One thing that happens when people see a lot of theater is they accumulate a lot of playbills. For those who don't know, Playbills are small magazines given out at most Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Not only do they have information about the show inside, but they have articles about upcoming shows and actors. If you want to keep your Playbills stored well, here are a few of my top tips.
1. Invest in a binder. The Playbill Store offers three different types of Playbill Binders ranging in price. The Basic Binder is cheaper and the playbills are put in the binder with small rods, while the Ultimate Binder comes with protective sheets for the playbills.
2. Branch out your collection through eBay and fanmail. While some people only collect playbills from shows that they've seen, other people, such as myself, collect playbills from various shows on Broadway. I've purchased a few playbills on eBay, and if I'm interested in a show but can't see it at the moment, I'll write to the stage manager at whichever theater it's playing in, asking to have a signed playbill. While some can't give out signed playbills, many will send a regular playbill instead. When using eBay however, be careful to not get into a bidding war for a certain playbill and pay a crazy amount for it.
3. If you're in New York, see shows, or go to the box office and ask for a Playbill. While in New York, you can see shows to help grow your playbill collection (check out my post on how to see more broadway shows for less) or if you can't see a certain show, you can either go to the box office or knock on the stage door and ask for a playbill. Usually if they have any, they'll give you one.
Good luck on your playbill collecting!
