House Manager
Summary
TLDRBrian Gner, a house manager, shares his passion for problem-solving and audience care in theater management. As a liaison between production and staff, he ensures a seamless Broadway experience. With a background in security and Marine Corps discipline, Gner's journey to managing theaters was unexpected. His responsibilities include safety checks, overseeing staff, and handling VIP guests like Michelle Obama. He finds joy in the theater's evolving energy and the camaraderie among the 'theater family,' highlighting the dynamic nature of each production and the excitement of opening nights.
Takeaways
- 😀 Brian Gner finds satisfaction in solving problems and making patrons happy.
- 🏢 As a house manager, Brian is responsible for the daily operations of the theater and acts as a liaison between the production company and the Shubert Organization.
- 👥 The house manager's role also includes taking care of the audience and ensuring they can enjoy a Broadway show, addressing any issues that arise.
- 🔗 Brian emphasizes the importance of coordinating various departments in the theater to create a seamless experience for the audience.
- 🔑 He carries two fire licenses, which involves ensuring fire doors are unlocked and exits are clear, highlighting the safety responsibilities of his role.
- 🚑 Brian has had to evacuate the theater for a fire condition successfully, underlining the seriousness of safety protocols.
- 🌟 He mentions handling high-profile guests like Michelle Obama, requiring high security and discretion.
- 🕺 The energy of the theater changes depending on the audience and the size, with full houses being ideal for the cast's performance.
- 🎭 The audience composition evolves over the life of a production, starting with VIPs and ending with tourists and local patrons.
- 👨👧👦 Brian values the sense of family in the theater, with everyone looking out for one another.
- 🎉 He finds the production period, including the first run-through and opening night, to be the most interesting part of working in the theater.
Q & A
What does Brian Gner find most satisfying in his role as a house manager?
-Brian Gner finds solving problems successfully and making an unhappy patron happy to be the most satisfying aspects of his role.
What is the primary responsibility of a house manager in a theater?
-A house manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the theater, acting as a liaison between the production company and the staff, and ensuring the audience's enjoyment of the Broadway show.
How does a house manager ensure the audience's safety during a Broadway show?
-A house manager ensures the audience's safety by checking that all fire doors are unlocked, fire exits are unobstructed, and by signing a log to confirm these checks.
What was Brian Gner's initial role in the theater industry?
-Brian Gner started in the theater industry in January 1990 as a security staff member for the Shubert Organization, working on 'Miss Saigon'.
How did Brian Gner transition from security to a house manager role?
-Brian Gner's transition began with a conversation with Mr. Shanfeld, the late chairman of the board, who took a liking to Brian's professionalism. This led to Brian expressing his interest in managing a theater, which eventually materialized.
What was the first theater that Brian Gner managed?
-Brian Gner managed the Schubert theater, starting in the middle of the run for the show 'Crazy for You'.
What are some of the shows that Brian Gner has managed at the theater?
-Brian Gner has managed shows such as 'Big the Musical', 'Chicago', 'Gypsy' with Bernadette Peters, 'Spamalot', and the current production 'Memphis'.
What is the significance of the fog that Brian Gner signs?
-The fog is an English composition book that serves as an official log, which cannot be tampered with, and is used to document the safety checks performed by the house manager.
How does Brian Gner describe the experience of having to evacuate a theater due to a fire?
-Brian Gner describes it as a scary and nerve-wracking experience, emphasizing the importance of not making any mistakes, especially with celebrities or dignitaries present.
What is the typical work schedule like for a house manager and theater staff?
-The work schedule typically starts around 6:30 PM, with ushers, front of house staff, bartenders, and stage crew reporting to work at this time. The house manager usually does a walk-through of the theater to ensure safety.
How does Brian Gner perceive the dynamic of working in a theater?
-Brian Gner perceives the dynamic as being part of one big family, where everyone looks out for each other, and each production brings a new and interesting dynamic to the theater.
Outlines
😀 The Role and Journey of a House Manager
Brian Gner, a house manager, discusses his role in ensuring a smooth day-to-day operation of the theater and the satisfaction he derives from solving problems and making patrons happy. He explains the responsibilities of a house manager, which include being a liaison between the production company and the staff, as well as ensuring the audience's enjoyment and safety during a Broadway show. Brian shares his personal journey, starting as a security personnel in 1990, catching the attention of the late chairman of the board due to his professionalism, and eventually becoming a house manager. He details the process of taking over a theater, the importance of safety protocols, and the unique challenges of managing high-profile guests like Michelle Obama.
🌟 The Dynamics of Audience Engagement and Theater Family
This paragraph delves into the energy and dynamics of a theater production, highlighting how the cast feeds off the audience's enthusiasm and how audience composition evolves over a show's lifespan. Initially attracting VIPs and Tony voters, the audience later includes tourists and local patrons, especially when discounts are offered. The speaker, Ty Lacky, a stage manager, is introduced, emphasizing the collaborative and familial atmosphere within the theater community. The paragraph concludes with reflections on the joy of witnessing a production come together, from the first run-through to the opening night, underlining the unique and interesting aspects of working in the theater.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡House Manager
💡Broadway Show
💡Department Head
💡Evacuation
💡Fire Licenses
💡Ushers
💡Stage Crew
💡Theater Dynamics
💡VIPs and Dignitaries
💡Production Period
💡TKTS
Highlights
Solving problems and making unhappy patrons happy is a satisfying aspect of the job.
Brian Gner introduces himself as a house manager responsible for the day-to-day operation of the theater.
House managers act as a liaison between production companies and the Shubert Organization.
Ensuring audience enjoyment and addressing any problems that arise is a key role of the house manager.
Department heads manage different areas of the theater, with the house manager coordinating them for a seamless experience.
Brian Gner's journey in the theater business began in 1990 with the Shubert Organization's Security Department.
Gner's military background and professionalism caught the attention of the late chairman of the board.
An aspiration to manage a theater led to Gner's opportunity to do so, starting with the Schubert in 1995.
The house manager's role includes overseeing the renovation and transition of theater productions.
The importance of ensuring the success of Broadway productions for the stability of theater staff is emphasized.
A detailed description of the daily routine of theater staff, including ushers, bartenders, and stage crew.
Gner's responsibilities include carrying fire licenses and ensuring theater safety.
A personal account of successfully evacuating the theater during a fire incident.
The unique challenges of handling VIP guests, such as Michelle Obama, with high security measures.
The dynamic energy of theater audiences varies depending on the night and the size of the crowd.
Observing audience evolution over the lifespan of a theater production is a fascinating aspect.
The transition from VIP audiences to tourists and local patrons as a production nears its end.
The close-knit family atmosphere among theater staff and the collaborative nature of production.
The excitement of watching a theater production come together, from the first run-through to opening night.
Transcripts
I'm giv the go ahead to open one of the
most satisfying things to me is um
solving problems successfully and making
an unhappy Patron happy hi my name is
Brian gner and I'm a house
[Music]
manager well a house manager is
responsible for um the day-to-day
operation of the theater we are
basically the leison also between the
production C and my employeer the shuber
organization the role of the house
manager is also to take care of the
audience it's to make sure that the
audience is able to enjoy um a Broadway
show and if there are any problems that
you're there to solve it you know every
Department in the theater um in the
front of the house
basically you know is run by a
department head or a manager or a
Treasurer or something and we're
basically there to just tie all the
Departments together to make sure that
the um you know the that the finished
product is that you know the audience
came they saw a show they enjoyed
themselves and they got home and they
get out safely I got started in this
business um back in January of
1990 um I was hired by the shuber
organization Security Department to do
plane Clos security at Miss Saigon I
subsequently left Miss Saigon and did
some private security work at
Phantom Mr shanfeld our late chairman of
the board he always spoke to
everybody and I was in the Marine Corps
so I was very neat very squared away
very
professional and um and he took a like
into that and you know he would chitchat
and said to me um you know what is it
you want to do with your life and I told
him that I was interested in managing
one of his theaters and he looked at me
and he looked at me hard and he says are
you serious and I was like very and um
one thing led to another and um on March
the 20th 1995 I took over the Schubert
in Under The Apprentice program of um my
union at Pam I never thought in my
wildest dreams that I would end up you
know coming out of the Marine Corps that
I would end up working in I would end up
working as a manager on Broadway I took
over in the middle of crazy for you it
had about a year and a half left on the
Run we subsequently had big the musical
after big we renovated the front of the
house and Chicago moved from the Richard
Rogers to our theater in February of
1997 then we had Gypsy with bernardet
Peters and after that Spamalot came in
and that ran for 4 years and now we have
Memphis our current production our goal
is even though we work for the theater
we're
technically support staff for a
production you know if the production
doesn't do well and it leaves we're
unemployed you know it's in everyone's
best interest you know to to do their
job to make sure this this thing that we
call Broadway this magic that we create
for the patrons happens it's about
6:30 um everybody's pretty much
reporting to work at this time um you
know some of the ushers and the front of
house staff is getting in the bartenders
um the stage crew comes in at about 6:30
to do a preset hour I usually do a walk
through of the theater just to make sure
that all the locks are off of the fire
doors I have to carry Two Fire licenses
because I carry the fire licenses I have
to walk around and make sure that all
the locks have been taken off the door
all the fire exits are free of any
obstructions I then have to sign a fog
that funny enough is a English
composition book which technically
cannot be tampered with and I take that
very seriously because I I had I have
had to evacuate
um this theater um for a fire condition
and we did it
successfully and everyone was safe and I
guess a lot of theater managers have
gone through their entire careers never
had to evacuate it's a scary thing and
it's it's you know you become so nervous
because you can't mess up I mean if I
have celebrities or
dignitaries um I mean each each one I
guess would be we handle differently you
have stars that come here and uh they
just don't want to be bothered I mean we
just recently had Michelle Obama and her
two children and and a and an
Entourage and that was handled very you
know high security Secret Service staged
her over in the broad Hurst um so she
wouldn't be in the theater during
intermission um so everything was done
for the safety of the party and the
safety of the first lady you know the
energy changes from night to night
depending on your audience depending
also on the size of your audience to
have 102 out 801 uh I'd like the number
to be lower but I'm not quite sure if
I'm going to pull the
show um you know for that amount I think
the cast you know really feeds on it
they perform better when the audience is
is more into the production watching an
audience um evolve over the life span of
a of a production is quite an
interesting thing you know in the
beginning you get and you know for lack
of a better ter your your AC crowd
you're going to get your stars your um
Tony voters you know so you're going to
get you know a lot of the um VIP and
important people in the beginning um and
as a production goes on you know you're
going to get you're going to start
getting your tourists and your patrons
from the tri-state area and then as a
production begins to wind down and
you're doing discounts and you're a tkts
it's just a toll whole total different
ball game this is Ty lacky hello and
he's a Salan and I'm going to go ahead
and tell him that he can start he can
tell the production they can go in just
about a minute in one minute and you
have the house all right I think what I
love more about the theater is that you
know you become one big family you know
and everyone looks out for everybody you
know every we're all in this together
you know each production that comes in
has their own Dynamic end and it's new
and it's interesting and you know and I
also love to go through the whole
production period because I think that's
um the most
interesting um part of the theater is
just watching it all come together and
then watching that first run through and
watching that first preview and opening
night and everything I think that's just
just the most interesting part of the
theater to me
[Music]
he
[Music]
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