Front-of-House Skills and Their Impact at Shakespeare in the Park
Being the front-facing staff of the theatre, front of house often sets the tone of a theatregoing experience. When I worked at Shakespeare in the Park, an annual New York City cultural event, the front-of-house staff was responsible for generating the positive and welcoming experience that the event is known for. Not only are front-of-house staff responsible for getting tickets to the right patrons and guiding them to their seats, but they are also tasked with handling patron needs on the ground. These tasks can include disability accommodations, facilitation in medical emergencies, and enforcing safety protocols which include the ever-changing landscape of the COVID pandemic. Front of house is also asked to coordinate with other departments such as stage management or development to accommodate their needs for the show and other special events. This work demands the ability to be flexible and open to learning whatever is necessary to provide incredible service within an industry that is constantly evolving.
Shakespeare in the Park tickets are distributed on the same day as the show and are always free. Distribution of the tickets takes place at several locations throughout the city, including the physical lottery downtown at the Public Theater. During the downtown lottery, patrons put raffle tickets into a spinner, and at noon a front-of-house member draws winners to receive vouchers for tickets. For the front-of-house team, the ticket entry process is an hour of speaking to patrons and answering questions in person before the drawing, and we used that time to drum up excitement for Shakespeare in the Park. We had a blast hyping everyone up and encouraging a congratulatory atmosphere when someone won. These moments of joy created by front-of house-staff are a testament to the staff’s effort to better the experience for everyone around them.
Journalists and patrons praised the audience experience during the historic turnout to the Shakespeare in the Park premiere of the musical Hercules. We conducted the lottery differently due to the extremely high turnout, and this process incorporated even more front-of-house workers. The event was so popular that journalist Madison Malone Kircher wrote about it for Vulture in her piece “Losing the Hercules Lottery with 800 of My Closest Friends.” Never before had I seen front of house recognized in a major publication, let alone specifically highlighted for our work during the run of this show. Kircher also painted a picture of the huge crowd of patrons decked out in costumes and their exuberance and anticipation for the lottery experience. Kircher writes that “It’s a tense but joyful hour…The Public Theater does a great job organizing the chaos. Staffers dash the hundred yards or so between the meadow and the theatre to bring more tickets as they become available…When the staffers arrive with more tickets, we all cheer.”
What Kircher captures so well here is the front-of-house staffers’ ability to create an experience for audiences that extends beyond the show itself. The Hercules lottery was an example of how we as staffers were able to bring new life to a decades-long annual event that people have come to know and love. That is the valuable work that every front-of-house staff member brings to their job.
The first time I ushered a performance, I politely asked a couple to step into the lobby with their drinks, and they were so upset that they wrote a customer complaint to my manager.
Patrons’ Negative Treatment of Front of House
Along with the many benefits that come with working directly with the public come the downsides and mistreatment. Patrons can be cruel and abusive towards front-of-house staff, an experience that has become so commonplace that it is expected as part of the job. I have had patrons scream in my face and threaten my job because I asked them to follow our policies. The first time I ushered a performance, I politely asked a couple to step into the lobby with their drinks, and they were so upset that they wrote a customer complaint to my manager.
Patrons will go out of their way to make front-of-house employees uncomfortable–some going as far as making inappropriate sexual comments towards female staffers. All the while they tell us that because they are a donor or supporter, they are allowed to treat us however they see fit. Still, we have the strength and dedication to our jobs to show up and consistently ensure that everyone has a great experience at the theater.
Other instances of such treatment are documented in Billy McEntee’s “She Loves Theatre, but Does Theatre Love Her Back?” for American Theatre, as well as in its comments section. Writer Billy McEntee writes at length about Nicki Cochrane, a regular theatre patron whose treatment of front-of-house staff is so consistently vile that she has become synonymous with such behavior in the New York theatre industry. McEntee writes that Cochrane has been banned from several arts establishments and includes a statement from Building for the Arts about their ban, saying that it took place “after multiple incidents of general disruption of the audience experience and specific abusive behavior directed towards the building’s staff.” Yet the article also notes that there are people in the industry who continue to embrace and encourage Cochrane’s unacceptable behavior despite her abuse of staff.
It is common for upper management, who depend on patron support, to excuse staff abuse at the hands of difficult patrons. This happened to my colleagues and me constantly, and it surely happened to workers mentioned in McEntee’s article. The comment section of the article is full of anecdotes detailing workers’ horrific experience with Cochrane, yet there are still institutions that entertain her at the expense of their own staff. This is a consequential move for any theatre. When a company allows continued staff abuse at the hands of a patron, they are proving that they do not value the working conditions of their staff. And if staff do not feel respected by their company, they will not be able to create the enthusiastic artistic environment that is needed for an audience to enjoy a trip to the theatre. In order for staff to provide the best service possible, they need to feel safe and supported at their workplace.
Creating a Sustainable and Equitable Workplace for Front of House
Front-of-house employees are invaluable members of a theatre staff. But if they continue to be treated with disrespect and abuse, these staff members will (and do) leave the industry for good. To maintain a committed front of house, this type of work needs to be recognized by administration. And although patron behavior cannot be controlled, a supportive administration will hopefully, in turn, encourage more respectful patrons.
