Meaning of dress the house | Babel Free

Definitions

To position oneself, or others, so as to make the auditorium appear fuller than it really is.

Examples

“[…] to pay this tax through inviting a certain class of the public, who are always invited, to theatres of standing to dress the house.”

“[…] we critics were not his fellow-guests, but simply deadheads whose business it was to "dress the house" and write puffs.”

“The box office in a reserved seat house and the ushers in a non-reserved situation are responsible for dressing the house—that is, seating the audience so as to elicit the maximum response, […]”

CEFR level