Press night, demystified

Critics are the only guests who come to work. Everything about press night, from the seat to the ticket envelope to the run time printed in the press kit, should make that work easier and then get out of the way so the show can speak for itself. Here is how it usually runs and where it usually snags.

Press night vs. opening night

In some markets, critics see the show at one of several designated press performances during the final previews, and reviews appear around the official opening. In others, press night is opening night: critics attend the celebratory performance and file that night or the next day. Smaller companies and university theaters often invite press to the first or second public performance and call it a day.

There are good reasons to separate the two:

• The show is frozen. By the press performances, changes have stopped. Critics see the version that will run.
• The audience is normal. An opening night house is full of people who love the company and cheer every entrance. A press performance plays to an ordinary crowd, which is fairer to everyone, critics included.
• Deadlines are real. Writers need time to file. Separating the nights gives them that time without anyone typing in the lobby.
• The company gets a party, not an exam. Opening night can be a celebration when the reviews are already written.

The question to ask your press rep early: Which performances are press performances, when does the show freeze, and when can reviews run? Get the answers in writing before tickets for those dates go on sale, and share them with the stage manager and company manager.

Invitations and confirmations

The press rep builds and owns the list: critics, feature writers, editors, broadcast and podcast reviewers, photographers. A good invitation includes:

• Title, venue and the specific press performances on offer
• Curtain time, run time and whether there is an intermission
• Content advisories and age guidance
• Accessibility information and how to request it
• The press rep’s name and a phone number that will be answered on the night
• A response deadline

Confirmations should capture the writer’s name, outlet, chosen performance, the plus-one’s name and any access needs. Reconfirm about 48 hours out. Hold seats until confirmation and release them on a stated date, because a critic’s unclaimed pair in the sixth row is two very good seats doing nothing.

Seating critics

Seat placement is the press rep’s call. The house manager and box office carry it out. The usual principles:

• Aisle seats, mid-house. Critics take notes, sometimes leave at intermission, and appreciate not climbing over anyone to do either.
• Clean sightlines. No overhang, no pillar, no partial view, nothing directly behind the sound desk.
• Away from the production. Not next to the director, not in front of the producers, not beside the lead’s family.
• Away from late seating. Latecomers should not be shown in across a critic’s row.
• Plus-one together. Seat the guest next to the critic, not two rows away.

Whether critics sit clustered or scattered varies by press rep and by market. Some writers have a favorite seat in your house, and a good press rep remembers it.

Press tickets and plus-ones

The standard offer is a pair: the critic and one guest. The press rep sets the policy and handles exceptions. Some outlets have their own rules about what their writers can accept, so follow the press rep’s lead rather than adding extras as a courtesy.

Press tickets should never go through the general will call line. Set up a press table staffed by the press rep or an associate, with an envelope for each confirmed writer: the tickets, the program or a link to the digital program, and the press rep’s card. Photographers get separate credentials and instructions about where they may and may not shoot.

The press kit

The press kit is the reference writers lean on at 11:00 pm when they can’t remember how to spell the lighting designer’s name. Build it before previews and update it as the show settles. It should include:

• A press release with dates, times, venue and ticket information
• A fact sheet: run time, intermission, content advisories, age guidance
• Full cast and creative credits, with roles and correct spellings
• Short bios
• Approved production photos with captions and photographer credits
• The press rep’s contact details, including the night-of phone

Field note: Check every name in the credits against the contracts, not against the poster. Critics quote the press kit, and a misspelling in it becomes a misspelling in print.

The press kit checklist template lays these out in order with a column for who signs off on each item.

Photo calls

A photo call is a short, scheduled block, often during tech or previews, when photographers shoot staged moments from the show. Plan it like a scene change:

• A shot list of specific moments, in running order, with the lighting state for each
• Full costumes, wigs and makeup, run by stage management
• A clear list of which photographers are invited and where they may stand
• A hard stop time

Photo calls involve the company’s time and likeness, so check your agreements for any rules on length, scheduling and how the images may be used. Release approved images to press with captions and credits the same day if you can.

Embargo etiquette

An embargo is the agreed time before which reviews should not publish, often tied to the official opening. Practices vary widely by market, by outlet and by the kind of production, and the norms around social media posts are looser still. Ask your press rep what applies and follow their lead.

Your side of the arrangement matters too. Ask the company not to post about which critics are in the house on press nights. If a review appears early, do not respond in public. The press rep handles it, quietly, with the outlet.

What the house manager needs to know

Give the house manager a press list with each writer’s name, outlet, seat numbers, plus-one name and any access needs. Then brief these points:

• Where the press table is and who staffs it
• How to seat a critic who arrives late, and at which hold point
• No announcing names in the lobby or over a radio channel guests can overhear
• Nobody from the production approaches a critic at intermission
• If a critic leaves at intermission, note it for the press rep and do not follow

The night reviews land

Plan the morning after before the night arrives. Agree on who reads first (usually the press rep), who receives the roundup (producers, general manager, marketing) and how the company hears. Some companies post nothing backstage and let each artist decide whether to read. The company manager and stage manager usually set that policy. Whatever it is, announce it before opening so nobody is surprised.

A few rules for the night itself:

• Nobody reads reviews aloud at the party.
• Marketing drafts pull quotes for approval and quotes accurately and in context. Never trim a sentence into a meaning it did not have.
• A mixed or bad notice is not the end of the run. There is a performance tomorrow, and the stage manager will call it like any other.
• Thank the press rep. They have been working this night for weeks.

The reviews belong to the critics. Everything up to the moment they sit down belongs to you.