THEATRE WORKERS GIVE VIEWS ON THEIR PATRONS

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28537, 17 March 1958, Page 2

THEATRE WORKERS GIVE VIEWS ON THEIR PATRONS

Every week thousands of people stand before the picture theatre box offices in Christ- . cnurch, thousands. of faces are glimpsed by the cashiers through the glass for a few brief moments and are gone. They are shown to their seats by ushers and , are served by women behind the I confectionery counters. i What do these women think of the vast slice of humanity which constitutes the theatre-going public? What are their jobs like? How do they react to rudeness? What kind of women take these positions and why? Do they like their work?

In an attempt to find the answers to some of these questions “The Press” recently interviewed a number of these women and a story of humour and sourness, civility and rudeness, happiness and sadness emerged. But their unanimous verdict was that the theatre-goers of Christchurch were “a wonderful bunch of people although there are some awful snags among them.” Waiting in a theatre queue seems to bring about an abrupt change of personality in many, especially if there is a chance that they might not get a seat. The most mild-mannered and courteous man may become arrogant and domineering and do things on which he would look with disgust in other circumstances. Some seem to hold the cashier responsible if they are unable to purchase the exact seat they want or if “only front stalls are left.”

The cashier, more than any other member of the theatre staff, receives the brunt of the public's rudeness but as one cashier put H: “Once they’ve got their tickets the Mr Hvde personality disappears and they couldn’t be nicer.”

"At times in a rush period a cashier has a queue of about 75 yards waiting when a woman arrives at the box and takes two or three minutes to make up her mind what seat she wants,” a eashier said. “Having decided, she delves into a large handbag and after a great deal of shufflinc triumphantly draws out a £5 note Then she wonders why the cashier looks slightly annoyed.

“Trump Card” “There is the patron the cashier tells that there are only front stalls left. Apparently he does not believe that because he keeps asking for circle or back-stalls seats. When it sinks in he plays what he believes to bos. a trump card: "But what about the Seats the manager keeps up his sleeve. I’m sure he’ll let me have a couple. He married my wife’s third cousin.’

“Another type is the patron who oozes up to the box with a toothpaste advertisement smile, pushes across Is 6d and, with a wink, says: "What about a back stall.’ Or there is the kind who will offer 5s to the cashier if she can get him seats although she has assured him three times that the house is sold out. '

“Som? attempt to claim telephone reservations which they have not made and others arrive at 7.55 p.m. and complain bitterly because their telephone reservations have been sold.

“Please don’t get the wrong impression. By and large the patrons are marvellous, although most of them probably do not give us a second thought. We are taken for granted. One thing of which I am certain is that I would rather deal with men than women; they are not so hard to please,” she said. An usher, who has held the position for 12 years, said: “Some of the public are difficult to deal with, but we have a lot of fun Once you work in a theatre you always want to work in one. I wouldn’t be in any other job, and I have a great staff with which to work.”

Asked the type of patron who annoyed her most, she said it was the person who arrived at the theatre at 7.40 p.m., stood in the lounge smoking until a few moments before the show was due to begin, and then pushed into the throng of those who were trying to get seated. Worst Reputation Christchurch people had the worst reputation in New Zealand for being late for the theatre, and this had been glaringly obvious during the ballet season. It not only put a great strain on the ushers, but was very discourteous to the patrons who had arrived early and whose view was blocked while persons pushed past, she said. “The ‘seat jumper’ is another type of patron who causes a great

deal of trouble. He is shown to bis seat, but no sooner is the usher’s back turned than he shifts to another seat. Later there is a great deal of confusion and inconvenience to other patrons while the matter is sorted out. “There is no doubt about it, women are by far the greatest and persistent offenders, because of that annoying habit of talking during the screening,’’ she said. She appealed to women to leave their young children at home as there was nothing more disturbing than “a squaling child in a picture theatre.’’ Asked what she considered were necessary characteristics for a good usher, she said: “Patience, tact, good humour, firmness, and dozens of others which I can’t even think of.”

“Some patrons have the annoying habit of trying to find their own seats, especially in the dark, xf they have an accident the usher may be held responsible. The usher has only one pair of legs and cannot be everywhere at once,” said a cashier-usher. “There are those who put down 2s 6d for a 2s 9d seat and hope that in the rush the cashier will not notice.” Popular Job According to a theatre manager there is no shortage of girls wanting to be ushers. “We are inundated with applications. It appears that about eight out of every 10 Christchurch girls want to be ushers. But unless they are really keen on the job they do not stay long because of the evening and afternoon work and work on holidays and week-ends.”

This manager, who has experienced some trouble from hooliganism has overcome the problem to some extent by employing some males as ushers. Vandalism in picture theatres seemed to run in cycles and usually outbreaks were experienced in two or three theatres about the same time, he said. In general the type of picture had little relation to the outbreak of vandalism, although trouble sometimes occurred when some of the audience found the action of a picture too slow. Much of the vandalism and rowdyism was provoked by girls who urged their boyfriends on. Seat slashing, the firing of water pistols, the letting off of “stink bombs” made from sulpur dioxide, the thrpwing of cartons and persistent calling out are some of the problems experienced. The problems of the women who serve behind the confectionery counters at theatres are somewhat similar to those of other theatre workers—the £ 1 note presented for a packet of chewing gum; the demand for instant service by some; and persons who push in ahead of others. “Sometimes children can be a little trying,” said one woman. “They ask what they can buy for a penny. The list is gone through and nearly every time they end by buying chewing gum which they intended to buy in the first place. “Others will point out any number of things which are outside their financial resources, such as a 2s bag of sweets when they have only Is. I have learned to ask them how much they have got first and then show them what they can buy,” she said.