Tracey Talks Tickets
Vancouver Opera's Database and Ticket Centre Manager Tracey Flattes shares her unique brand of hard-earned wisdom, humour, and stories from the trenches of the ticketing world.
You can also download the podcast on all major platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
When I think of shows like Hamilton or the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, tickets are really the thing that everyone wants. Then the person we need to talk to is Vancouver Opera's own Tracey Flattes, who's our Ticket Centre and Database Manager. Tracey's career has taken her all over the world, both as a teacher and as an arts professional. I was fascinated to hear more about some of the changes that have taken place in the ticketing industry.
So, how long have you been at Vancouver Opera?
Tracey Flattes:
Since October 2006. It began because I came to Vancouver on my honeymoon the year before. Fell in love with Vancouver. Decided I wanted to live here. Moved from Boston with my then husband and applied to Vancouver Opera. First job I applied for, first job I got, and here I am.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
Well, it's fair to say that a lot of our patrons will absolutely recognize your voice, they've already heard it before.
Tracey Flattes:
Oh yes, and so many people, when I pick up the phone, they say, "Oh, you're the voice on the recording! Yes, that's me!"
Ashley Daniel Foot:
A lot of ticket sales of the past would've occurred either in person or over the phone. We now have web sales, what has that transition been like?
Tracey Flattes:
It's been interesting. It's mostly positive. Back in the day when we were on our Cambie Street offices, nothing really was done online. We had a really bad website. There was no select your own seat. There was no printed home tickets, and we had a lot of subscribers.
The way we used to do it was we would print all those subscription tickets in-house and it wasn't on the ticket stock that we use now. It was a big, thick piece of card so that they looked different to regular tickets, which was beautiful. However, we had a very old little printer that we would print them on, and it would jam constantly. We had thousands and thousands of tickets, and in order to make it not be jammed, we would have to take a little butter knife and clean all the residue off of the rollers. And so, once all of those were printed, they would then have to be put into an envelope and sent through the mail machine and mailed out.
So, we've come a long way. Technology has come a long way. Now I'd say 90% of our tickets are bought online.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
You are also working at the theatre every show in the box office.
Tracey Flattes:
Yes, those nights we have to get people into the show. If people forget their tickets, we have to reprint their tickets. If people want to pick up their tickets at the theatre, that's us. If people want to buy tickets at the theatre, if there's any available, that's us. Again, we've come a long way with printed home tickets. We don't get as much chaos at the theatre anymore. It used to be that we would have boxes and boxes and boxes of tickets. Not enough time to mail. So the only option at that time was picking up at the theatre. When we have big shows like Carmen, Butterfly, Boheme, the lineup to pick up tickets would be around the block.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
What's the wildest thing that's ever happened in ticketing at Vancouver Opera in your time?
Tracey Flattes:
So, at the theatre, actually six shows all sold out, Madama Butterfly, and the whole ticket system went down.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
What?!
Tracey Flattes:
We lost the whole system.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
Oh, no!
Tracey Flattes:
And so, we had our tickets that had already been printed out for pickup, but anything that was bought before we'd printed that out, we couldn't print.
We basically had a list of people that we knew had purchased that if they came, we looked at the piece of paper with the names and checked them off, and we still managed to get that show in on time. But let me tell you, we were flying by the seat of our pants. I think by the end of it, all of us were pretty much needing a glass of wine.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
So, take me back to when you decided to come to Canada. What did you do before that?
Tracey Flattes:
In Boston, I worked as the manager at the Museum of Fine Arts.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
Okay, I see a link…
Tracey Flattes:
Yeah. I was there for eight years. I also worked in the public school system there.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
What?!
Tracey Flattes:
Yes, I taught.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
You taught?! What did you teach?
Tracey Flattes:
I taught second grade.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
No way!
Tracey Flattes:
Yes way! That's my background. My background is actually education. I have a master's in education. I worked all over the world teaching English.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
Really?! Where are some of the places?
Tracey Flattes:
I've lived in Australia, I've lived in Italy, I've lived in Hong Kong, I've lived in Palestine. Lots of interesting places to live. So, yeah, I came here from the Museum of Fine Arts and teaching, and I was initially thinking I would go back into teaching here, but I went the other route and came here.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
They say that the opera and the arts are oftentimes in crisis. But here at Vancouver Opera, I think there's been a resurgence of interest in that. How can you explain that?
Tracey Flattes:
I think programming has a lot to do with it. If we put on shows that people want to see, they will buy tickets to see those shows. I think the fact that now people just want to get out and live again after the whole COVID shutdown, so many people now are coming back to us that weren't with us for the last three or four years. And I think just really good marketing. We have a great marketing department right now.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
We do. They're firing on all cylinders, absolutely! Speaking of marketing… because we have talk our wares…
Tracey Flattes:
Black Friday, get your best deal of the season, 50% off a duet subscription so you can see Carmen and Don Pasquale for less than it would cost you just to come see Carmen. And if you really can't come to see both shows, then you can wait until Cyber Monday and just get 50% off single tickets.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
When we talk about an opera like Carmen, which is opera's perhaps most popular opera. I have a feeling your phones are really going to be ringing. There's going to be a lot of interest.
Tracey Flattes:
Oh, yes. Yes. Yes.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
How do you manage the demand versus the inventory?
Tracey Flattes:
Honestly, it's a constant juggling act. Already Carmen is flying off the shelves.I've never seen a show sell so quickly, so early as Carmen is selling right now. Buy early, your best price is now because prices go up as tickets sell, prices go up.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
What if we learned about new people that are coming to the opera?
Tracey Flattes:
We're getting a lot of new to file people, that's people that have never purchased opera tickets before.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
We love that number. That's magic.
Tracey Flattes:
Most of them, I'd say predominantly, they come to us for the well-known shows. So the Carmens, the Flutes, the Butterflies. But then we are finding that a lot of new people, especially younger people, they want to see new works when we do something that hasn't been done before. Things like my all-time favourite, Stickboy. We got so many new people that came for that because it's new. They haven't seen it before. It's never been done before. It's a premiere. Lots of new audiences, and that's what we love. We love new audiences. We love young audiences. Plus, we love our regulars.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
Yes, we do. We love everyone to come to the opera.
Tracey Flattes:
Yes, we want them all to come.
Ashley Daniel Foot:
And we want you to buy your tickets from Tracey.
Tracey Flattes:
Please come listen to my nice voice!
Ashley Daniel Foot:
Well, hopefully now you really will go to vancouveropera.ca and get your tickets. My name is Ashley Daniel Foot, and as always, big thanks to our producer, Mack McGillivray. If you like the show, you can always follow us on Spotify or give us a review on Apple Podcasts. All of that helps the show be discovered by more opera lovers or you can simply share a link to the show with your friends. I'll see you at the opera.
Talk to Tracey at the ticket centre:
604 683 0222 Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm.
We're celebrating Black Friday with our best ticket offer of the season:
Save 50% Off Duet Subscriptions! You'll enjoy the rest of our blockbuster 2023-2024 season: our wild, pop-art, technicolour production of Donizetti's comedic romp, Don Pasquale and Bizet's timeless classic Carmen.
Inside Vancouver Opera is hosted by Ashley Daniel Foot, Vancouver Opera’s Director of Engagement and Civic Practice. Boundlessly creative and fascinated by the way that art is created and presented, Ashley has guided arts organizations across Canada to craft messages and tell unique stories. At Vancouver Opera, Ashley carefully develops all programming that takes place off the mainstage and looks for unique and unexpected ways to highlight the power of opera in the community. He also manages all education, community partnerships, and guides the company’s commitment to justice, equity, reconciliation, and diversity. He’s particularly proud of his recent collaborations with with the Vancouver Public Library, BC Alliance for Arts and Culture, Vancouver Art Gallery, and Rumble Theatre. He is also the co-chair of the City of Vancouver’s Arts and Culture Advisory Committee.
Mack McGillivray - Audio Producer