Operations Management at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre
At Little Umbrella Events, events are our passion, and we’re excited to share the dynamic, multifaceted world of event management as seen through our recent role as Operations Managers for the award-nominated Storyhouse’s Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre in Chester. The 565-capacity open air theatre is constructed in Grosvenor Park every year, over nine weeks the site plays host to a series of main shows. This year, these included Pride & Prejudice, The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes and a children’s promenade theatre show of Alice in Wonderland. In addition to this, the park site also hosts a weekend food festival to launch the season, this year welcoming 8,000 guests, as well as comedy nights, an outdoor cinema, performances and activities for children and community events. As Operations Managers our role was to act as a facilitator between departments and coordinate operations while delivering a positive experience for staff, volunteers, and visitors while maximising charitable donations and commercial income, this was a new role at the park. At Little Umbrella Events, we pride ourselves on delivering expert services focused on creating safe, enjoyable, sustainable, and accessible experiences while maximising impact for the host. We love working with organisations that share our values of community, inclusivity and sustainability.
Health & Safety
A part of the management role was visitor safety. The event presented the challenges of an outdoor event and typical theatre experience combined. Being at the mercy of the British Summer now involves thinking differently about events during times of extreme heat, especially as we feel the effects of climate change. One of the ways we met these challenges was to enhance protocols by increasing first aid provisions and training; these were invaluable in empowering our team and building confidence in their ability to respond effectively in emergencies. The feedback from visitors confirms the positive impact of this preparation, with guests expressing gratitude for the team's "prompt and caring actions". Experienced events managers can contribute invaluable health and safety knowledge at events, by being strategically positioned to have a holistic view of the event lifecycle and customer journey. Events managers are also risk-minded, experienced at coordinating many moving parts and practiced at contingency planning.
Operations
With a busy event schedule at the theatre site throughout the summer, this required precise planning and organisation for the Front of House team to maintain consistent positive experiences at the park. Daily information sheets were introduced for senior staff to view capacities, special requirements, show times and any other useful information for the running of Front of House. The use of these documents then helped to develop more standardised operating procedures for many actions across the site. Where the use of these may not be familiar practice for some operational staff or those in theatre settings, they are very common in the events industry. Clear events management for demanding programmes can be vital for the smooth running of a site such as this. This forward planning allowed the teams to be more prepared and less reactionary and facilitated clear communication between teams with precise updates.
Communications
A core pillar of our management role was facilitating communication on-site. We achieved this in several ways. Firstly, we increased the use of number of walky-talky radios on-site and distributed them to key staff and first aiders, not only improving operational efficiency but first-aid incident response times. Secondly, staff and volunteer briefings were standardised. With the use of interactive checklist, Front of House supervisors and managers were able to provide consistent and up-to-date information to staff and volunteers. This enabled policies to be reliably communicated across a wide team in an ever-changing environment. Improving these communications made everyone’s roles easier. With an overall view of the events, we were able to see pinch points clearly and redistribute staff and volunteers accordingly, this enabled the teams to work closer together and improved role satisfaction. This cohesion, in turn, meant that income and charitable donations were maximised, bringing in record amounts across the season to support Storyhouse’s vital work.
Why are event managers best placed to do this?
Event managers are best placed to undertake roles such as these as our rounded approach to planning and delivery meant we were able to coordinate and streamline operations to provide a safe and enjoyable experience to visitors, staff and volunteers. By empowering our teams, they were better able to perform and support the charity. Event managers aren’t just there for the planning in the lead up to events but through our expertise and industry knowledge, we can provide vital insight into managing teams, health and safety, event operations, communications, design, sustainability, inclusivity, improving the customer journey and post-event feedback. It was a joy and privilege to work with Storyhouse this summer and we wish them the best of luck in the Visit Cheshire Tourism Awards 2026.