Ropetackle audiences will no doubt recognise the lovely Adam Self, sat front and centre in the pic, one of our amazing front of house team, who left the venue at the end of December after TEN YEARS!
Front of House staff are the public face of any theatre, welcoming audiences, ensuring their safety and comfort, looking after the artists and quietly making sure every performance runs smoothly from “doors open” to the final applause. The show must go on is their mantra, and Adam has been at the heart of Ropetackle’s nightlife for a decade.
To mark the end of an era, we hosted an afternoon tea, and volunteers and staff gathered to reminisce and wish him luck. We are sincerely grateful to Adam and will miss him greatly. But, we also know that his talents, kindness and level-headedness will take him far in his next chapter…
His parting speech gives some perspective to Ropetackle in the early days, the work that goes on behind the scenes, the dedication of our volunteers and the way the centre has evolved.
“I started at Ropetackle back in 2015, having already worked at Brighton Dome for seven years (4 as a manager).
I was one of the first paid ‘Front of House’ cover at Ropetackle, this having been looked after mainly by trustees on a voluntary basis until that time. My Dome colleague Claire Swift (still a good friend of mine) had recently joined Ropetackle as Centre Manager, and the desire for some paid FoH cover happily coincided with my thinking it would be good to diversify my work a little, with the refurb of Brighton Dome’s Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre on the horizon.
“My memories of those early shifts involve frequent cleaning of the old glass foyer tables (I heard that Anne {Hodgson, co-founder and trustee}, the owner, liked them shiny)and the slow transfer of responsibility from Anne Hodgson {co-founder and trustee} to me (it must have been strange trusting a 27 year-old with the place!) After a few weeks of us tripping over each other, confusions over who would give clearance for the show to begin, etc, I braved a chat, which happily went well!
I always think that Duty Managing an arts venue is a bit like babysitting in that it involves taking responsibility for a precious thing while its usual owners are away. It’s about holding the responsibility, not doing anything too radical, being calm, and having an overall vision of how things should go. It’s a less-is-more kind of job, often about just being present and observing.
It can appear easy but does require a fair chunk of care, attention and sensitivity, and of course (again, like babysitting) the occasional mopping up of vomit.
“I absolutely love Ropetackle. Some of my favourite elements are the way it still manages to give real ownership and agency to volunteers (I’ve never worked anywhere that does this half as well as Ropetackle does); the way it treats artists like house guests; the teamwork and attention to detail in looking after the fabric of the place; the incredible programming; and the superhuman ability of the office team to remain (relatively!) sane while grinding through their many tasks.
“I’m leaving primarily in order to stop working late at night. Sleeping better, eating better and exercising better are now top of my agenda. Thanks go to the wonderful artists I’ve met and watched here; but mostly thanks to you all – you’ve inspired and supported me over the past 10.5 years more than you could know.”
