Ushering is a function of MUS300 – it is an assigned duty for class credit.  However, if you are a URI Music student or a URI student participating in a Departmental ensemble and you are not enrolled in MUS300 Music Convocation but would like to help out by ushering other URI Music concerts here are the guidelines to follow:

Ushers should arrive ready to help 1 hr. before any large ensembleconcerts, or any concert where admission is charged. For student recitals or any free concerts, ushers should arrive 1/2 hr. before the scheduled start time. Dress in black (top to bottom with comfortable black shoes). No jeans or T-shirts with pictures or logos.

Rule #1 Smile and be polite toward audience, don’t get flustered!

Rule #2 Be energetic, no slouching around!

Rule #3 Do not converse with friends while ushering, focus on audience and keep an eye out for late comers at the door once the concert starts.

Rule #4 Audience specific problems may sometimes need to be brought to the attention of a faculty sponsor, event manager, or Fire Safety officer (if present). Don’t hesitate to contact them if the need arises.

Other important items are as follows:

1. Before the Concert (Preliminaries)

Upon arrival you must check-in with faculty sponsor and/or event manager. Wait by the stage entrance to the Concert Hall until you have confirmed your presence with the person in charge.

After checking-in, help with any general cleaning before the event starts; check bathrooms, lobbies, corridors for trash and any serious problems. Contact event manager or faculty sponsor for any serious problems, if necessary call URI Facilities Control Center at874-4060 or Campus Police at 874-2121.

Be aware of events in Will Theater happening at the same time as Music events (check to see if Theater Dept. box office is open) to help reduce audience confusion.

Know where the fire extinguisher, first aid kit, emergency cleaning supplies and all emergency exits are located.

2. House Opens

Upon signal from event manager or faculty sponsor that all is ready, open back doors to Recital Hall and let people in.

For paid events, collect tickets from patrons as they enter and hand them a program. Give all collected tickets to box office personnel at end of event.

With the exception of bottled water, there is no food or drink to be consumed in the Concert Hall. Observe patrons in the foyer before the event, and as they enter the Concert Hall. Politely inform any patrons with food or drink of this rule as necessary.

If you notice patrons eating or drinking after the concert has started, wait until the first appropriate moment to quietly ask them to put their food or drinks away. Any questions or problems with the enforcing of this rule should be brought to the attention of the stage manager or faculty sponsor.

Cameras or sound recorders for student recitals are allowed as long as there are no flashes or other audience/performer disturbing activity related to their use. Cameras or microphones on tripod stands can only be set up with the approval of the stage manager or faculty sponsor in areas that do not block an aisle or exit.

Cameras or sound recorders for faculty events or other professional concerts are not allowed unless by permission of the faculty sponsor.

Direct audience members with young children to aisle seats if available.

There are five handicap seats in the Concert Hall. These are for people who arrive with walking assistance devices or foldable wheelchairs. Their devices must then be folded and placed at the front of the Hall along the side walls.

Patrons who remain in their wheelchairs should be seated at the back behind the last row of seats near the exit doors or up at the front near the side exits. If extra chairs have been set up in front then wheelchair patrons may sit along the sides of the center aisle. Know the location of all handicapped patrons in the Hall.

Make sure faculty sponsors and/or event managers are informed of the number and location of all people in wheelchairs so that emergency procedures can be coordinated.

3. Concert Starts

Latecomers to concerts are to be seated during the next available period of applause.

During the concert when there is more than one usher working, one usher remains by the door while the other takes a vantage point further down into the hall to keep an eye on the audience.

In the case of any emergency, open the back doors, assist any handicapped person in exiting the Hall then position yourself to assist in directing people to the building exits. Patrons requiring immediate removal should be assisted by the two-person carrying method illustrated below (Figures A & B).

For any situation that cannot be handled by staff on hand, the Campus Police should be called at the number listed above.

4. After Concert Ends

Open all doors (push hard enough so that they stay open) and assist any handicapped person.

Help with the clean up of any printed programs left behind in and among the Concert Hall seats.

Give any personal items left behind to the event manager who will bring them into the Music Office on the next business day for Lost and Found. Discard left over concert programs into a paper-recycling bin.

Figures A & B – Two-Person Carry by Arms and Legs

If you can’t make an event contact please find a substitute. If you can’t find anyone to cover for you, then please contact the following:   Jacob Wolf, Concert Hall Manager (267) 639-0739 and email him at jacobwolf@uri.edu.  Gerry Heroux, Facilities Coordinator at (401) 874-5470 (Resource Center) or (401) 500-4015 (cell), and email him at muslib@uri.edu.