BoxOffice® Pro - November 2011

FRONT LINE AWARD
SNAKES AND LADDERS
Will this rookie set down roots?
Exhibition newcomer Terry Burwell is conscientious to a fault.
He arrives early for his shift at Charleston’s Hippodrome
Widescreen clad in his Sunday best. Seconds later, he is informed
by general manager Jake Spell that the interview with Boxoffice
would be conducted by phone and he won’t need his fine duds.
Needless to say, whatever life throws at Burwell, he’s always
well prepared and looking sharp—a boon to any general manager.
A Wyoming native, Burwell recently relocated to Charleston
on a whim. “If you’ve ever spent a winter in Wyoming, you know
it’s not a fun place to be if you aren’t on the ski slopes. I moved out
to Charleston in December and I was applying for every job that
I could.”
Burwell admits he suffers from a touch of wanderlust. “I’m
kind of a drifter,” he says. “I moved to Charleston in December
and this is the longest I’ve
stayed in one place since I
graduated from college. I
don’t know if that means
I’ve found my home or
if that means I’m due to
leave, but I do like it here.”
Listening to Burwell,
it’s clear his urge to roam
stems from eclectic tastes
and an insatiable curiosity.
“I got my degrees in
Biology and Spanish,” says
Burwell. “I studied abroad
in Costa Rica for a semester
and again in Puerto
Rico for another.” Thanks
to credits combined from
his foreign studies and
biology course work, Burwell
would graduate with
a double major.
Burwell says the dual
interest in language and
science dates back to his childhood. “I grew up reading about the
rain forests,” says Burwell. “I was big into reptiles and amphibians
and liked reading these magazines about people going into
the Amazon and Central America to find snakes and things like
that—Spanish was the language that was spoken in those places
so it just kind of coincided.”
Burwell still harbors a great love for reptiles but admits it’s
hard to heed the call of the open road with his 12-foot scrub
python in tow. “I’m just kind of a snake guy.”
by Cole Hornaday
Spell says Burwell is far more than just a snake guy: he was the
right guy for the job. Burwell quickly climbed the ladder from concessions
to middle management. “Terry is definitely a go-getter,”
says Spell. “He’s someone who definitely wants to do both the right
thing and make sure his job gets done well by going beyond what
his supervisor expects of him.”
Built nearly 130 years ago, the Hippodrome is a huge structure
situated on the banks of the Charleston Harbor. Standing alongside
the Art Institute and the Aquarium, it is a key part of downtown
Charleston’s cultural hub. Of late, life at the Hippodrome has been
in flux with recent changes in ownership and management. And
it’s also being reconfigured for multiples uses combining its IMAX
and 3D with live music and corporate events—a versatile space in
dire need of an eclectic assistant manager.
The Hippodrome
also holds
a certain amount
of cultural capital
in the community,
something
Burwell has come
Terry Burwell
Asistant Manager
The Hippodrome
Widescreen
Charleston, SC
Nominated by
Jake Spell,
General Manager
to appreciate. “I
went in to check
on some employees
cleaning the
auditorium right
before the movie
started,” Burwell
laughs, “and two
kids had come
in with their
parents and they
were kneeling at
the entrance of
the auditorium,
bowing down to
the screen saying,
‘We’re not
worthy…’ But it was just because the screen was so big. You don’t
understand it unless you come to see it.”
One has to wonder: will a vagabond soul like Burwell’s be
content at the Hippodrome?
“Well, the last job that I had I was a truck driver,” Burwell
chuckles. “Compared to that job, you can’t help but be enthusiastic.
You work really hard for 30 minutes, and then you’ve got
about an hour and half to relax a little bit—and then we do it all
over again when the next movie shows up. I like it. I like it a lot.”
BOXOFFICE PRO is looking for winners—theater employees you consider to be genuine role models making a significant, positive impact on your theater operations. Monthly winners of
the BOXOFFICE PRO Front Line Award receive a $50 Gap Gift Card! To nominate a theater employee send a brief 100- to 200-word nominating essay to cole@boxoffice.com. Be sure to
put ‘Front Line Nomination’ in the subject line.
18 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011