OK, I’ll admit it: I’ve never been much of a “theater” person. But lately I have started to feel differently, and it’s because I’ve gotten to know many of the staff and volunteers at Aurora’s regional destination the Paramount Theatre.
They have made a “convert” out of me.
During my walks in downtown, I have frequently passed the Paramount as it prepares for that day’s Broadway Series musical production. An aura of excitement and anticipation is in the air around the theater before patrons even begin arriving. It’s what I imagine walking down Broadway in New York must be like.
It begins with the friendly welcome offered by Jane and Scot Glor, who operate the valet service. It continues with people at the doors, the “front of house” staff and the ushering team (which consists entirely of volunteers). Everyone seems genuinely happy and excited to be there.
Several years ago, I wrote about Jane and Scot Glor’s valet service. I visited the theater for a recent matinee performance, this time to feature the dedicated volunteer ushers. I was greeted warmly by “front of house” manager Kayla Still, who is also the usher program manager. She is obviously very proud of the group, and couldn’t say enough good things about them.
“The usher program started when we were just a movie theater and did one-time shows here and there. But it’s always been a volunteer program,” Still said. “It’s obviously grown tremendously since we started the Broadway Series about 11 years ago. We needed more people consistently.”
Still mentioned that she has 312 ushers in her database, but that the active group consistently has between 70 and 80 people. She said that the Paramount looks to its head ushers (a rotating group of four people, also volunteers) to make sure there are people to cover each performance. There are typically eight shows each week during the run of a musical, and 22 ushers were on duty during the matinee I attended.
“We have both women and men in the program, and our longest serving volunteer is Joan McEachern, who’s been with us for 30 years,” Still said. “We always encourage more people to volunteer. We reach out to retirees, to students who might need service hours, and to others.
“I love the ushers as family, and I’ve grown to respect them tremendously,” Still said. “Everything I’ve learned about the theater has been from these ushers. When people start ushering here, they don’t leave. They take pride in being a Paramount usher, and I think that shows to our patrons as they come in.”
That pride was evident as I visited with Linda Coakes, the longest-serving head usher with 26 years, and with Edie Hard, who has served for 16 years. Coakes works at six shows each week during the run of a show, and Hard is on duty for three or four per week.
Their responsibilities include stuffing and distributing playbills; seating patrons and solving related problems; helping with coat check and washrooms; taking special care of patrons who use wheelchairs and walkers; and cleaning up after performances.
I asked the ladies what they enjoyed the most about ushering.
“I love everything about this job and the people I work with,” Coakes said. “I assign people their jobs and train new people. Nothing is hard here and anybody could learn it. I could teach you!”
Coakes added that the group especially enjoys helping senior citizens and patrons who use wheelchairs and walkers.
“When I came to the Paramount as a patron, I told my husband that when I retired, I wanted to volunteer here,” Hard said. “It seemed like a great place to be, and that it would be nice to help here.
“Just being here is such a joy,” Hard said. “It’s the atmosphere and the feeling. We like taking care of our patrons and seniors, and we like all of our supervisors. And I especially like seeing the plays, even after many performances.”
The ambience of excitement and of the theater’s being a special place that I’ve experienced seems to permeate all aspects of the Paramount and of its people.
“Everybody from the top down works together to make these shows run,” Coakes said. “I love it here.”
Tom Strong is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
