His is one of the first faces you see when entering the OLT on show night. He is entrusted with one of your prize possessions, left with him for safekeeping. He possesses an abundance of information helpful to the newcomer. In some ways he serves as goodwill ambassador for the Theatre. We are speaking with Andy Tait who will be revealing stories and secrets from the Cloakroom (da da da ominous music) or coat check.
A familiar face!
The coat check provides a number of services, first and foremost it is a (as the name implies) a coat check. It functions during all performances and is attended from 5:45 until all ticket holders have left the building. The service fee is a small $1 charge and all proceeds go to the Ottawa Mission. This is one of the ways that the theatre provides neighbourhood goodwill and community support.
Andy tells me that – ironically – it is not during the bitterly cold Ottawa nights that the demand is highest, but actually when it is raining. Our patrons may choose to keep their warm coats with them but are naturally uncomfortable keeping their wet jackets and umbrellas on their laps. Some ticket holders, especially the ones sitting next to the accessible entrance on Besserer, will wear their coats for part of the evening as that the door is constantly being opened as an entrance way for those individuals requiring special assistance.
The doors open at 6 pm for evening performances so the use of the check room is staggered as people arrive. However at the end of the evening there may be a small lineup to retrieve the coats. Rest assured that it is quite quick, taking less than 10 minutes to get your belongings when exiting. We are the Ottawa Little Theatre not the Canadian Tire Centre parking lot. Of course, Andy can always call on additional stff to lend a hand of the line gets too long.
One of “odd” items that are checked in on a regular basis are flowers. These are brought for the actors from their friends and family to be given out post show in the Green Room. Rather than sitting uncomfortably with bouquets and risking allergic reactions from other patrons, they are checked in and retrieved later.
The cloakroom also provides the listening aid devices. These appliances are quite efficient and work using radio wave signals sent from backstage. They serve both audience members in need, and our stage managers. The devices are available both from the cloakroom and at the Besserer entrance. They are free of charge and the only thing required is to provide a name and phone number. Andy is there to help with all questions, including how to adjust the volume. They fit over the ears and can be used with hearing aids.
They are quite popular and usually the entire inventory of 30 are used for each performance. There may be occasional glitches caused by too many devices working too closely together, but we are always there to help remedy the issue. In addition, you can always check their functionality before leaving the cloakroom. By increasing the volume you can hear the other guests settling in their seats thus ensuring that the device works. If you picked them up at the cloak room but want to exit at the Besserer entrance, no problem, you can drop them off there. Andy tells us how much people really appreciate the devices and inform him of the fact at the end of the evening.
Andy, as first point of contact, is there to help answer questions from the patrons as to procedures and locations of the bathrooms, bars, intermission time, when the show ends, etc. He says that the clientele are very respectful of their theatre and appreciate its coziness and always look forward to attending our shows. If they are new to the theatre, many times they express their excitement to him. He also serves as a partial security ensuring that only ticket holders can gain admission to the theatre. Doors are locked prior to the start of the show times and there is a buzzer at the check room allowing for him to remotely unlock the door.
He recalls the time that a complaint was made to the City Bylaw about smoking by the actors on stage during one of the performances. After the intermission, the bylaw offices arrived at the theatre to investigate, and he had to explain to them that cigarettes were indeed part of the performance but they were herbal and not tobacco which is actually legal to use in this context. The bylaw officers chuckled, chatted with him and left satisfied with the explanation.
Andy is usually working 12 out of the 14 performances of each show. You will likely find him at the coat check but he may also be helping out at the smaller bar upstairs. He has also been known to help out out behind the scenes on wardrobe, a natural fit given his background.
Prior to being semi retired, Andy worked in the film business, specifically in all aspects related to wardrobe. He would source the costumes, deliver them, and ensure that they were available as required for all actors. He was also the troubleshooter fixing everything that could go wrong with the product. He says “When I am watching a made for TV movie, nine out of 10 times I recognize a lot of the production names as many of the films are in fact shot in Ottawa and I have worked with these people in the past.” A good example would be Murdock Mysteries which is filmed in Toronto with many of the same production crew.
He has worked with John Cleese, and Eric Peterson (Corner Gas). One of his favourite stories is the time back in the 1980s when he helped Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats, who was in town for a concert. His clothes were lost by the airline and Andy had to source the “cool” style replacements for the performance. His experience in wardrobe, coupled with operating a Ottawa based vintage clothing store called Andy Upstairs for many years, enabled him to do that with ease. In fact, he was actually thanked for the excellent service by name by the singer during the performance.
Andy in his wardrobe guru to the stars days!
Andy says that he feels that he has a youthful outlook on life. He is a still interested in music, stage and all things related to the entertainment world. He loves everything that provides a sense of wonder and is so appreciative when returning OLT patrons stop by the coat check just to chat about how happy they are being there and very glad to see him.
Albert