Boxoffice-June.1989

"
Mark Bennett and the Bay Theatre
By David H. Chadderdon
On the Front Line is an ongoing column
on theatre management from the manager's
point of view What is it like to be on the
front line of theatrical exhibition? What
types of unique problems do managers face
m the day-to-day operation of a movie
theatre^ How do managers promote their
theatres and their films, how do they develop
long-term relationships with their employees,
what do they do to make their
theatre survive in today's hectic and competitive
entertainment environment^ Contributing
writer David H Chadderdon, with
IS years experience as a projectionist and
manager for the Goodrich and Redstone circuits,
will regularly profile theatre managers
and their operations, bringing their success
stories, "hands-on" experiences, and "secrets
of the trade" to the pages of Boxoffice
THE
Bay Theatre on Main Street in
Seal Beach, California is a typical
"art house." It's an old neighborhood
theatre situated in one of the most beautiful
locations in the country. Strollers
saunter by, enjoying a quaint seaside
shopping district located about a mile
from the beach Mark Bennett has worked
there for a year and a half
Bennett says he has a lot of regulars
who come to every show. "Of those, most
live within walking distance. Seal Beach is
a great place to take a walk at night. Most
of our customers don't like standing in
line. We don't get big audiences, so there's
never a line. We've just had the biggest
Saturday night we've had in a year and a
half and I think it amounted to 380
people."
There are both AMC and United Artists'
six-plexes just down the road, and according
to Bennett, "We usually try to get
movies they wouldn't ordinarily get. 'Jean
de Florette,' the French films, that type of
product I don't think it's possible to compete
with the mutliplexes on the big
movies. I think we're better off sticking
with the films they don't get and appealing
to a completely different audience."
The Bay's owners, Richard and Jane
Loderhose of New York, put in an organ
that came out of the Paramount Fox
theatre in New York. "We've had organ
concerts here with some fairly famous
organ players," says Bennett. "When we
hold organ concerts we show Laurel and
Hardy films. In this age of mcgacolor and
Dolby Stereo, it's really neat to see that
sort of thing."
Bennett has a small but loyal staff:
three concession people, an assistant
manager, a union projectionist and a janitor.
"We have one guy who comes in
every single day. He's been doing it for
eight years and he really keeps the place
clean. It's definitely nice that I don't have
to take care of that."
The Bay uses two concession people on
Fridays and Saturdays and Bennett finds
he doesn't have to do a lot of training. "It's
extremely simple work. The only thing
you really have to leam is how to use a
cash register. All the prices are kept simple:
my staff can add up sales in their
heads even if there's a crowd."
Bennett doesn't have a problem with
storage either. "We have one closet that
holds all of our candy and concession supplies.
We don't have to order that much:
we don't sell a hundred drinks in a week.
So we'll order one box and it'll sit there for
a month or so
According to Bennett, the best thing
about being the manager is being the boss.
"I don't have somebody breathing down
my neck all the time. The owners will be
gone for months at a time. There's an
apartment on the third floor and most of
the time I don't even know when they're
in. They split their time between here and
New York."
Bennett also likes the challenge of leading
and directing others. "It's real tough to
be able to get people to do what you want
and not be tyrannical. There's a real fine
line between being a jerk and getting
what you want done. It's definitely a good
experience. You've just got to kind of feel
your way through it at first. No one can
tell you how to do it; you have to experience
it for yourself."
Bennett's biggest dislikes are unruly
customers and bad prints. Used prints are
the norm with the Bay Theatre's slate of
attractions and patron complaints escalate
when there's something wrong with
the print. "I really hate it when you get a
bad print from a company, put it on, and it
sounds or looks horrible, and there's nothing
you can do — you can't get another
print until the exchanges open. 'Sorry sir,
want your money back?' "
Like all managers, Bennett sometimes
gets complaints from unreasonable customers.
"Some people just seem to be
there to yell at you. They just want to get
out their frustrations and you pretty
much have to not take it personally. You
have to have a good sense of self because
people are going to yell at you and tell you
what a horrible person you are because
you've ruined their evening. But it's part
of the job.
"The kind of movies we get here don't
really attract an unruly crowd. I saw 'Eddie
Murphy Raw' at another theatre and I
couldn't imagine being the manager
there. There was screaming and yelling
and people were throwing things, and I'm
sitting there seeing it all from the manager's
point of view. There were ushers
walking up and down the aisles the whole
time. For me, that would be horrible. I
can't imagine having to do that."
Bennett attends Cal State University
Long Beach and is studying business administration.
But being a theatre manager
is "The best job I can possibly think of"
Bennett takes much pride in his
theatre. "A lot of people I talk to have
never been here. They think of it as a dark
dingy theatre and they never actually get
in and see that it's nice and that it's got
class. We keep this place really clean.
That's foremost, because when people
come in, that's the first thing they look
at.
"These days most people want to go to
a Cineplex-Odeon multi-plex. To me it
seems like your're being herded in and
out like cattle. Totally impersonal. It's
definitely a different atmosphere here.
We try to make people happy and accommodate
them. Make them walk out wth a
good taste in their mouth, so when they
think of the Bay Theatre again they'll
want to come back That's our way of
competing: making it a nice, pleasant
experience"
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