Ushering for 'Our Town'

 On Friday and Saturday night I had to usher for the play 'Our Town' for ARTSCO. This wasn't an arduous task at all, because I got to see the play and help ensure that it all ran smoothly. I was at school at 5:15 both nights, in order for there to be time for Cora to explain everything to us. We had to stand outside the doors of the auditorium and pass out programs and rip tickets for the people going in. We also had to remind those with food and drink that they weren't allowed to bring them into the auditorium.

This was actually a lot harder than it sounds, because at times there were crowds of people all bunched up trying to get through the door, and only 2 or 3 ushers to keep track of everyone. There were times when I had my hands filled with the small pieces you had to rip off of the tickets and was trying frantically to hand out programs at the same time, dropping paper everywhere. However, it was nice seeing all the excited faces, and hearing the anticipation in there voice as they handed you their tickets and headed inside. It all felt very official, and we had to tell everyone to go in after the bell rang and then, when the doors on the ground floor were closed and the play had started, we were responsible of telling latecomers to head upstairs and enter through the top of the auditorium.

Friday night was definitely more busy, and there were quite a few latecomers. On Saturday, however, it was fairly well controlled. During the two intermissions we also had roles. In the first, we had to usher everybody back inside after the break, and ensure that they didn't bring food or drink back in. In the second, we had to stop anybody from leaving the auditorium. However, we let a few people out to go to the bathroom.

I know that my role in the production of the play was small and almost insignificant, but it felt nice to be doing something in the ISK community. I actually really enjoyed my nights ushering, I got to see the play and really feel connected to everybody.