SK: What is your favorite show that you’ve seen at Northern stage, and why?
VF: My favorite show I saw in my tenure was Sisters, for a myriad of reasons. The story and the emotions of the actors touched me deeply. I have a vivid memory of sitting in the rehearsal room for the design run sobbing and trying to keep it together. I love a show that can make you think, but I especially love one that makes you feel. I was also so impressed by everything technical about it. Looking at the set and the lighting, it was on caliber with something you would see in DC or New York.
SK: Most of our members have probably purchased tickets from you over the phone, but what is something about your job that you don’t think people are aware of?
VF: I don’t know if people are aware of how much goes into the behind the scenes of what we do. Working front-of-house, there are a lot of small, carefully considered touches that we put into the entire pre-show experience. While ticket sales is the bulk of my work, I also build events and discount codes in the backend of Patron Manager, manage all of our concessions stock, ordering from five different vendors, train and schedule all of the bartenders and make the signups for the ushers and handle all of the scheduling. I try to set up everything before a show so it can run as smoothly as possible. I stage the entire bar before our bartenders arrive. My motto is ‘more work now equals less work later.’ Because when you’re in the rush of a pre-show lobby every little bit counts to make your job easier in the moment.
SK: So was there a moment that you realized working front-of-house was what you wanted to do?
VF: I don’t know if there was one specific moment, but I actually had the intention of working in general management. I got back into the theater world when I worked at the Dorset Theater Festival as a house manager in 2022. So I had a lot of experience working front-of-house and at the box office. I started here as the sales and marketing assistant, but I expressed when I started that I was interested in moving towards the general management track. After several months, I was asked if I wanted to start moving towards that goal, but at that point I realized I was actually really fulfilled by what I was doing. I realized that working front-of-house is a nice variety. I get to do a lot of the administrative tasks that I genuinely love, like finance reports, but I also get opportunities to do active work, like shopping and putting away concessions.
Working front-of-house can be very rewarding. Sometimes people call or email the Box Office just to say, “this was my first time at the theater and it was an incredible experience.” That makes me so happy. I love being immersed and involved in the shows when I’m house managing. I get to see first hand how people react to the shows and how they are affected. I really enjoy seeing how the actors say a line slightly differently from one night to the next.
SK: Along these lines, what is one of your favorite parts of your job?
VF: I really like reserving student matinee groups. It’s like a fun little puzzle to figure out. We have groups of different sizes, and we have to figure out how we best fit them all into the theater in a way that works, which can be very difficult. We’ve had the privilege of being sold out for all of our John Proctor is the Villain and Frozen student matinees where every single seat is filled. Not every group falls in a neat and orderly way. And so we have to figure out how we can best maneuver them to fit everyone in. When I’m working those student matinees, I really love to sit in and watch the talkbacks. I love seeing the students get more involved and excited, even if they were a quiet audience. They can have some really thought provoking questions.
SK: Going back in time a little, when did your interest in theater first start?
VF: My parents had a bookshelf of DVDs growing up. My mom was really adamant that I should watch Grease but I remember Olivia Newton-John’s makeup was so heavy on the cover that it frightened me. So I started with The Sound of Music, which I immediately fell in love with. And then I saw my older sister as an extra in a production of Grease, and that lit a fire in me, so I finally watched the movie. The local high school was doing Cinderella at the time and was inviting elementary schoolers to audition to be mice and chorus members. Seeing my sister and watching those movies inspired me to audition.
SK: What is something you wish people knew about theater that you learned from your job or that you’ve learned over the years?
VF: I wish people knew that theater is a medium, just like movies and TV shows, and there are plays you’ll love and plays you won’t love. Even if from the description it seems like it may not be your speed, you may go and experience something incredible. Theater can bring you experiences that you may never have had otherwise. It can challenge you to think and feel things that you may not want to, and push you out of your comfort zone, and that’s a good thing.