One of my friends recently began working at a major regional theatre, and I’ve been getting highly desirable seats to shows… for free. This is fantastic and I hope it continues into the future and that I can expand my “network”.
Do you have family or friends who work at theatres, sports arenas, concert halls or restaurants, or are lawyers, wine distributors, well-known faculty, etc. from whom you obtain goodies? Tell us about it. If it’s a connection you made somehow, how did you do it–hobbyist group, high school buddy, Joe in Accounting? How do you show appreciation for your connections–perhaps gift cards, thank you notes, or homemade spaghetti sauce?
My cousin is the stage manager at Madison Square Garden. I haven’t taken advantage of the hook-up nearly as much as my brothers have (they’re a lot closer to him), but he’s gotten me some excellent seats for a couple of concerts in the past.
As for thanking him, it’s by A) Saying “hey, thanks a ton”, and B) setting him up with an account on my company’s web site (which would normally cost him a couple hundred to a couple thousand bucks per month).
Good buddy of mine works for a MLB franchise… one that happens to be in the World Series. He’d often kick tix my way - basically seats for clients that couldn’t make it out. Great guy - never asked for anything in return, except for a six pack of beer. I saw so many games this season, including the last game in the first series vs. the Evil Empire. The one where we hit four consecutive homers in one inning… I saw myself atop the Green Monster on SportsCenter that night!
His most awesome hook up? He got us tix for the Police show at Fenway this July… 16th row on the field, dead center… and he gave them to us. I was totally about to drop 5 C-notes in his hand (that’s roughly the face value) and he just said, “Bro, it’s a going-away present!”
Awesome guy, and when I get to be a big mucky-muck, I am hooking him up… Best I can do now is give him free books, but I’m climbing that ladder…
My best friend used to work at the Chicago Museum of Art. I got to see the whole place including the special exhibit for free, and blow right past the 4-hour line. I felt guilty at the time, but there is no way I would have had time to see the special exhibit if I hadn’t had the hookup.
I also got into the Chicago Field Museum for free, for same reason.
My brother-in-law has been the head carpenter in several touring professional acting companies. They play the best theaters in the biggest cities. A couple of years ago, he gave me and my wife tickets for great seats down front to see “Annie” with John Schuck in the lead role (he goes by his first name of Conrad now). It would have had Mackenzie Phillips in it, but she buggered off without notice again. After the show, we got the tour of the stage. He showed us how he designed the pulleys and motors under the stage that move the scenery, etc.
Being a radio announcer at a university-run station, I was recently asked to do the voice-over for a video presentation on this year’s season of entertainment at their theaters. As thanks, the head of the communications group gave me a pair of $90 tickets to see The Pointer Sisters, who opened the series. That was nice.
I was given two front row tickets to see the Jazz play the Suns when they open their season once in Tokyo. As a Utah native, that was fantastic. It was from a friend of a friend, and unfortunately, just a once-off.