Cathy Scott-Willars, who worked in various front-of-house roles and later as operations manager at a busy regional theatre, has responded to a recent article about the secret lives of theatre workers. She says the job provided her with some of the most entertaining stories.
Rocky Horror mishap
Her favourite story involves a performance of The Rocky Horror Show in the large main theatre, while a play aimed at teenagers was showing in the smaller studio. The programming team had arranged post-show entertainment for the studio audience in the form of a DJ and a breakdancer, which coincided with the interval of Rocky Horror.
Scott-Willars describes the scene: an usher was crying, and a furious college tutor was shouting at her because her students had witnessed a man in a corset and thong attempt breakdancing, and his testicles had fallen out, exposing himself.
An encounter with Rufus Hound
Another memorable moment came when she was locking up the building at the end of the night. Running late and on autopilot, she was knocking on dressing room doors and popping her head in to check everyone had gone. As she swung open one door without waiting for an answer, she walked in on Rufus Hound in his underwear.
Mortified, she apologised and quickly closed the door, worrying she might get into trouble. Instead, he passed on a message at the stage door to apologise for leaving late and giving her a fright. She describes him as a nice guy.
Moving on
However, audience aggression towards front-of-house staff was common, and after three years as operations manager, Scott-Willars decided it was time to move on.
