806 posts
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Post by duncan on Nov 8, 2017 13:46:21 GMT
Keep it simple - I've got three linked tables and that's it.
1. Show information 2. Actor information 3. Production staff information.
I've then got a form for data entry of show information and then that is duplicated so I have one subform for actor input and one subform for staff input.
A couple of reports sorted by location and counts and hey presto. I'm not an expert and managed with the occasional cock up but it didn't take that long.
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734 posts
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Post by dippy on Nov 8, 2017 14:58:28 GMT
Thank you so much! I have all the info and some of it can easily be imported from my current spreadsheet. I might just give making a database a go again!
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170 posts
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Post by musicalfloozie on Nov 8, 2017 17:12:31 GMT
I'm terrible at keeping track, I do have most of my programmes but ended up throwing away most of my tickets. In the end I went for a lazy way of keeping track and just posting the programme to my pinterest board. I'm very impressed as to how organised you lot are.
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1,330 posts
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Post by CG on the loose on Nov 8, 2017 23:03:05 GMT
Can I just ask, how many times a year do the people who keep track of their ticket costs go to the theatre, and how many times a year do the people who don't keep track of their ticket costs go to the theatre? I for instance refuse to keep track, and average around 160 trips a year. My hypothesis is the more you go, the less likely you are to keep track, not because you're fussed about justifying individual ticket costs, but because you know the total sum is going to be bordering on the obscene, but let's find out! That certainly rings true for me... same ballpark of annual visits, no desire to track costs!
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1,330 posts
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Post by CG on the loose on Nov 8, 2017 23:21:18 GMT
duncan I think you win the theatre geek prize... and I mean that as the most sincere of compliments
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2018 6:06:42 GMT
Bumping this thread as with a number of intriguing shows coming up (generally limited to musicals) I've just got round to spreadsheeting the upcoming shows I want to see to aid planning. Gone to the 'extreme' of creating a Gantt chart to make it easy to pinpoint periods where multiple shows run making it easy to work out when to book, feeling a little smug now.
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343 posts
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Post by sophizoey on Jun 13, 2018 7:21:05 GMT
Oh my god! That's literally so organised. I never quite got the hang of Gantt charts in A-level Maths so heck do I know what any of that means.
I'm a simple person. I keep a tally chart in the back of my planner and tickets are slid into a photo album of stagey memories which are usually photos of theatres/views or stage door photos against the relevant show. Shows without photos are kept in a pocket in the same album in date order (which is how my photos are organised)
I have a whole other system for Wicked. Including a list on my phone with dates, touring venues and understudies.
I can't bring myself to record price though because as a poor student that is a lor of money that should have been spent on food and books.
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Post by dramallama on Jun 13, 2018 9:15:32 GMT
I used to keep all my tickets on a pin board in my flat but recently made myself a theatre album. Basically, I'll put the ticket in there along with a mini review, i.e. if I went with somebody and what I thought of it, etc. And I also have a file on my computer with rankings, so there's the best shows of all time, the worst shows of all time, and a ranking for everything I've seen in 2018 (I quite like having everything in that one ranking so might do another one once 2019 comes around).
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821 posts
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Post by ensembleswings on Jun 13, 2018 15:33:51 GMT
I have a spreadsheet in which I keep track of the show, venue, date, seat block (stalls/dress etc), seat number and whether it was a new show and/or venue. I don't actively keep track of the cost of each theatre visit but I do keep all of my tickets so if I wanted to find out I could, the tickets are all stored in photo pockets in a ring binder in chronological order, except for my Kinky Boots and Wicked tickets which have been separated into their own sections. I also have separate spreadsheets for Kinky and Wicked which list what actor I've seen in which role (all roles for Kinky, just the 7 leads for Wicked) as I've seen both shows multiple times I also have a simple list on my phone that just lists the show and what number it is - both theatre visit in general, theatre visit of the year and number of times I've seen the show. As for future bookings I have many a list on my phone and then I also write them down in my diary and the main 'family' diary that sits in our kitchen. One list on my phone also states whether the ticket has been delivered or whether it's box office collection or I'm waiting for it to arrive in the post.
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66 posts
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Post by bodobear on Jun 13, 2018 16:55:37 GMT
I have all my tickets from previous years in a photo album together with photos of cast boards or/and seat view or/and stage door and then the tickets for the current year are on a pin board. I have my little tradition of hiding under a pile of tickets and photos between Christmas and New Year while sorting them in and then starting the new year with a clean pin board (unless tickets for that year have already been delivered of course...).
Dates are obviously in a dairy/calendar both in my phone and in a proper printed and bound diary and I also have a simple list on my phone with the name of all the shows and the number of how many times I’ve seen this particular show (and where if it was more than one venue/city).
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 13, 2018 17:18:42 GMT
^^^^
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2,379 posts
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Post by robertb213 on Jun 13, 2018 17:53:37 GMT
I love how insanely geeky we all are about this, it's brilliant! 😁
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Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2018 18:07:01 GMT
I love how insanely geeky we all are about this, it's brilliant! 😁 Hang on a minute... we're not ALL insanely geeky about it. That's not saying we wouldn't like to be. But once you've reached a certain age, a spreadheet is something you get your nephew, niece or maybe even your grandchildren to sort out for you... and it's more likely to about the days the different bins are collected, or what day your library book's to be returned, not the days you book theatre tickets!
Wait until you get to the age where you're double-booking, leaving your tickets behind, turning up at the wrong theatre, or forgetting to go altogether. Tickets still in a drawer...
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2,379 posts
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Post by robertb213 on Jun 13, 2018 18:08:54 GMT
I love how insanely geeky we all are about this, it's brilliant! 😁 Hang on a minute... we're not ALL insanely geeky about it. That's not saying we wouldn't like to be. But once you've reached a certain age, a spreadheet is something you get your nephews, neices or maybe even your grandchildren to sort out for you... and it's more likely to about the days the different bins are collected, or what day your library book's to be returned, not the days you book theatre tickets!
Wait until you get to the age where you're double-booking, leaving your tickets behind, turning up at the wrong theatre, or forgetting to go altogether. Tickets still in a drawer...
Haha! Sounds like it's a miracle you end up seeing as much as you do! 😉
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3,081 posts
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Post by david on Jun 13, 2018 18:11:27 GMT
I love how insanely geeky we all are about this, it's brilliant! 😁
Wait until you get to the age where you're double-booking, leaving your tickets behind, or forgetting to go altogether. Tickets still in a drawer...
Yes, this sums me me up to a T. Despite using wall and computer calanders as well as tickets on a pin board, I have managed to tick all these boxes!
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3,081 posts
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Post by david on Jun 13, 2018 18:15:02 GMT
I love how insanely geeky we all are about this, it's brilliant! 😁
Wait until you get to the age where you're double-booking, leaving your tickets behind or forgetting to go altogether. Tickets still in a drawer...
This sums me up to a T despite using wall and computer calenders to plan and remind myself of where I need to be. It just shows no system is perfect!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2018 8:36:43 GMT
Wait until you get to the age where you're double-booking, leaving your tickets behind, turning up at the wrong theatre, or forgetting to go altogether. Tickets still in a drawer... Why do you think I always ask for my tickets to be held at the box office? It's still on me to get there, but at least I'm clear as long as I remember my own name...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2018 9:15:59 GMT
Wait until you get to the age where you're double-booking, leaving your tickets behind, turning up at the wrong theatre, or forgetting to go altogether. Tickets still in a drawer... Why do you think I always ask for my tickets to be held at the box office? It's still on me to get there, but at least I'm clear as long as I remember my own name... Although, i’ve already managed to go twice to the box office on the wrong day his year...
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1,064 posts
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Post by bellboard27 on Jun 14, 2018 9:48:55 GMT
Why do you think I always ask for my tickets to be held at the box office? It's still on me to get there, but at least I'm clear as long as I remember my own name... Although, i’ve already managed to go twice to the box office on the wrong day his year... That’s familiar. Both last year and this year I’ve turned up a week early for shows.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2018 14:39:32 GMT
Wait until you get to the age where you're double-booking, leaving your tickets behind, turning up at the wrong theatre, or forgetting to go altogether. Tickets still in a drawer... Why do you think I always ask for my tickets to be held at the box office? It's still on me to get there, but at least I'm clear as long as I remember my own name... To be fair to myself, I've only ever done one in my list, and it wasn't that long ago: I double booked, realized immediately after putting the phone down. Had about a minute to feel completely mortified while I waited for the Bridge Theatre to answer my (second) call and they put it right in an instant. I love the Bridge Theatre already and I've not even been to one of my two shows booked!
However, the Collect at Box Office facility isn't all it's cracked up to be, as my Very Much Older Friend found out some years back...
She was asked by her nieces if she wanted to help celebrate her Very Much Older Sister's upcoming birthday by booking a surprise outing- lunch followed by a matinee of Calendar Girls at the Watford Palace. My Very Much Older Friend said yes, even though she'd already seen it elsewhere some months before. It'll be a lovely surprise for Eileen, she thought.
Anyway, after the lunch, with ten minutes to spare they all get to the theatre. There are six of them. They're collecting the prepaid tickets at the box office, only it turns out the box office has no record of their booking. Lots of fuss... "But it's mother's 80th birthday!" etc etc With minutes before curtain up, the box office reckons the best way round it is to sell them six more tickets (there are plenty still to be shifted apparently) and they'll look into the error while they enjoy the first act. Simples.
Ten minutes in (yes, ten bloody minutes!) and my Very Much Older Friend starts to think that this bears no resemblance whatsoever to the version she saw some months before. Nobody's even mentioned baps, let alone got any out. And the group of six all start to share looks that say, "Something's not right..."
One of the nieces goes out to the box office, looking for some explanation. "Where are Jean Boht and Ruth Madoc?"
Takes the box office manager to realize that they're meant to be at Calendar Girls at the Watford Colosseum. "This is Turgenev's A Month in the Country, madam."
Back into theatre, quick grab your coats, we're leaving type thing. Shh! Shh! Sorry about this... Taxi! "But it's only a ten minute walk," says the taxi driver. "Yes, and she's 80, it's her birthday and we'll miss act two as well if we don't get a move on..." says the other niece.
I have no idea if they were ever refunded for their own error. Or how many baps were on show by the time they got to their seats.
Unless I have a ticket on my pinboard stating: Name of Show, Name of Theatre, Date and Time, I can't rest...
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1,907 posts
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Post by sf on Jun 14, 2018 15:25:43 GMT
Same way I keep track of everything else: Microsoft OneNote.*
*Other note-taking applications are available.
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299 posts
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Post by macksennett on Jun 14, 2018 18:22:02 GMT
Love this topic, only just read it!
I have a Word file (I don’t do spreadsheets!) with lists of shows per year, including date, show, venue, star (if appropriate, useful for tracking favourite artistes) and programme/souvenir brochure (useful for knowing what to look for in my extensive collection!). I also keep tickets but don’t keep a record of price - I could have a bigger house but not such good show memories! I wish I had noted who I went with as memory is fading for some shows 20+ years ago!
Tickets are kept in date order in a safe place - I have only had one unfortunate incident when turning up to a local box office to collect tickets for a sell out show to realise that I hadn’t actually bought them in the first place (oops), but fortunately it wasn’t a must see anyway. I’ve since been more careful...
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