For Good Measure

Here we are waiting for our pre-concert briefing. The orchestra is filtering in; some folks are already tuning up. And then there's this guy. In all my many years of ushering, I've never encountered this precision task before. He's putting the finishing touches on chair placement, measuring the distance between rows with his accuracy stick, presumably according to fire codes. He appears to be dancing his way through the task, but, really, he is kicking the chair into submission. Our biggest performance venue is a basketball court that converts to an auditorium; it is sometimes a rink for roller derby, and has hosted a herd of performing horses. Occasionally people complain about the acoustics, or the ventilation in summer, but it sure is a versatile space. My favorite parts of the set-up are the magnetic seat and row numbers on the back of each chair; post-performance usher duties often include removing these tiny things, and sorting them to be ready for the next event.