Creating a Broadway experience

Behind the song and dance of admired Broadway plays that tour through the IU Auditorium lies a group of 400 people who help to make it all happen.\n They are rarely formally recognized, but without them, a patron's experience at the IU Auditorium would not be the same. They are the ones who show you to your seat -- show after show -- and help to ensure that your experience at the Auditorium is most enjoyable.This group of people, known as the usher corps, has been scattered throughout the house for every event at the Auditorium since the building's opening March 22, 1941. The total number of students originally involved was 80 and has grown significantly since then. Composed of full-time students, the corps offers students the opportunity to see a variety of productions at no cost while assisting patrons in a warm and friendly atmosphere. Ushers sign up for eight shows per semester and are assigned to work in specific locations to facilitate patrons' use of the building.\n"There aren't that many places to volunteer where you feel like you are part of the community," usher Natalie Beckley said.\nBeckley, a senior, has been ushering since her freshman year and originally decided to usher as a way to become involved at IU. She said she enjoys the opportunity to see free shows. She also said she "feels like I'm helping out, because otherwise the Auditorium would not function as well as it does."\nMid-term graduate Dave Neustadter, a senior student manager at the Auditorium, was one of the first student managers to work at the Auditorium after its renovation and is in his third year in this position. He said the reason he continues to return year after year is that it's the only place where he gets to structure his job. He also works part time as a waiter at Scotty's, so having the flexibility to choose when he wants to work is a necessity for him.\nNeustadter's main job is assuring that the managers are doing what they're supposed to, and he's a paid staff member at the Auditorium. He also is in charge of pre-show operations such as getting box office information, programs and backstage info, as well as telling ushers where they need to be.\n"We provide one of the best experiences that Bloomington has to offer, partly due to the ushers and student managers," Neustadter said.\nHe said he believes that part of his job as a senior student manager is providing a true experience for people and not just the event itself. Whether it's helping an elderly lady to her seat or voluntarily clearing a patron's windshield of snow so that he or she can drive home more safely, he said those are the reasons people come back.\nNeustadter said he feels he has learned valuable life skills while working at the Auditorium. Communication skills, for example, are extremely important no matter what career field you end up in.\nKristen Tharp, a sophomore microbiology major, planned on ushering at the Auditorium before she even knew that there was an organized group. In addition to being able to see the shows at no cost, Tharp said it's nice to interact with people from the community, and ushering gives her a great opportunity to get to know people.\nAlthough Tharp, Neustadter and Beckley said the major overall perk of working at the Auditorium is seeing the spectacular productions at no cost, Tharp also said it is "fun to watch them do pre-show sound checks."\nThe IU Auditorium is currently seeking more students to join the usher corps and see shows such as David Copperfield, "Cabaret," Lord of the Dance and more. Training sessions will be held March 18 and 24. For more information contact housemgr@indiana.edu.