Amateur Theatre Backstage Volunteer

[mikeburnie]

I'm sure loads of amateur theatre are struggling in the same way we are, but how do some of you other amateur theatres manage to get people to help out back stage.

 

We can get any amount of people who want to go on stage but no-one seems to want to help out in back stage areas like dressing the set. Fetching and carrying props to the stage. Painting our small stage flats - even for plain walls. No-one wants to help the set builders by fetching and carrying or holding pieces of wood or flats while they are fixed in place. The same applies to helping out man the auditorium or bar or front-of-house.

 

Does anyone have a solution (apart from paying people)

 

We are struggling so much - the same people are doing all the back stage work time and time again.

 

We don't know what to do - appeals to our membership in our newsletters just seem to fall on deaf ears.

[Dj Dunc]

where are you based?

[pritch]

You're not wrong there, Mike. It is difficult to recruit crew to work for nothing.

 

We've had reasonable success with the friends and family of cast members (or sometimes even cast members themselves have been known to turn up for the next production). Try catching them at the pub when they've got their guard down if you can.

 

If there are any places that offer acting classes nearby, it may be worth seeing if you can get a word in there. We've had a few budding crew appear from acting classes, after having decided that appearing on stage just wasn't for them.

 

If you produce a programme, it may be worth putting an advert in there. If you get really desparate, then I suppose an announcement before the show or during the interval would be feasable, but I really don't like the whole business of announcements like that during shows.

[lightsource]

Just a thought, so tell me to shut up if I'm talking where the sun don't shine :(

 

 

 

Try local colleges, especially if they have a drama department, it could be classed as good work experience in a general sense.

 

Put an advert in a local paper requesting volunteers

 

As I don't work in thretre I don't know of any of the above will help, but good luck

[paulears]

It does seem that what you seem to want are gofers - few people will volunteer to be used in this way. This bit Fetching and carrying props to the stage. Painting our small stage flats - even for plain walls. No-one wants to help the set builders by fetching and carrying or holding pieces of wood or flats while they are fixed in place. is not exactly attractive when it comes to enticing members. fetching and carrying, painting, and helping the set builders - I won't even comment on 'holding pieces of wood'.

 

Now, I don't know your background, but if you want in amateur companies to get quality people, who feel valued and will be reliable, you have to give them a quality experience, not, as this sounds, like using them. I may have got it wrong, but you have set builders, and you want people to hold things for these people, not be properly involved.

 

I get the impression that you feel amazed people are not flocking to you for the fun of working hard. Can the actors not fetch and carry their own props to the stage? - or are they the sort who require dressers and every prop in it's place, no matter where the actor put it down?

 

The very people you already have backstage may well be adding to the problems you have if they don't make the 'help' really feel part of the team, but just newcomers to be bossed around and treated poorly.

 

I do know societies where these problems are very obvious, and these things are very well known to people in the area. The place to start is your local college who do performing arts - BUT, nowadays students have high cost lives, and asking them to spend money on transport, food and maybe even tools with no perceived benefit is likely to not look that attractive. Maybe you could offer to pick them up, take them home, buy them the odd tool or two and make sure you treat them well. Are you sure that word hasn't spread and that is why you can't get the people you want.

 

I worked for a society just like this years ago. It took 3 years before the director deigned to even speak to me. You'd hear comments like "hasn't that cloth been hung yet?" or "can we break now, and do act 2 tomorrow first thing? get the crew to stay behind and sort out the flats - right then. off to the pub CAST"

 

I'm sorry if I may have got the wrong impression - but it does read a little oddly.

[lightsource]

but them the odd tool or two and make sure you treat them well.

 

 

Seriously Paul..... do you go that far :(

[Johnno]

I expect this is commonplace in most social hobby activities. The people getting the benefit of the hobby want others to do the work for them. Getting spouses to help is a cop-out.

 

No trouble recruiting for any of the glamourous activities that have creative interest (acting, lighting, sound, set design) but no-one wants to "play" at working (slopping beer, ushering etc). Is that unusual? Why would anyone want to spend their precious leisure time skivvying for other people who are obviously only there to enjoy their hobby?

 

How about an incentive scheme? You can only act/light/mic if you've helped with the crap jobs for a season. One season of crap per three seasons of glamour - or whatever ratio suits your actual volunteer numbers. If you are getting "any amount" of wannabe Olivier's then surely you can turn the screw on them?

 

If you have club rules then formalise it in them. No arguments then. Anyone who won't help leaves. You're an amateur group: all hands on deck and look bloody lively!

[Ynot]

I'm sure loads of amateur theatre are struggling in the same way we are, but how do some of you other amateur theatres manage to get people to help out back stage.

Volunteers....

The bane of amateur theatre.

I've been in the am-dram 'business' for getting on 30 years, and it's always been an issue when trying to attract new help behind the scenes.

In my experience, it can be difficult to find people to staff some of the shows with tech crew, but what's even more of a problem is covering the day to day running of the venue. I manage our theatre as a volunteer, and also manage the tech crew. I can actually say with some satisfaction that we have more techs on our 'books' than we have had for ages. Their experience ranges from beginners right up to darned good at the job. The keenest guys, though, and those who tend to work most of the events, have to be the younger element on the whole. Over the past few years, we've gained a goodly number of pupils from local schools, one in particular has produced at least six - three of whom are current BR members. I've always tried to encourage these youngsters where I can (though I'm sure it might not have always seemed that way at times...! :() and I'd have to say that without them I'd have struggled to staff quite a few shows that come thru our doors without a technician in sight. Strangely, though we have two colleges in the town, and have had some occasional backstage presence from them, I can't recall anyone on a drama course that's actually stayed the mile, though there's still time!

That being said, we have also had our share of people offering their services without really knowing what they wanted to do, at a time when not much is going on show-wise, and who drift away because we're not actually prepping for a gig. Trying to get across that the routine stuff as well as improvements to the venue as a whole, whilst not 'sexy' are just as important isn't easy.

 

But back to the question.

We have just held a volunteer's evening this last week which was publicised in the local press, by posters about the theatre and by flyer to our mailing list.

It may not sound a lot, but last Thursday evening we picked up at least 8 new people, 5 of whom were wanting to do something backstage, 2 for the bar staff and one front of house.

 

Why not give that one a try? Get as many of the existing teams down as well - open the bar, or meet in a pub, and make it a social gathering as well.

 

TD

[mikeburnie]

You are right PaulEars, I made it sound very un-appealing in my posting and that really isn't the case.

 

We always train anyone in anything that they wish to learn and we have a very light hearted and friendly team for newbies to get involved with. Anyone wishing to learn how to work the jigsaw's and drills will be trained and encouraged to develop as much as they want. For those who have expressed no aptitude for handyman skills they could help out in other ways If we have a man/woman to work the drill but noone to hold the door in place while the screws are put in the hinges then the job still doesn't get done. Helping dress the set with props might free someone else up to do a more complicated job so everyones work is as important as the next persons and we say this in our "plea for backstage help" articles in our newsletter. We even have monthly workshops covering all areas of amateur theatre from acting workshops, makeup workshops, to set building workshops and lighting and sound workshops. Guess which ones are always well attended and which ones are always poorly attended.

 

People can have as much training and involvement as they like and those that have joined in have tended to stick around.

 

The main problem is that there are quite a lot of people who don't even want to consider doing any backstage work and just want to act, and whilst everything is down to their choice and it's their hobby if we don't have people to help out back stage they won't have a set to act in.

 

We have tried open evenings which are primarily a recruitment drive, but even then quite often the volunteers don't follow through and get involved.

 

Perhaps we expect too much and that society has changed to the extent that it will always be a struggle. With people often working evenings and even Sundays now and when they do get time off all they want to do is relax and do their own thing. However there seems may also be a misconception that that performing on the stage is exciting and working backstage is just hard work - they are both hard work, just in different ways.

[paulears]

Fair points - I suppose many people equate work with money, or public credit - essentially some kind of kudos. Backstage work is lacking both. On top of this there is the rather entrenched view that somehow being 'on' stage is better than being 'backstage', and many amateur companies don't integrate people that much, because it has always been that way.

 

The tools comment I made was quite serious. I've done it myself quite a few times over the years and it has worked well. tools are expensive, and getting a decent tool kit together quite difficult. It doesn't take very much to put a nice one together and the good thing is that the society members don't see this as the person being paid. The person getting the tools, however, is ususally very pleased - especially if they are just starting out.

 

The snag with amateur companies is that when they find people, they tend to stay - making being a newcomer difficult. Atmosphere, and the people are the key. Get that bit right and you will find the right people.

[d_korman]

The main problem is that there are quite a lot of people who don't even want to consider doing any backstage work and just want to act, and whilst everything is down to their choice and it's their hobby if we don't have people to help out back stage they won't have a set to act in.

 

And therein lies an answer. One of the Amdram companies I work with had a simliar problem for a while - there were only two or three of us to build/paint/rig/light/sound etc. the shows. So one show we said to the director "either you get the cast to come along and help us paint scenery, and do the get-in and get-out, or they will have no set".

 

We got about 6 people every weekend for four weeks and for the get-in & out. Having established the principle, it now works pretty well for every show.

 

A company I worked with many years ago had a rule that if you want to be cast in a show you have to have helped backstage on the preceding show, which was enforced. The work required included washing off all the flats back to canvas ready for repainting - in the open and usually in October!

[Bobbsy]

It might be worth adding that the same applies to the "glamourous" activities like lighting or sound. (I never thought of myself as glamorous before...I must get the bald head polished before I mix my next show.)

 

Although I've earned my living doing sound for many years, though having wives and offspring involved in Amdram I often get asked to do sound for shows. Frankly, this can be fun and good practice...a lot of what I did for the last umpty years was either stuck in an office or fairly boring corporate stuff. It was good to keep my hand in and mix some music.

 

However, a good many amateur groups are so dominated by the performers that they have a real attitude problem when it comes to dealing with anybody technical...even us glamour-pusses! Of the groups in the area, it hasn't taken me long to work out which ones respect and value their back-stage colleagues and which ones think that being on-stage entitles them to a prima-dona sense of superiority. I bet you can guess which ones I say "yes" to when they ring.

 

As for finding people in the first place, I can only second all that's been said before: approach schools for their best sixth-formers, hold open evenings...and rope in the actors themselves!

 

Bob

[Fletch]

Hi,

 

As someone that often leads (and has to usually find) crews for am dram I can understand exactly where you are coming from...

 

What do I do?

 

Well some of the major things we have tried to do have included:

• Free lunch at the get in for crew
  
• Out of show social events
  
• Encouraging the cast and crew to mingle....
  
• Ensuring there are regular visits to the pub/bar during the show and you buy everyone a drink (or better still the director does)
  
• Accepting the limit of the crew. Haven't got a set builder - then don't build a set!
  
• Ensuring the director/producer/designer understands these crew limitations - we don't have a set builder, so you can't have a set - sorry! Although you might have an adventurous lampie who want to try projections....
  
• Trying to make it fun to work with our productions - the last thing you want is to spend your free time with some boring anorak telling you about in rush current....
  

I think Pauleas summed it up here -

Atmosphere, and the people are the key. Get that bit right and you will find the right people.

 

And yes, ultimately I think it is hard to get the right crew!

 

Fletch

[Frag_Me]

Well, when I tried to get some local amdram work a while back I was just left sitting and waiting for an hour not being talked to until someone showed up. I didn't bother going back. Taking care of your volunteers is key - I always go back to one of my local venues which has free beer at every get-out!

[J Pearce]

I find the offer of free food helps, certainly when I'm working for free I don't like going out of pocket buying take away to feed me whilst working late evenings or long days.

Same goes for transport.