Front of House Safety Guide

This is our system from 2020 and 2021, not all of this is in place anymore but we’ve kept the page in case it is needed again.

Please see below for our current covid safety measures. This is so we can keep improv fun while also keeping safety in our shows. We will also be able to adjust month by month and bring in additional changes if needed.

Other useful links regards safety in shows:

>> Safety guide for performers
>> Safety guide for audience

Please test regularly

Please test regularly if you can. Covid tests are freely available from local pharmacies if ordered in advance from the government website and are now very quick and easy to do. We suggest testing on the day of the show.

If you have symptoms, test positive, are contacted by Test and Trace, are pinged by the app or come into contact with someone with covid please do not come in to classes or shows for the recommended amount of time.

Please don’t work if you have symptoms

The safest theatre is one where there isn’t anyone with Covid there in the first place.

Therefore please remember to not come to the show if you have any of these symptoms:

High temperature or fever.
A new, continuous cough.
A loss or change to your sense of smell or taste.
Body aches.
Runny nose and sneezing.

Any doubts, please call Steve or Angela and we’ll find cover and you’ll still be paid as per sick leave.

If you hear of anyone at the venue having covid please contact Angela Pollard Steve Roe at Hoopla.

Audience capacity

Our audience capacity is now a strict 40 until at least March 2022, reduced from the original 80. Please don’t let people in above this limit, apart from performers who will be on stage or can watch the show from the back.

Before audience or performers arrive

Use hand sanitiser.
Open outside doors to ventilate room, and have slightly ajar during shows.
Turn on air conditioners to get additional ventilation.
Check main floor has been cleaned and ask bar if it hasn’t.
Hoover stage.
Clear stage of all excess mics, cables and mic stands and check the venue in general is clear of clutter.
Clean all surfaces that hands touch (chairs, tables, tech desk, box office, door handles).
Set audience tables with maximum distance between them, ensuring safe gaps between tables and stage and also leaving a safe gap for performers to access the stage. Check each table has laminated sign about the food ordering app.
Ensure there are maximum of 40 chairs set out for audience (reduced from 80 while physical distancing is in place).
Set hand sanitiser near audience entrance and at tech desk.
Set electric candles on each table.
Set sound and lights set up as per normal.
Turn promo screen on and check it is up to date.
Put Hoopla roll banners up.

As performers arrive

Use hand sanitiser again before greeting them.
Show them around the venue and demonstrate the main stage access route and off-stage positions, and remind them not to stand near the front of house desk or other areas that would result in crowding.
Groups can rehearse in the venue before the audience arrive but have to move outside when audience arrive.
We have asked groups to minimise tech requests at the moment as the front of house team have so much else to do. If groups are making complicated tech requests they should have their own tech, if they don’t it’s fine to refuse to do additional tech.
Please ask performers to not go into the audience during the show and to not bring audience volunteers on stage.

As audience arrive

Open doors earlier than normal and earlier than advertised to stop queues forming on stairs
Please wear a mask when greeting audience at door (this is a legal obligation too), as people have to currently wear masks in theatres unless eating and drinking.
As people arrive please check tickets (they will have on their phone), there is no need to give them paper tickets. Most shows will be pre-booked online tickets only.
Audiences are now meant to wear face coverings in theatres, but not when in pubs or when eating and drinking. So we aren’t sure about that at the moment but are having a look into it.
Please point them to tables and let them know they can order food on The Miller app using the information on each table.
Please ask performers and audience to move on if they are crowding around the box office area, we need to keep the area clear to stop queues forming on stairs.
We have to be very strict on numbers and should no exceed 40 audience members unless this is cleared with Steve and Angela, so there are unlikely to be tickets available on the door. We can do tickets on the door though if there is space.

During the show

Provide sound and lights as per normal.
Doors to be kept slightly ajar to assist ventilation (noise levels from outside permitting).
Aircon to be kept on at correct temperature and with external air flow rather than recycled to assist ventilation.Unless it is super cold.

After show

Open doors and prop open to enable audience to leave smoothly without having to open doors themselves.
Spray down all surfaces that hands touch (tables, chairs, door handles etc) at end of night, you don’t have to do this in interval anymore as people are there for the whole night.
Open up outside doors wider to air room.
Clear away all rubbish.
Check there isn’t a queue or congestion occurring on the stairs.
Wash hands.
Have beer.

Pack away hand sanitisers, thermometers, cleaning equipment and cabling at the end of the night.

Face coverings

It is now law to wear face coverings in theatres. There are exemptions for performers on stage and when people are eating and drinking.

Avoiding queues and overcrowding

We need to avoid queues on the stairs, general overcrowding, and audiences from each show mingling. To help with this please be very strict with timings and please regularly catch up with Angela and Steve at Hoopla to recommend any changes to timings or general process.