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Theater manager skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Karen Kus,

Nina Woodard

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical theater manager skills. We ranked the top skills for theater managers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 12.2% of theater manager resumes contained cleanliness as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a theater manager needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 theater manager skills for your resume and career

1. Cleanliness

Here's how theater managers use cleanliness:

Maintained a safe work environment by emphasizing and maintaining cleanliness and organization.
Improved safety and cleanliness regulations while improving day to day operations.

2. Building Maintenance

Building maintenance means all duties necessary to keep a building livable and functional. It involves removing trash regularly, repairing broken items, and cleaning common areas.

Here's how theater managers use building maintenance:

Operated and maintained projection equipment and building maintenance.
Stock Ordering and inventory control, Managing staff of 3, large event coordinator,crowd control and historic building maintenance.

3. Movie Theater

Here's how theater managers use movie theater:

Advanced to increasingly responsible positions, culminating in management role with oversight for a 17 screen movie theater.
Supervised up to 10 employees at one time in the daily operations in a movie theater.

4. Safety Procedures

Safety procedures are a set of standardized procedures, that ensures minimal to no risk to people, resources, and the work environment. A company follows the step-by-step safety procedures as it they not only keep the customers and the employees safe, but also help in avoiding legal claims.

Here's how theater managers use safety procedures:

Monitor safety procedures for the college's theater department students.
Manage staff in the implementation of airfield safety procedures to ensure a safe operating environment for personnel and aircraft operation.

5. Projection

Here's how theater managers use projection:

Maintained quality and consistency of all aspects for theater, including projection, sound, audio and general theater maintenance.
Assisted with box office management, operations, event coordination, A/V technician, and film projection.

6. Ticket Sales

Ticket sale is the selling of the rights to be a part of a sports event or show. The ticket sale grants each buyer access to the show or event and leaves everyone who isn't buying out of the show. It can also be referred to as the sums of money generated from the sale of tickets for an event or sports show. Over the years, laws have been enacted to prohibit the resale of tickets by unauthorized sellers.

Here's how theater managers use ticket sales:

Managed online ticket sales and box office operations.
Assisted in the renovation of the historic Island Roxy Theater, resulting in increased ticket sales, and higherrevenue.

7. Theater Operations

Here's how theater managers use theater operations:

Managed all aspects of theater operations to ensure customer satisfaction.
Supervised an eight-person team during theater operations.

8. Bank Deposits

Any money that a customer chooses to leave with their bank account is a deposit. Deposits can vary in amounts and different banks have limits on the deposits their customers can have as a minimum. Banks charge customers for deposits especially when a teller is used by the customer to deposit money into their account.

Here's how theater managers use bank deposits:

Handled all bank deposits and corporate reporting.
Full daily cash management responsibility; prepared daily bank deposits, performed account reconciliations, processed/monitored payroll and completed financial reports.

9. Inventory Control

Here's how theater managers use inventory control:

Received awards for exceptional customer service and inventory control
Managed inventory control, orders, sales, operations (instituting Best Practices) and performance / financial reports.

10. Cinema

A cinema is a place where motion movies are shown to people for public entertainment. Cinemas not only offer relaxation and entertainment but also create awareness and education.

Here's how theater managers use cinema:

Manage staff, inventory, and quality of cinema experience Reconcile tills and nightly deposits Open/Close Theater
Sole responsibility for ticketing system using "Sensible Cinema".

11. Equipment Maintenance

Equipment maintenance is any process that includes the use of maintenance methods and procedures to keep the organization's equipment in good and reliable working condition. This may include routine maintenance as well as corrective repairs. The practice takes place in a variety of settings, including catering establishments, industrial factories, manufacturing facilities, hotels, etc.

Here's how theater managers use equipment maintenance:

Handled all equipment maintenance and cleaning of theater.
Planned, scheduled and directed for specific functional area within Packaging which included labor management, equipment maintenance and purchasing.

12. Human Resources

Human resources is a set of people in a business or a corporation that are designated to locate, interview, and recruit new employees into the company. They are also responsible to maintain the integrity of the employees and help them sort their problems out. They try to introduce and manage employee-benefit programs.

Here's how theater managers use human resources:

Managed the human resources administration for 50 employees and 150 volunteers.
Performed in a human resources capacity in the hiring,scheduling and terminating of employees.

13. Labor Costs

Labor cost is the total of all financial expenses incurred during the production of a product or in the services rendered by a company. This includes wages paid to workers directly, benefits, health care, meals, training, and payroll taxes involved in the process. It also include indirect expenses on labor which is why it's divided into direct and indirect wages.

Here's how theater managers use labor costs:

Increased sales consistently, maximize productivity and efficacy while simultaneously reducing labor costs without compromising quality or service.
Balance spending reports, complete inventory report and control and maintain labor cost expenditures to maximize profitability.

14. RAN

RAN stands for "revenue anticipation note," which refers to a practice where an organization (often the government) borrows money to support a specific project. When these funds are then repaid, the money given to the lenders comes from the profits generated by the business originally funded.

Here's how theater managers use ran:

Organize studio ran fundraisers, collecting order forms and money and distributing product.
Promoted show and stars,also ran ticket office,consession stand and performed comedy,mc.

15. Crowd Control

Crowd control refers to a safety procedure where guards, police officers, and barrier maintain a crowd's position and attitude. This measure is often seen in riots, concerts, and anywhere large crowds may result in fights, disorderly conduct, and even "crowd crushes" where a member of the crowd is trampled.

Here's how theater managers use crowd control:

Facilitate team meetings to increase Theater Security and Crowd Control effectively decreasing the disruptive element.

What skills help Theater Managers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on theater manager resumes?

Karen Kus

Assistant Director of Career Services, SUNY Potsdam

Employers hiring candidates with a history degree are seeking transferable skills that can be applied in various roles and settings. These skills include writing, communication, research, organization, computer-based skills, and problem-solving. The best thing a candidate can do to increase marketability is to elaborate on how they obtained or utilized those skills, rather than simply listing them. Employers need to have an understanding of how you made use of your skill and what results came from your actions. Make these skills shine on your resume by giving them substance.

What theater manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Nina Woodard

Senior Career Development Specialist, Belmont University

For entertainment, digital marketing and content creation skills are critical. Even if a role isn't specifically connected to digital marketing, social media is almost always involved in most entry-level roles. We strongly encourage students and recent graduates to learn basic graphic design platforms, video editing and audio editing. Learning how to maximize impact on social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram or TikTok is also a worthy investment of time. There's a wide range of self-paced training resources online, many available for free or at reduced costs for students.

What type of skills will young theater managers need?

Craig Nathanson Ph.D.

Adjunct Lecturer, Sonoma State University

I see the essential human skills gaining importance to build a new post-covid work life. These include creativity, leading and working in teams, writing, speaking, being self-aware, and lowering bias and networking; career branding as critical areas for graduates to focus on now.

What technical skills for a theater manager stand out to employers?

Michael Kraten Ph.D.

Professor of Accounting, Chair, Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Program Coordinator, Accounting, BBA, Houston Baptist University

Short-term skills like data analytics establish college graduates as credible staff professionals. Long-term skills like critical thinking and persuasive communication can place graduates on long-term career paths to senior management.

What soft skills should all theater managers possess?

Steven Bauer

Visiting Professor of Marketing, Pepperdine University, Seaver College

The new hybrid world will make leading teams more challenging. This reality will put a premium on interpersonal skills. When the NASA astronaut, Richard Arnold, spoke at Pepperdine in 2019, he mentioned that team building was the single most important ability undergraduates could develop to become a good astronaut. The same holds for graduates wanting to go into business, particularly in the post coronavirus era. As part of their skills in this area, graduates will also need to be able and committed to addressing issues in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Do you want to know more?

List of theater manager skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a theater manager resume and required skills for a theater manager to have include:

Cleanliness
Building Maintenance
Movie Theater
Safety Procedures
Projection
Ticket Sales
Theater Operations
Bank Deposits
Inventory Control
Cinema

Equipment Maintenance
Human Resources
Labor Costs
RAN
Crowd Control
Sound Equipment
Inventory Management
A/V
Customer Relations
Customer Complaints

Disciplinary Actions
Facility Maintenance
Employee Scheduling
Loss Prevention
Staff Scheduling
Technical Issues
Conflict Resolution
Promotional Materials
Financial Reports
Costumes

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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