The last time you went to see a play here at Minnetonka High School- or any play at all, before the show started, you probably had to pick up your ticket, get your ticket scanned, and were handed a program, this may seem like a normal occurrence, but have you ever thought about who these people are?

Front of House is “everything that happens before the show” says Liz Barlow, the organizer of Front of House “It’s the tickets, it’s helping patrons find their seats, answering general questions, taking things backstage, just everything that needs to be done before the show and backstage during the show.” Front of House is a necessary part of any public show happen, as it makes the audience view going to a play enjoyable and stress-free. Front of House is not to get mixed up with backstage crew. While
backstage crew deals with lights, sound, construction, etc, Front of House is only there on performance days. Their jobs deal
with interacting with people coming to see the show, and making sure they are comfortable before the performance, instead of actually running the show.

Students may want to join Front of House because “they maybe want to be part of the shows, but maybe they don’t want to perform, or maybe they don’t have a lot of spare time.” As stated earlier, Front of House is only on show days, and students can pick and choose which days they are available to help out, making it very flexible for people with busy schedules. Front of House also provides volunteer hours, typically 2-4 depending on the length of the show, and most of Front of House’s work is before and after the show, so it isn’t as intensive while the show is being performed.

Hopefully now you know just a little more about the people handing you a program, and the important job they play in making it fun to see a Minnetonka High School production. Maybe this article even inspired you to want to join. If so, you can join Front of House by either contacting Liz Barlow at [email protected] or stopping by her office in the Arts Center.