Week 1:
1st Stage Theatre

December 21, 2013

Having a job at a theatre is a lot different than having a typical 9-5 job. Instead of having the weekends off, Saturday and Sunday are the days that I am expected to work the most hours. We’re providing entertainment to the people who are trying to enjoy their weekends. With two shows a day on Saturday and Sunday, I can easily be in the theatre for 10 hours each day, while time during the week is more flexible. Many people who work in theatre work for multiple companies, so it’s very common for people to work around each other’s schedules–as long as the work gets done!

Noises Off, by Michael Frayn, is a wonderful first show to work on. This hilarious comedy details a play’s journey, from dress rehearsal to the end of its tour. While 1st Stage runs a million times better than the theatre in the show, it’s always fun to poke a little fun at the difficulties that theatres often face. Hearing it five times a week reminds me why I want theatre to always be a part of my life, and it also gives me ideas of how to not run my own theatre. (And, like every play I ever read, it gives me some ideas of what I want to include in a play that I might write.)

Arts Management is  a far-ranging scope. It means making sure that the theatre runs, so it requires a lot of knowledge in a lot of different areas. So far, I have had several different projects that I have been expected to get done on my own time in addition to the work I’m asked to do before, during, and after the each run of the show. I have had the opportunity to read three new plays and provide written feedback for the playwright. I have had the opportunity to work on the design of the image playbill for the next show. Additionally, I have begun training on the new database software that helps the organization keep track of all of its patrons.

There’s a lot that goes into making the audience feel at home as they enter a theatrical space. While many of these tasks are not difficult, it can be quite a balancing act to get everything done on time for the run of each show. My Front-of-House duties include answering the phone, selling seats to patrons, maintaining the cleanliness of the theatre, preparing refreshments for pre-show and intermission, folding and stapling programs, troubleshooting our ticketing software, and assisting the patrons with finding available seating. While the audience is enjoying the show, I am often making enough programs for the next show. And so the cycle continues!

So far, I’ve worked on developing several different skill sets. First and foremost, I’m learning about the many things required to keep a professional theatre up and running. Within each of the tasks, I constantly seek to streamline the process, creating the most efficient way possible to–for instance–fold and staple a program. Another really important skill set that this job helps me refine is customer service. I have to be happy and nice to each customer no matter what the circumstances are. Their needs have to be at the very top of my priority list, and I’m getting a lot of practice having pleasant conversations with complete strangers. Similarly, the theatrical realm in the greater D.C. area has given me a lot of networking opportunities. Since so many people work for more than one theatre, there is a strong sense of interconnectedness among the professional theatres, and there are opportunities for me to tour other theatres and see other shows, which gives me an even stronger sense of how professional theatres generally function, and what sorts of things I want to have when I eventually start my own theatre!