Front of House Management

The House Manager is the licensee for the evening and is responsible for the security of the building and the safety of the audience before, during and after a performance. The House Manager also oversees the functions of other frontof-house staff who steward, run the bar and sell coffee, tea and sweets. Front-of-House is one of those areas that often gets overlooked when you are in a production but is actually the public face of the theatre so an efficient FoH operation is important if we are to encourage audiences to return again and again. The House Manager is normally a member of The Dolman’s paid staff or a senior member of the Playgoers Management team.

FOH Team

Legally three stewards must be present in the main auditorium and two in the studio, throughout the whole of a performance to ensure the audience’s safety. On duty from 6.30pm, before the performance they should sell programmes, check tickets and show people to their seats and ensure that latecomers are seated with the minimum inconvenience to audience and performers. At the end they ensure an orderly exit of the audience and close the auditorium doors once everyone has left.

Bar

This is the Dolmans third largest source of revenue, after tickets sales and theatre hire, and it is important that it is adequately staffed at all times the Theatre is open to the public. The bar needs two people on most performance nights, opening up at about 6.30pm.

Refreshments

In the Bar area of the Theatre we also sell coffee, tea, ice creams, sweets whenever there is a performance. The coffee bar is open before the show and during the interval. The coffee and ice cream counter is generally staffed by two people.