Festival, which runs April 1924 at the Deep Cove Shaw Theatre. For information, please call 929-9456. Deep Cove Stage ' T h e Curate Shakespeare As Y o u Like It" North Vancouver Community Players "Philadelphia, Here I Come" Theatre West Van " N o Man's Land" Howe Sound Players "Eulogy" The Comedy Company " E l Grande de Coca Cola' Whistler Players Theatrical Guild "The Tomorrow B o x " Howe Sound Players "Play It Again, Sam" A n , Accc* M.rch/Apr.l 1993 13