PATRON SERVICES PHILOSOPHY

My philosophy around Patron Services is rooted in individualized care, active listening, and accessibility, inclusion, and justice. A busy stream of patrons can invoke generalization, but everyone is coming to the art from a different place, and everyone has different needs and expectations.

I’ve often said that it’s easy to do customer service well but it’s extremely hard to do it with excellence. In excellent customer service, every interaction is valued, engaged, and connective. I feel that my strength as a patron-facing professional is showing genuine enthusiasm for theatregoers’ perspective and their path to the art.

Not every show is going to be life-changing for every patron, but every show has the capacity to be life-changing for any patron. The role of patron services is to lower the mental and literal barriers to the fullness of that experience.

Box Office

With over three years of performing arts CRM experience, I bring fluency and efficiency to box office interactions, whether I’m working in Tessitura, PatronManager, or AudienceView. I am an avid notator, an engaged teammate and communicator, and a responsive ticketing presence. I execute complex transactions and exchanges with detail-orientedness, while exhibiting excellent customer service towards patrons. My goal is to strike the much-needed balance between maintaining policy and fairness, and going above and beyond for patron satisfaction.

Whether I’m a friendly voice on the other end of the phone or a smiling face at Will Call, I love welcoming new and returning patrons alike, and I excel at delivering a smooth and effortless ticketing experience.

House Management EXPERIENCE

As a Patron Services professional who has cross-trained since the start of my career, I have as much house management experience as I have ticketing experience. Naturally, they each inform the other, making me an informed collaborator and a thoughtful leadership presence.

I am also trained in de-escalation, conflict resolution, and emergency procedures. These skills inform my approach to patron interactions and operations development.

My priority as a house manager is to be of service to other teams. I value working closely with stage management and other front-of-house teams so I can provide the best possible support to my colleagues. House management was my first administrative love; maintaining 360 attentiveness in the pre-show rush is a challenge unlike any other!

LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

My approach to management is led by my values of empathy and advocacy. Leadership is a support role: if I am doing a great job, the first thing you’ll notice is that my team is doing a great job! I am always seeking to make sure my direct reports feel valued and fulfilled, so they can do their best work.

Part of this is recognizing that leadership and innovation come from all levels; I encourage feedback and prioritize following up on new ideas. I take it as a sign of trust when I receive constructive criticism from my team, and am honored to have earned that trust. Arts administrators must conduct our operations with the same values that we uplift on our stages: anti-racism, accountability, curiosity, empathy, community, and fiscal equity.

ACCESSIBILITY EXPERIENCE

I first came to theatrical accessibility through my undergraduate thesis research on relaxed and sensory-friendly performances. In my professional work, I have:

• Coordinated ASL-interpreted, audio-described, and open-captioned performances.

• Trained teams of various sizes in assistive listening device (ALD) best practices, including FM units and loop systems.

• Researched and designed large-print programs.

• Spearheaded patron communication regarding accessibility.

  • For an example, please appreciate the details in my copywriting on Grant Park Music Festival’s current accessibility webpage!

OTHER INTERESTS

I love the way Patron Services work intersects with other departments. In my time working at multiple arts non-profits in Chicago, I’ve been grateful to collaborate with and support the work of talented marketing and development professionals. I remain curious about opportunities in these fields.

Notable past experiences and skills include:

• Proficiency in marketing tools such as Wordfly, Emma, ActiveCampaign, and Canva.

  • Experience drafting, copyediting, and formatting email campaigns in these tools for audiences of hundreds or thousands of patrons.

• Pulling reports in Tessitura to support marketing initiatives.

• Serving as a go-to ticketing associate for donor and VIP requests.

• And a personal favorite memory…

  • Drafting and performing my own fundraising speech at intermission, doubling the average number of donations and setting an organizational record for the total raised during such a speech. Then, reaching out individually to each donor, whether they gifted $5 or $500, to thank them personally.