They try not to trip as they rush down staircases and weave through crowds, leaving behind friends and family to fulfill nature’s call.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Bathrooms at ‘Hamilton’: Can 200 women make it through 16 stalls in a 20-minute intermission?
They try not to trip as they rush down staircases and weave through crowds, leaving behind friends and family to fulfill nature’s call.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
The answer to the article title is, Yes. Tanya Heath has the intermission women’s bathroom line down to a science. I love that the article ends with tips to how best use the restrooms during a performance. Giving people this insight hopefully will help with the bathroom lines going further. I wonder if there is another way to solve the problem of to many women for the number of bathrooms. Previously on the green pages there was an article about a Broadway theater that was adding extra women’s bathrooms in a renovation. Since over half of theater goers are women, adding extra bathrooms seem logical. I also wonder how this problem would have been solved in Philadelphia if it weren't for Heath. Would another usher have figured out this system or would people had to miss the show because the bathroom lines were too long? Overall, I enjoyed this fun lighthearted read.
Reading this article literally made my day. I really like that Tanya saw a problem and fixed it, because so many times when there are problems like this with the bathrooms at theatre everyone just complains about it and no one cares enough to actually make a change. Tanya Heath is an icon in our midst. I definitely feel like the bathroom situation is annoying always, because women just take their time in the bathroom and men go in the urinal and leave really quick. Sometimes they don't even wash their hands. But I think that companies should start adjusting their bathroom sizes accordingly. Like we been knew women's bathrooms have been a problem. Whenever I go to a show I just honestly try to avoid drinking water like an hour before so that I don't have to brave the line, or I just hold it through the show. I think that Tanya should train other ushers to do the same job so that it's not as big of a problem in other theaters.
This was a really really amusing yet informative read. I love the articles that may be completely unnecessary, but still provide amusement for the readers, along with a bit of knowledge that could potentially be useful in the future. I suppose this is an issue, it just does not happen to be one that I think much about, but crowd control is so important during these huge crowd-producing shows so it is interesting to be reminded that theaters take care of the audience every moment they reside inside the space, and I guess that now includes the bathroom. It is perfectly sensible to attempt to avoid missing any part of a show, especially one priced in the hundreds of dollars. If Hamilton has an average runtime of 2 hours and 45 minutes, and a single ticket costs 500 dollars, that means that each minute of the show costs the audience member about $3, and a 10 minute bathroom break, wastes $30.
This was such an incredible article. As someone who used to want to be a journalist, features like this one are such a lovely and amusing way to bring attention to someone's life and achievements. Strictly speaking in terms of the writing, Ellie Silverman did a beyond wonderful job. I hope to be able to write something like this someday. Even if it's not ground-breaking and revolutionary, it's a fun and light-hearted read.
Regarding the content of this article, Heath is such a funny and dedicated person. I think the work she puts into this job, especially as an aspiring actress who does not want to be doing this for the rest of her life, is commendable and important. It shows just how hard-working and passionate she is about theatre, no matter what aspect of it she is working in.
I think this article rings so true for women out there. I mean, I usually dart out the door of a theatre in the middle of the act one finale to beat all the lines. Those lines are brutal and it can be dreadful to think about missing the beginning of act two (I mean, who wants to miss Thomas Jefferson's legendary entrance?) Heath has done a great job at easing women's worries and anxieties over such a normal bodily function and making their experience watching such an amazing show as great as it can be.
You cannot underestimate the power of a good front of house staff! Congrats to Tanya Heath who may find this as the audition to end all auditions and get her on that stage. I wonder if the city would allow them to change the bathrooms to being gender neutral like our own second floor bathrooms (Gender Neutral with Urinal, Gender Neutral with Stalls). If they could do that, they might be able to help lower the line even more by sending some of their line waiters to the men’s room. I personally will always be comfortable walking into a bathroom with urinals to use a stall if it means not missing a minute of the show, but I know that sometimes city ordinances can get in the way of this. The Serpentine line, however is the best. Most people don’t realize it but the key to a successful experience at a theme park, a women’s restaurant, or any other “line up” situation is the design of the line. If you’re constantly moving you don’t think the line is quite as long and it can help you move faster through the bathroom.
This article is just so much fun, and well-written. It's almost a play-by-play, which makes you feel like you're in the moment, getting anxious about the time right along with the patrons in line. When I went to see Hamilton in Chicago, I witnessed first hand exactly what this article describes: I saw that line of at least 75 people in front of me, and was sure I was going to miss at least 5 minutes of the second act. The ushers and floor managers have it down to a science though, and I really have to say that the humor and levity that they bring to it helps as well. No one likes waiting in line, but the manner in which Heath and other ushers I've seen handle these lines of desperate women makes you feel calm and cared for. As a side note, this is another reason why gender neutral bathrooms would be amazing: there is never a line for the men's room, and honestly I feel like they could get everyone in and out so much faster with two rooms open to all. This does, however, run into the historic nature of these buildings, as I am sure many theatres housing Hamilton are. There are only a certain level of structural changes you can make when a building has a historic significance to it, and I wonder if this is a factor in their ability to expand and neutralize the bathrooms.
This bathroom issue is not something that is new. Over the past couple years theaters are trying to figure out how to expand bathrooms and get people in and out quicker. While I understand that everyone has different bladders but are people not able to wait to go the bathroom till after the show? I am in college classes that are just as long and not every single person gets up and goes to the bathroom. The Hamilton house manager seems to be really great at her job. Not only is she able to get everyone in the bathroom she seems to be really calm about it. Having a bad house manager can have poor effects for the return after intermission. One thing I had found interesting was that there intermission was 20 minutes while most show is 15 minutes. I wonder if they increased the time in order to allow people to go to the bathroom.
This bathroom issue is not something that is new. Over the past couple years theaters are trying to figure out how to expand bathrooms and get people in and out quicker. While I understand that everyone has different bladders but are people not able to wait to go the bathroom till after the show? I am in college classes that are just as long and not every single person gets up and goes to the bathroom. The Hamilton house manager seems to be really great at her job. Not only is she able to get everyone in the bathroom she seems to be really calm about it. Having a bad house manager can have poor effects for the return after intermission. One thing I had found interesting was that there intermission was 20 minutes while most show is 15 minutes. I wonder if they increased the time in order to allow people to go to the bathroom.
Before reading this article, I would have said a strong no. But after reading this article and watching Tanya Heath manage a crowd in the video, I would say a definite yes. As a woman, I often stray away from going to the bathroom in large public gatherings (sports events, theatre, concerts, etc) because I always know that the women’s restroom lines are going to be excruciatingly hard to get through, and I am always worried I am going to miss something important. With people like Heath managing and mastering the front of house, these issues in the theatre have the ability to be less of a problem. I think Heath’s dedication to making her job efficient, also speaks to putting your all into a job, even if it isn’t something you are immediately interested in, since Heath ultimately want’s to be on stage. She saw a problem and found a way to fix it in an efficient manner, and now it is paving a way for her to get the recognition she deserves.
Post a Comment