Austin Improv

Today I went to the Hideout to add ice to the beer keg and I was sadly surprised by the state things were in. In short, the upstairs is very gross and I don't think we should sell tickets to tonight's show until it gets cleaned up.

-Toilet has BLACK water in it!! Is it stopped up? I didn't want to try to flush it with the chance the black mess would spill out onto the floor

-Sink is stopped up

-Sink has (??vomit??) all over it

-1/2 empty Beer cups were everywhere with little flies around them

-Beer was spilled on greenroom floor and is now very sticky

-Paper, trash, cups, and bottles all over the place!

-Trash cans full

-Trash stacked up on fire escape/ cat-walk

-Generally smells bad

The theatre area was dark so I didn't look in there. Didn't look in the Lighting booth, either.

I picked up the cups and a bit of the trash, but then had to leave. I hope John Hunt is willing to get that stuff cleaned up, as well as mop the floor and wipe down surfaces, too, because really they need it. But it seemed like a lot of work and he will probably not be willing to do it all if he hasn't done it yet. If he's not going to do the work, we need someone who will do the work TODAY!!!

ALSO! I saw one of the "Improv Tonight" posters I had printed & laminated was missing. I hope it's not gone for good. If you took it out, please put it back. It was expensive and I'm not in a position to replace it.

ALSO I hate having to post this negative stuff. I feel like we had some good "theatre experience" points building up and now they are gone.

as far as the sink goes. the sink has a bottle cap top stuck in the pipes. andy used drano on the sick for the vomit/soup and then discovered this. last i talked to him (i rarely see the guy) he was looking for a plumber wrench to take apart the pipe as nothing else had worked: pliers, coat hanger, etc.

if there is a plumbing issue going on that needs to be resolved by a plumber, then this falls under facility maintenance and is sean's responsibility as a theatre owner.

just my plink plink.

AND - if the upstairs bathroom is still not fixed, we need to put a sign up that tells people its out of order.

thanks for the word up sara- this completely slipped my mind.
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I'll head up there early tonight to get as much cleaning done as I can before the general public shows up. Anyone else that can lend a hand PLEASE come on up and help me out. I'll be there around 6:30 or so.

Sara, I'm a little afraid that one of the posters flew away. The wind/thunder storm came up VERY suddenly last night. After a few seconds I ran outside to rescue the the sign. Jason had rescued it already but one of the posters had flown away. So it may have been an act of God. I had your back, but unfortunately not quickly enough.

Or maybe it was already missing? Hopefully that's the case and it'll turn up.

As to bottle caps, a plumber once sucked a shampoo cap out of a drain with a shop-vac vacuum cleaner hose. Maybe we could try that.

Roy Janik wrote:Sara, I'm a little afraid that one of the posters flew away. The wind/thunder storm came up VERY suddenly last night. After a few seconds I ran outside to rescue the the sign. Jason had rescued it already but one of the posters had flown away. So it may have been an act of God. I had your back, but unfortunately not quickly enough.

Or maybe it was already missing? Hopefully that's the case and it'll turn up.

The wind knocked the sign down in front of the hideout. When I picked it up, I noticed one of the sides was missing. I did not see it blow away so I assume that it was missing before the storm hit. I don't know if someone helped themselves to it or if it has been misplaced.

I put in a request with Jon Hunt to do a thorough clean and mop of the theatre tonight. I'll track down the plumbing wrench and extract the bottle cap before the shows tonight.

I imagine the black water in the toilet is discarded cokes and beer that were not poured down the sink because it's clogged. Just my guess.

We talked about this issue at the AIC meeting last month as well. Thanks, Andy, for communicating this to John.

Here is the Detailed Job Description for the House Manager that Andy, Jay, and I created before we hired John Hunt. Just a reminder to everybody, the AIC pays $120 a weekend for this job.

Detailed Job Description:

Preshow
clean theatre (pick up any trash, sweep the stage, organize and count seating, check the backstage area)
clean greenroom (pick up trash, place items in lost and found, straighten furniture)
clean light booth (pick up trash, organize CDs)
clean box office (pick up trash, make sure there are tickets, envelopes and a pen)
clean hallway (pick up trash, straighten pictures, sweep if necessary, straighten flyers on desk)
take out trash, put in new liners (in bathroom green room, and hallway)
light check (turn on the board, check the lights)
sound check (make sure computer is on, set house music, check mics)
keep the water cooler full and cups handy
make sure signs are in the right places
set literature and pencils in audience chairs (surveys)
check in with troupes (answer questions, determine show order)
prep volunteers (box office, ticket taker, lights & sound, host -- hand out checklists)
get box office going exactly 30 minutes before the show
set up velvet rope downstairs[/list]

Ten 'Till Showtime
clear the house
make sure lights, sound and door volunteers are in place
check in with the players
check on box office
announce that house is open
politely ask the coffehouse to turn down their music
help usher the audience

Show Time
final check in with the players
start the show (send out the host)
troubleshoot
make sure doors (theatre, light booth and classroom) stay closed
shush loud people in hallway and classroom
watch the beginning of the show to make sure nothing is janky
help seat late audience members

Post Show (Turnover)
Make sure house empties
clean theatre (pick up any trash, organize seating)
clean hallway (pick up trash, straighten flyers on desk)
set literature and pencils in audience chairs (surveys)
make sure lights, sound and door volunteers are in place
check in with the players
check on box office
announce that house is open
help usher the audience
give previous troupes their cash from the box office

Post Show (Last Show of the Night)
clean theatre (pick up any trash, sweep the stage, organize seating, check the backstage area) Rememer it's a classroom during the day.
clean greenroom (pick up trash, place items in lost and found (to be emptied at the end of the month), straighten furniture) Rememer it's a classroom during the day.
clean light booth (pick up trash, organize CDs)
clean box office (pick up trash, make sure there are tickets, envelopes and a pen)
clean hallway (pick up trash, straighten pictures, sweep if necessary, straighten flyers on desk)
mop entire upstairs once a weekend
take out trash, put in new liners (in bathroom, hallway, and green room)
Shot down light and sound booth)
Empty the water cooler
give previous troupes their cash from the box office
Thank volunteers and have them close up their stations (box office, ticket taker, lights & sound, host -- collect checklists)
set up velvet rope downstairs

Course, just because someone's paid to keep the place tidy, that doesn't mean we should sit around wallowing in our own filth in the green room.

We need to make an effort to clean up after ourselves so we don't walk into the green room and let out a "ugh...nasty..." before a show (this probably seems obvious to some people...and clearly it's less obvious to some)

On Fridays, the HOST TROUPE is supposed to help do all of this while the House Manager ensures they do a good job. Host Troupes have been slacking off lately. Last Friday only one of the two host troupes showed up. So if you're hosting, please show up and do your part.

On Saturdays, we all need to lend a helping hand and help clean the bathroom and green room. I still don't understand why there is no host troupe for Sat. Blah blah the hideout shows vs aic arguement is pointless in this regard as far as i'm concerned. We should do it anyway.

Evilpandabear wrote:On Fridays, the HOST TROUPE is supposed to help do all of this while the House Manager ensures they do a good job.

I agree. The House Manager is responsible for making sure these tasks get done. He can do that any way he likes: do it all himself, wrangle the host troupe, wrangle anyone who's around, hire out the job to someone else for even cheaper. It just needs to get done.

And us trying to remind each other to clean up after ourselves is a great sentiment, but I find it doesn't pan out unless someone is empowered to make it happen and held accountable for it.

In my mind, the House Manager is like a Manager. With a clip board with this list on it. And he checks stuff off. And the upstairs looks beautiful and the audience has a great experience.

The bathroom is not in the list of duties. Let's call it out specifically?

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