Theater at Work Forum: Best Practices For Your Front of House

Presented by Department of Cultural Affairs

A pleasant front of house and box office experience complements a great production and will bring patrons back again and again. Learn about ADA guidelines and how to make welcome improvements for seniors, mothers-to-be, and patrons of all kinds. 

Panelists:  Eric Lippman, Executive Director Open Door  Gus Zografopoulos,  founder of Kostas Z Foundation and board member of Open Door, and Jeff Cass,  Chicago Shakespeare Theater's Ticket Services Manager will be leading this discussion.

BIOS

ERIC LIPP- executive director of OPEN DOORS ORGANIZATION
Lipp has been a speaker at national and international trade shows & conferences.  He is considered an expert in ACAA guidelines, applicability of ADA and other accessibility guidelines to airports settings.  He and ODO have been features in travel and trade publications including the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.  Under his stewardship ODO has been honored with world travel agents-ASTA 2003 Access to Freedom award and University of Illinois-Chicago 2004 Commitment to Diversity award. Visit www.opendoorsnfp.org  for further details.

GUS ZOGRAFOPOULOS, founder of The Kostas Z Foundation,  a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization in Illinois.   The mission is to provide and create information, integration and participation among people with disabilities and their families and friends.  The Foundation’s spirit is to:help individuals find their strength and confidence , believe that everyone has the ability to face the challenges of life, lend a helping hand to others , encourage greater accessibility and universal design worldwide. www.kostasz.org

Jeffrey Cass has been with Chicago Shakespeare Theater for the past 11 years. Currently he is the Ticket Services Manager overseeing all aspects of Ticketing and Customer Service in the Box Office and Online.  He has been invited to speak and lead discussions on Ticketing and Customer Service at the International Tessitura Learning and Community Conference Annually  for the past 5 years.  At Circle Theatre he was a company member for 5 years and served as the Producing Director for a season.