Mid-Sussex amateur theatre company Act Too Productions has found a way to cut the queues for its forthcoming production of Annie.
The company, whose show runs at Clair Hall, Haywards Heath, from April 1 to 6, has a new secure selling system on its web site.
The system uses software designed and developed by Horsham-based Specialist Data Solutions (SDS), owned by Act Too member John Chart-ress.
Act Too claims the Easy-Ticket system, which not only allows people to buy tickets online but also lets them choose their seats, is the first of its kind in the world.
Lance Milton, who runs Act Too, said there were lots of advantages to the system.
He said: "The company is ten years old this year and we have built up quite a following.
"Because many of our shows appeal to children, who are often heavily into the internet, developing the web site seemed a particularly good idea.
"Another big advantage is by selling tickets ourselves we don't have to pay someone else a box office commission. We don't have to employ someone to handle ticket inquiries."
He said the web-based system could also automatically print out tickets and address labels, making what could be a labour- intensive mailing process easier.
Mr Milton said: "It has already proved very successful. We have 2,000 seats to fill and decided to sell 1,000 ourselves.
"We've already sold 700 of them online. Before, we would only have expected to sell a quarter of the tickets."
Mr Chartress, managing director of SDS, said the new site took advantage of his company's skills.
SDS has been providing software to opticians for more than 13 years and designs web sites.
He said although there were theatre booking packages available from the United States they were too expensive for groups like Act Too when you included the costs of designing a web site.
He said: "This system is unique because you can book not just a number of seats but particular seats.
"It's fully interactive and if other people are buying seats while you're logged on, you will see those seats disappearing around yours."
Mr Chartress plans to sell the system to other theatres. It has already attracted interest from two London theatres and several ticket agencies.
He said: "Many theatres plan to test online booking systems or have very bad experiences of slow and unreliable systems. We are enouraging them to visit the Act Too site and see how good our system is."
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