SECOND ACTING - Is it still done?

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 10/6/12 at 5:27pm

"Second Acting", for those who don't know, is the act of discreetly walking into a theater during the interval to see the second half of a show without paying for it.

I'm older and can afford to pay full price which I am happy to do. But when I first started going to Broadway shows and couldn't even afford a discounted ticket I often Second Acted them. Is it still done?

Updated On: 9/23/16 at 05:27 PM

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 10/6/12 at 5:31pm

As a poor younging, I've seen my fair share of second acts. Don't know how common it is.

[capnkidd]

Posted: 10/6/12 at 5:35pm

Yes, thogh it isn't as common as it used to be, in my opinion. Interesting question. What makes you ask this now (just curious)?



Updated On: 10/6/12 at 05:35 PM

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 10/6/12 at 5:50pm

What makes me ask it now is that younger people are worse off economically, en masse, than we were when my generation was young. But when I was younger there was, I think, a kind of complicity among theaters and arts institutions to let younger people into the theater during intermissions as long as they were discreet about it. I wonder if that's disappeared.

Updated On: 9/23/16 at 05:50 PM

[capnkidd]

Posted: 10/6/12 at 5:58pm

I don't think it has, entirely. Seems to me if you pick the right shows, and you're discrete, they look the other way.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/6/12 at 6:00pm

However, there is now student rush and lotteries which give opportunity to see shows (from the begining) for a much smaller price tag.

[bobs3]

Posted: 10/6/12 at 6:13pm

When I was in college at NYU in the 1980s my friends and I used to second act shows quite frequently. We would wander in with the intermission crowd that was outside the theater smoking. If no usher was looking we would grab a Playbill from the stack next to the aisles and go up to the mezzanine or balcony and wait for everyone to return to their seats and when the house lights lowered we would look for empty seats. Of course we knew better than to try this tactic at SRO shows (Cats, La Cage aux Folles, The Real Thing, etc.).

The best was three act plays. I saw the second and third acts of NOISES OFF and laughed my ass off. Wish I could have seen the first act since I heard at the time that was the funniest of the three acts. Oh the woes of being a college student living on a limited budget.



Updated On: 10/6/12 at 06:13 PM

[winston89]

Posted: 10/7/12 at 1:44am

The only show I ever second acted was Come Fly Away. But, generally speaking, it's hard to do. This is because back in the day when it was more common, they didn't check tickets upon reentry. Now, if you want to go out during intermission to smoke or get some air, you have to bring your ticket with you.

Granted, they might not look at it as clearly as they would if your'e entering when the house opens up. There have been times where the simple act of me reaching into my pocket for my ticket was enough to come back after intermission.

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 10/7/12 at 11:14am

I don't think I've ever been asked to see my ticket when returning after the intermission.

[CockeyedOptimist2]

Posted: 10/7/12 at 11:20am

I tried to do it once at the Vivian Beaumont, but the house was fuller than I expected, so I wasn't able to find a seat immediately and chickened out.

[dreamz]

Posted: 10/7/12 at 8:30pm

Sinister well I guess you haven't been to a Jujamcyn house lately.

[bestfreakinshoes]

Posted: 10/7/12 at 8:59pm

I've done it. But I suppose talking about it will only get more theaters to crack down on it, won't it?

[THDavis]

Posted: 10/7/12 at 10:41pm

I just don't get why a theatre would spend it's time and resources trying to restrict entry to a poorly selling show's second act to a younger, respectful crowd. That being said, there are also plenty who might abuse it or not be respectful, but I like to think anyone who knows about second acting would be low-key and respectful.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/7/12 at 10:49pm

Yeah, it's the same exact thing as a young person photocopying sheet music and giving a filthy rich composer some exposure.

[Mildred Plotka]

Posted: 10/7/12 at 11:29pm

I went outside at intermission of Anything Goes and left my ticket at my seat. The Roundabout staff stopped me at the door and wanted to see my ticket. I gave them my exact location, but they were still skeptical (I had a Playbill in hand, too). I eventually rolled my eyes and walked into the theatre. I assume 2nd Acting is happening if they are wanting ticket proof upon return. The performance was also sold out, so I'm not sure where they thought I was going to 2nd Act the show from.

[DAME]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 8:22pm

"Yeah, it's the same exact thing as a young person photocopying sheet music and giving a filthy rich composer some exposure."

Bless you.

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 8:55pm

Every show I have attended in the past few years has required a ticket for re-entry. At "How to Succeed...." during previews I forgot my ticket and they would not let me back in. I was with a large group and a member of the group was walking back in and I had to have her get my playbill with the ticket in it and an usher actually watched me go to my seat.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 10:09pm

"I just don't get why a theatre would spend it's time and resources trying to restrict entry to a poorly selling show's second act to a younger, respectful crowd."

Went into a half empty restaurant right before closing and asked if they had extra food and wouldn't mind feeding me for free. They said "get the hell out". Totally don't get it at all cause I was young and acted respectfully.

Updated On: 11/5/14 at 10:09 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 10:20pm

"Went into a half empty restaurant right before closing and asked if they wouldn't mind feeding me for free."

Not quite the same thing. Once a show is in progress, they don't charge after intermission. The profit on that seat is lost when the curtain rises. However, a restaurant can hold food over to the next day and try to sell it for profit.

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 10:29pm

"Not quite the same thing. Once a show is in progress, they don't charge after intermission. The profit on that seat is lost when the curtain rises. However, a restaurant can hold food over to the next day and try to sell it for profit."

Fine, you want a better analogy, how about going to a movie theater 30 minutes after the movie started with a half filled auditorium and asking to be admitted for free.

Regardless, if you are sneaking into something for free that charges an admission fee, whether it is at the beginning or towards the end, it is theft, stealing. You can justify it in your mind any way you want but it is stealing. And please don't tell me how they don't charge after intermission or more accurately stated, they don't sell tickets after intermission cause they don't admit people after intermission either, at least not willingly. And then you can proceed to complain about why ticket prices are so high.

Updated On: 11/5/14 at 10:29 PM

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 10:29pm

I've just never understood this practice. Not that I have much money at all to see shows, but I'd rather try and find a cheap ticket than only see half of the show. Not to mention the illegality of the whole thing.

[Starship]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 10:46pm

Thanks for speaking my mind, FishermanBob!

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 10:49pm

I second acted the final performance of Brighton Beach Memoirs in 2009. Haven't found the guts to do it again, but I'm so glad I got to see the second act of that play.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 11:24pm

MODERATOR: PLEASE DELETE THIS THREAD.

[Fantod]

Posted: 11/5/14 at 11:26pm

Why should the thread be deleted? The OP was just asking if people still did it, not tips and tricks for how it should be done.

Updated On: 11/5/14 at 11:26 PM