volunteering
Fringe Theatrefest brings together a whole variety of people and organisations to make something extraordinary happen. And the volunteers are the lifeblood of the whole enterprise - without the volunteers, no Fringe Theatrefest.
Volunteers supervise the venues, run the venue box-offices, help with the technical side, assist with publicity and are the warm and welcoming public face of Fringe Theatrefest.
They also have an important role to play in building and maintaining the profile of Fringe Theatrefest in North Devon.
The primary "reward" is being part of an exceptional team and having a major impact on the development of an exciting event. Stewards see shows for free as part of their duties and box-office staff earn one ticket for each 3-hour shift.
We offer First Aid training and training for working with young people and vulnerable adults along with appropriate certification.
Outline role descriptions
- Box Office Assistant is a social and flexible role involving interaction with members of the public.
- Box Office Assistants provide a smooth and welcoming experience to festival audiences by efficiently processing the sale of tickets, badges and Frequent Fringer Vouchers in venues and/or at Box Office Central.
- This year, Venue Box Offices will be card-only, using a tablet and a card-reader. The set-up is very simple and straightforward but does mean being comfortable with the technology. Box Office Central will still be accepting cash transcations so there will be an additional system of recording transactions there.
- Box Office Assistants are supported by the Volunteer Coordinator.
- Front of House Steward is a social and flexible role involving interaction with members of the public.
- Front of House Stewards ensure that audiences have a welcoming, exciting, fun and safe experience during Fringe TheatreFest.
- They check tickets and usher audience members to their seats. They read a Welcome and Safety announcement to the audience before the start of each performance. They know the evacuation procedure and would undertake the relevant role in the event of an evacuation. They reset the auditorium before and after each performance.
- Front of House Stewards are supported by the Volunteer Coordinator.
- Alternative Spaces Steward is a sociable and flexible role involving interaction with performers and members of the public.
- Alternative Spaces Stewards ensure that performers and audiences have a welcoming, exciting, fun and safe experience during Fringe TheatreFest.
- They collect cash in a bucket from audiences on a ‘pay what you can’ basis and they ensure no festival activity is preventing the normal functioning of public spaces.
- Alternative Spaces Stewards are supported by the Volunteer Coordinator.
- Technicians assist visiting theatre companies to fulfil their technical requirements.
- They help with the technical set-up of the venues, they familiarise themselves with the technical running of shows in their venue during the one-hour technical rehearsals and they then operate the tech - lights and sound - for the performances that they are assigned to.
- Although it is useful to have experience of operating lights and sound systems, we are able to offer some training in the run-up to TheatreFest and during the process of installing the tech. The tech provision in most of the venues is minimal and straightforward.
- Technicians are supported by the Technical Manager and the Volunteer Coordinator.
- An Operator, operates light, sound, and video for shows in ticketed venues, working directly with one or more performing companies and venue technicians to achieve the companies desired technical ambitions.
- An Operator must be able to commit to the tech rehearsal and all three performances of a show over the course of the festival week.
- Operators are supported by venue technicians, the technical manager and volunteer coordinators.