Letter to the editor: Apology from the top takes center stage

As the chair of the Auburn University Department of Theatre, I would like to take this opportunity to respond and apologize to Jonathan McKinney (letter to the editor, Oct. 4) and all of the Auburn students who were frustrated in their attempts to see our recent production of Joan Holden's "Nickel and Dimed."

We usually have no problem accommodating students, but the particular circumstances surrounding this production led to certain complications and unintended consequences that the department is working hard to address.

Some of these complications are due to growing pains in our program: this year we tripled our subscriber base (a very good problem to have) even as "Nickel and Dimed's" three-quarter thrust configuration made it necessary to reduce the number of available seats for the first production. In addition to those factors, the demand for single tickets spiked throughout the production's run, as positive word of mouth spread throughout campus and the community. The upshot is, we didn't foresee how popular this production was going to be, and our attempts to improvise solutions in the middle of the run clearly did not work for the students who made unsuccessful but good-faith attempts to see the show. To put it simply, we goofed, and as chair of the department, I take responsibility.

Mr. McKinney indicated that departmental policy makes students feel like "second-class citizens," and from his experience with "Nickel and Dimed," I can understand why he feels that way. While his difficulty in obtaining tickets to this production is not in any way acceptable to us, it also represents a rare occurrence, and one we would like to make even less likely to happen going forward.

We have already laid the groundwork for improving our system for distributing student tickets. Students will be able to go online and request seats for a performance in advance and have their tickets set aside at the will-call window for pickup on the day of the show, guaranteed.

Our program exists because of generous support from the Office of the President, and because of that support, we are able to offer Auburn students tickets to all productions free of charge.

Students are our primary stakeholders, and we remain committed to serving them to the best of our ability -- even as we continue to grow our program and, hopefully, our support with the paying public.

Scott Phillips

Artistic Director

Chair

Auburn Theatre Department