Attention Ushers & House Managers: WAKE UP!

Ummm...o.k.

No, ma'am. I wanted a billboard titled thread. So I created.

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Oh Rath. You flatter so.

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Exactly my point, I usher in a house of 2,475 people amd there are only 10 ushers in the theatre to supervise all those people. You might say, "Well get some more ushers in the theatre", but money and budget issues won't allow that. I would be more than happy to assist with a problem if someone came up to me and told me about it. We can't catch EVERYTHING.

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Well most shows have a seating cue, which is usually on an applause moment. Not every theatre has the room to hold people in the back and there are fire codes.

Shbrt and rc are right. And from my experiences, most ushers are great--there are some bad apples, but that's true of any job in life.

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You know, my first reaction to this thread was to post something very unpleasant in response to this unnecessary and lazily-presented proclamation. But I actually do concur to some degree and understand where there might be some justifiable frustration.

Speaking as a frequent theatregoer and as someone who has ushered at some houses that don't have it together- it is unfortunate that there are all too many house staff employees who don't do a good job.

Speaking as a very good usher on an excellent house staff- get the hell over it and show some goddamn class.

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If they were talking, you should have asked them to be quiet.

Your bag was still a fire hazard--regardless of what space there was.

One thing that may help is to allow the possibility that something is being done or asked of you based on a reason you haven't yet realized. Don't we all go through this in our own jobs--people not understanding why you do something the way you do?

Think outside the box.

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I have never once had a bad experience with an usher.

For me, nothing will ever top the usher up in the mezzanine screaming to the star of AT LIBERTY, "No, Miss Stritch!!! Don't start yet!!! I'm not ready!!!"

Boy, did she have guts or what?

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Funny you should ask, Jerby, because I know what Ms. Stritch's reaction was.

For reasons I will not go into here, I wound up being the last audience member to leave the theatre that night. Ms. Stritch was on stage bitching like you wouldn't believe. (Well, yes, you would, because it is, after all, Ms. Stritch!)

As far as the show went, Ms. Stritch totally ignored the usher and just began her show normally. And I must say that Ms. Stritch was such a pro that she didn't seem rattled by it in the least, but, then again, how would I know? She always seems bitchy to me! (And I mean that as a compliment. )

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thanks to all who are making an effort to relate. it's not like ushering is a hard job by nature, but we are the 1st line of defense against any variety of crazy/mean/confused/drunk theatregoers. on the other side, we are a buffer zone between the wants of the audience and the wants of the entire production hierarchy. because of that, ushers have to be ready for a huge variety of personalities and scenarios, and the only constants are the certain rules and codes that are dictated by the law, theatre, or production. none of us give a crap personally if you sit on the stairs, but the fire marshall does.

as for holding tickets, it's just common sense. would u spend $100-$300 on a product and throw away the receipt before you leave the store? it's mainly a matter of keeping everything organized ahead of time so as to cause as little disruption to the performance as possible- a precaution to help give the audience as a whole their money's worth by not dealing with avoidable confusion after the lights go down.

it's customer service, and the customer service industry worldwide has no shortage of disgruntled malcontents who hate their jobs and might not be as nice to you as you'd like. but in the end, the only goal is to keep the show going by answering questions and flying within the clear-cut rules. any pleasantries beyond that are purely gravy. no it isn't the hardest job in the world, but it very unique in its quirks/challenges and very demanding on a person's time.

it is a thankless job, but only to those who decide to make it one. attitude is everything. For my part, I have a great time at work almost every shift. It's frustrating and tedious a lot of the time, but I'd rather be frustrated and bored at a Broadway show than at any other service job. My point is, give the staff a break. we're not all bad.

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