Best Practices

If you have students who are quick on their feet, great at math, and have a cheerful disposition, they might be excellent concession volunteers. Concession volunteers are responsible for selling snacks and beverages during the intermission of the show (sometimes before and after the show as well, if it’s deemed important) efficiently and accurately. Some schools choose to sell show merchandise, flowers for actors and crew, candygrams, or other items at the performances, so concession volunteers would be in charge of those as well. Volunteering to be in charge of the concession table for a school production is a great way for students to get involved in a non-artistic capacity. If you have students who want to get involved, use the following best practices to prepare them for the concession role. Note: Depending on what you’re selling and the requirements of your school/board/etc., concession volunteers may need to have a Safe Food Handling certification (or whatever your local equivalent is). Be sure to find out what the requirements are for your school before you start selling concessions. 1. Concession volunteers must arrive early and be dressed appropriately.When concession volunteers arrive will depend on when they are responsible for selling their wares. If they are only selling concessions during intermission, they can likely arrive just before the show starts, to have an adequate amount of time to set up their station. If they are selling before the show, they’ll need to arrive no later than 45 minutes prior to showtime to clean and set up properly. Feel free to adjust the start time as appropriate to your production and show needs. Students should be dressed neatly in an agreed-upon look, for example, wearing all black, white shirt and black pants, a show shirt, or a piece of school merchandise. Students should wear an accessory such as a lanyard or pin that indicates that they are a concession volunteer. If the items they are selling are open to the air (e.g., unwrapped baked goods), concession volunteers must wear gloves and perhaps even a face mask. In that case, you’ll need at least two concession volunteers: one to handle the items and one to handle the cash (do not let students touch both, even if they are gloved!). If students have long hair, it must be tied back neatly or controlled with a hairnet if required. 2. Concession volunteers must be efficient, organized, and immaculately tidy.The first thing concession volunteers need to do is ensure they have enough inventory to sell. There’s nothing worse than going to open your concession stand, only to discover you have three bottles of water and eight chocolate bars for a sold-out audience. Unless your students are in charge of providing concessions, the responsibility for getting the items will usually fall on a parent volunteer or the teacher/director. Don’t leave your students hanging; keep an eye on your supplies. Concession volunteers must have everything they need arranged in a way that’s easy to access: food together, drinks together, supplies together, and so on. Students don’t want to be scrambling to find what they need during a rush of customers. If you’re selling items that need preparation or specific equipment, such as coffee or tea, students need to be trained on how to prepare and use that equipment properly. Depending on what you’re selling, think about what items might be needed, for example, napkins, cups, lids, and/or straws, disposable utensils, disposable gloves, serving tongs, cling wrap or Ziploc bags for storage, or a means of refrigeration for cold items, whether that be a fridge or a cooler with ice. The concession area needs to be immaculately clean and tidy — students are handling food, after all. Surfaces must be carefully cleaned before setting out items to sell, and any cleaning supplies must be safe to use around food. Adequate trash and recycling bins should be available. 3. Concession team members must know how to accurately and responsibly handle money transactions.Concession volunteers have a very short time to serve patrons (generally between 10–20 minutes, depending on how long intermission is), so they have to be efficient, while still being pleasant to patrons. They need to know what the price point of each item they sell is, be able to add up the total cost of each patron’s order quickly, and count the correct change without using a calculator. If you’ve got a cash box, students must know how to keep the box tidy, accurately count change, and document what’s been sold for inventory purposes. If you also have debit or credit card sales options, students will need to accurately report the different types of payment. Again, ensure that you’ve got at least two students working the table, so the student handling the cash is not also handling the food. When the concession stand closes will depend on whether you allow food and drinks in the theatre. If items are allowed in, feel free to keep the concession area operating until the theatre doors close. If not, it’s best to close the concession stand a few minutes prior to shutting the theatre doors for Act 2, so patrons have time to eat their snacks and dispose of their trash. Once the concession stand is closed, volunteers should count the cash box, prepare a report of what was sold (so you can restock prior to the next performance as necessary), and then place the box in a pre-approved place for safekeeping. 4. Concession volunteers assist with other tasks as needed.Concession volunteers often double as box office team members or ushers or are asked to help out with those duties. It’s great if your front of house volunteers are cross-trained on each role, in the event that you are short-staffed for a performance. As a perk, you may wish to offer students who volunteer as a concession team member the opportunity to watch part of the show when they aren’t completing tasks, or a complimentary ticket to another performance. Just be sure to instruct your students on how to enter the theatre as unobtrusively as possible, if they are entering while the show is in progress. What are your best practices for your concession team members? Share them with us on our socials!

Ushers are a cheerful, welcoming presence at any theatrical performance. Their job is to check tickets, answer patron questions, and keep the theatre clean and tidy. Volunteering as an usher for a school production is a great way for students of any experience level to get involved in a non-artistic capacity. Students who wish to volunteer as ushers must be personable, knowledgeable, confident, and able to solve problems independently. If you’ve got some students who want to get involved, use the following best practices to prepare them for the role. 1. Ushers must arrive early and be dressed appropriately. Volunteer ushers should arrive no later than 45 minutes prior to showtime. They may need to help fold programs, set up concessions, or whatever else needs doing. They also must ensure the theatre and surrounding area is clean and tidy before patrons arrive. Feel free to adjust ushers’ start time as appropriate for your production and show needs. Students should be dressed neatly in an agreed-upon look, for example, wearing all black, white shirt and black pants, a show shirt, or a piece of school merchandise. They should also wear an accessory such as a lanyard or pin that indicates that they are a volunteer usher. 2. Ushers must be efficient, knowledgeable, and great communicators. Ushers are responsible for checking patron tickets, guiding patrons to their seats (if there’s assigned seating), and giving patrons their programs. If your theatre has special seating or supports, such as wheelchair accessible seats or booster seats for young children, ushers need to help patrons access those as well. Ushers need to complete all these tasks efficiently (the house usually opens only 10–15 minutes early) to ensure the performance starts on time. Ushers are also the ultimate source of knowledge about the full show experience for the audience, so they need to be able to answer patron questions while they help get everyone seated. They need to know the length of the show; if and when intermission will occur; the content of the show (without giving away any surprises or major plot points); any trigger warnings that need to be communicated to patrons, such as flashing or strobe lights, startling sounds, or content warnings; the location of the nearest washrooms; and any theatre rules, such whether or not food and drinks are allowed in the theatre. 3. Ushers must be able to solve problems in a tactful manner. Once the doors close and the show starts, ushers are responsible for seating any latecomers in a quiet and unobtrusive manner. Patrons will want to get to their seats quickly so they don’t miss anything, but ushers need to ensure that they do so at an appropriate time in the show, such as during a scene change or during applause following a musical number. This is to prevent patrons from disturbing other patrons or distracting the actors onstage. Ushers should have a small flashlight if the house seating is low, to ensure patrons don’t trip while they’re getting to their seats. If your theatre has assigned seating, occasionally you’ll have patrons who purchase tickets for the wrong performance date or time, or patrons who sit in the wrong seat. Ushers need to be able to politely guide patrons into the correct seats or find them unoccupied seats. They may have to direct the patrons back to the box office to see if they can switch their seats to the correct show date/time, especially if the show is sold out. If the performance is sold out but your theatre has unassigned seating, ushers will be responsible for ensuring that no empty seats are left between patrons (“No, sir, your coat does not get its own seat”) so everyone can fit. One of the more challenging parts of the job is ensuring patrons follow the rules of the theatre. Three of the theatre rules audience members most commonly break are: • No taking photos or videos of the performance • Turn cell phones off • No eating or drinking in the theatre Ushers need to be confident enough to quietly approach patrons right away during the performance and ask them to stop filming/turn their phone off/put their snack away, even if the patron is an adult. 4. Ushers assist with other tasks as needed. Ushers are responsible for tidying the theatre before and after the show — picking up and disposing of any garbage or recycling, placing any personal items left behind in the lost and found, putting seats back up, and sweeping, vacuuming, or mopping the floor as appropriate. During intermission, ushers must keep patrons from going onto the stage or trying to go backstage (it happens sometimes!), direct patrons to the concession area or restrooms, and re-seat patrons for Act 2 efficiently. Ushers might also be asked to help out with box office prior to the show or as concession assistants at intermission if those teams are short-staffed. At the end of the show, ushers should expect to stay approximately 10–15 minutes to tidy the theatre. Ushers generally get to watch the performance they’re volunteering for at the back of the theatre as a perk of the role, with the understanding that they cannot get so engrossed in the performance that they neglect their tasks. What are your best practices for your ushers? Share them with us on our socials!

Whether your box office is a dedicated space with a sleek point of sale system, or a simple yet effective cash box at a folding table, you’ll need someone trustworthy and responsible to sell tickets and assist patrons. Volunteering as a box office team member is a great opportunity for students to get involved in your production in a non-artistic capacity, and to demonstrate their leadership skills. Students who wish to volunteer as box office team members must possess many traits: they must be responsible, trustworthy, detail-oriented, organized, and personable, with the ability to work independently and solve problems. If you’ve got students who would be great candidates for this role, use the following best practices to prepare them for the job. 1. Box office team members must arrive early and be dressed appropriately.Determine what time the box office will open; at minimum, ticket sales should start no later than one hour before showtime. Students will need time to get their supplies, get set up, count their cash box and make sure they have enough change, and ensure they have adequate show programs available. They may be responsible for assisting with folding and handing out show programs before the show starts as well. Therefore, you might have box office students arrive 90 minutes prior to showtime; this allows 30 minutes of setup time and 60 minutes of ticket selling time. Feel free to adjust these times as appropriate for your production. Students should be dressed neatly in an agreed-upon look; for example, wearing all black, white shirt and black pants, a show shirt, or a piece of school merchandise. Students should wear an accessory such as a lanyard or pin that indicates that they are a box office team member. 2. Box office team members must be great communicators.Box office team volunteers are one of the first points of contact for audience members. They need to be able to confidently answer patron questions, such as what the show is about, how long the show is, the location of the nearest restroom, whether or not there is an intermission and if so, how long into the show it will occur, and if there are any trigger warnings regarding the show’s content. They also need to be able to step up and solve problems in a calm and efficient manner within their capacity as a student leader, while also being aware of when they should reach out to a teacher for help. 3. Box office team members must know how to accurately and responsibly handle money transactions.If you’ve got a cash box, students must know how to keep the box tidy, how to accurately count change, and how to document the number of tickets sold, ensuring that the number of tickets sold corresponds to the amount of cash in the box, especially if you have different ticket price points. If you also have debit or credit card sales options, students will also need to accurately report the different types of payment. Once the show starts, the box office should remain open for a short amount of time to assist any latecomers. Once an appropriate amount of time has passed, box office students should count the cash box, prepare a report of how many tickets were sold, and then place the box in a pre-approved place for safekeeping (such as locked in the drama teacher’s office or the principal’s office). 4. Box office team members need to be ready to assist with other tasks as needed.Box office team members often double as concession assistants at intermission. There should be a separate float and cash box for concessions. (We’ll be talking more about concession team members in an upcoming article!) Box office team members may help latecomers enter the theatre in a safe and unobtrusive manner. They’re also responsible for keeping their area of the school clean and tidy, and for completing any other tasks as assigned. As a perk, you may wish to offer students who volunteer as a box office team member the opportunity to watch part of the show when they aren’t completing tasks, or a complimentary ticket to another performance. Just be sure to instruct your students on how to enter the theatre as unobtrusively as possible, if they are entering while the show is in progress. What are your best practices for your box office team members? Share them with us on our socials!

Lights, sound, special effects – these are the cherries on top of the sundae of your already amazing production. And for each fabulous effect that you add to your show, you’ll need an equally fabulous technician to operate each one. Most student technicians will have lots of excitement and enthusiasm but little to no prior experience and varying levels of confidence. Use these five tips to get your technicians trained and feeling confident before your upcoming production, and then sit back and enjoy both the performance and the growth of your students’ skills! • Have a technical training session BEFORE it’s time for tech and dress rehearsals. Try your best not have your technicians’ first time operating their equipment be at tech rehearsal. This training session should include both classroom instruction as well as a practical section where students can interact with the equipment hands-on. This is a great opportunity for senior students and more experienced student technicians to lead the training sessions (perhaps for extra credit or volunteer hours?). You could also format the training sessions not only for specific, upcoming productions, but also as general information sessions for any student who might be interested in learning more about theatre tech – such as students studying communication technology, music, or trades – as many of the skills are transferable. You never know who might show up, and these students could potentially be your technicians of the future! • Create a training manual for each role – sound operator, lighting operator, wireless microphone assistant, spotlight operator, video operator, and any other applicable roles for your theatre department. Make copies or give students digital access to their respective manuals in advance of the show – preferably before or during your pre-show training session. For each piece of equipment, create a step-by-step list of how to turn on, operate, and turn off the system. Include photographs or videos if possible. You also may want to post these lists in the area of the equipment for easy reference, whether that is the tech booth, backstage, or elsewhere. Go above and beyond by putting the sheets in a plastic page protector and providing a dry erase marker so technicians can physically check off each step as they go. If there is a specific teacher or person who is in charge of the technical equipment at your school, include that person’s phone number in the training manual or at the bottom of each list, in case there is an emergency. • Give technicians copies of the script (and score, if applicable) in advance so they can familiarize themselves with the show. Invite technicians to observe some run-throughs of the show so they can get an idea of what to expect when it comes to technical rehearsals. Hold a meeting with the stage manager and technicians (or even better – let your stage manager lead the meeting) to explain any changes to the script, potential challenges for the operators, and overall instructions and expectations for performance time. • Even if the student is a returning technician, do a refresher demonstration of the equipment at the first tech rehearsal with that student. It may have been a while since they have worked with the equipment and it is never a bad thing to be reminded of what needs to happen. There may also have been changes or improvements made with the equipment that the student will need to be updated on. • Wherever possible, have a less experienced student technician shadow or assist a more experienced student technician , to learn the ropes of the role and the tasks associated with it. This gives the less experienced student a great opportunity to learn through observation, gain confidence (“If so-and-so can operate this, so I can I!”), and grow the leadership skills of your more experienced student through training the newbie. Peer mentorship is always a good thing!