Spectators who attended Wayland High School Theater Ensemble’s (WHSTE) fall play, “On the Razzle,” were able to choose a seat while buying their ticket, as opposed to the system of general admission used in previous WHSTE productions.

Senior Jonah Camiel, the production manager and lighting designer for the play, felt that assigned seating was more professional than having general admission

“We felt that it was a better, more professional way to do ticket sales. It takes the stress off of our audience members to make sure they get there in time to get a good seat,” Camiel said. “It also allowed us to get more people to sit closer to the front, which is something we always like to do. We had talked about doing reserved seating during ‘Beauty and the Beast’ last year but did not have the time to get it going.”

According to director and drama teacher Richard Weingartner, the decision to switch from general admission to reserved seating was made by a group that included fine arts department head Susan Memoli and members of the Creative Arts Parents Association.

This system is not entirely new. When Weingartner first began working at WHS, people were able to reserve seats. However, in recent years there has only been assigned seating.

Weingartner explained that there were several reasons to why having assigned seating is better than having general admission. The first is that it makes it easier for WHSTE to track data on how many people are attending each show and how much money they are earning.

“If you’re selling adult seats versus student seats, then you have those numbers. We’re trying to be clear on how much money we’re bringing in and keeping a clear assessment of that,” Weingartner said.

Another goal of the new system was to not only help WHSTE keep track of and collect data on what nights are more attended but also to cut down on lines to buy tickets and make the process of purchasing tickets more efficient.

Tickets were sold online as well as in person this year, which is another change. A program called ShowTix4U was used to sell and keep track of tickets.

“It is a great program, and we love it already,” Camiel said. “It keeps track of who is sitting where as well as the financial inflows and outflows. It makes our jobs a lot easier.”

Tickets were also printed differently this year than in years past.

“The tickets are thermally printed on real ticket stock. It is a feature of our new ticketing system,” Camiel said. “We really like it so far. It is easier, cleaner and greener. It also is more professional looking.”