• If you've volunteered to sell tickets for the school play, begin by enlisting the help of some experts. Sign up with one of the dozens of free online ticketing agents and forego the hassle of keeping up with ticket charts. Ticketstorm.com is a national company that provides box office services at no charge to the producer. It will handle credit card sales, promote your show and keep track of who has which ticket.
  
  

Write a Press Release

• To garner the attention your play deserves, start with a press release to all local news agencies, including the local paper and the TV and radio stations. Follow the old who, what, where, when, why formula and provide a little color with quotes from the director and one or more of the stars.
  
  Follow up with a call to the theater editor, or whoever wears that hat, of the newspaper. Ask if it would be willing to run a story about your play. Make sure to ask about photos. Many papers will print cast pictures with captions. Any space it will give you is a plus.
  
  Offer tickets to the local radio stations to give away on the air. Ask if they would be willing to interview a cast member on the air. If you get an interview, make sure to give the interviewee a briefing on the relevant information such as time, place and title.
  
  

Internet Bulletin Boards, Calendars and Social Media

• Most cities of any size have several websites dedicated to listing special events. Use Google Local to find out what sites serve your area. Craigslist has a special events category for each city it has a bulletin board for. Put your information wherever it will post it for free.
  
  Set up a Facebook page for your drama club and get your actors involved in promoting it. Twitter is another easy way to get the word out. Update the posting frequently to keep the interest high. Use photos and video clips whenever possible.
  
  

Ticket Selling Contest

• Your primary audience will be people directly related to your students. One of the best ways to motivate your cast and crew as salespeople is to offer bait. Movie tickets, theme park passes, iTunes gift certificates and the like are great prizes.
  
  You can offer the prize to the highest seller or share the love and offer a chance in a drawing for the grand prize to every student who sells a certain number of tickets (at least 20 for example), with multiple chances going to the more motivated sellers.
  
  

Posters and T-shirts

• Check with local printing companies to see what their rates are to produce full-color, show-card-style posters. Be sure to include the pertinent details. Have students take a few posters, each with instructions to hang them in high-traffic public places.
  
  Having T-shirts printed for the cast and crew is a great way to get the word out. Each shirt you print is a mini mobile billboard. A cool design will ensure that the kids wear the shirts. Prep them with the correct information for anyone who asks.