GET INVOLVED

VOLUNTEER AT PBTS

Volunteers are the heart of Players by the Sea. They supplement its work force and bring creative energy to the theatre. For more than 53 years, they have sewn costumes and sold memberships, run lights and read lines. They have auditioned, performed, cleaned up and carried on.

Box office workers, hosts, ushers, technicians, performers, costumers, carpenters, painters and stage crews all play critical roles in raising the curtain for each performance. The quality of PBTS productions is the direct result of volunteer talent guided by on-staff theatre professionals. Volunteers also provide a link with the community that can open and extend PBTS to new audiences and play an important role in public education.

Volunteers are placed according to their interest, experience and availability and the theatre’s needs.

There’s a wealth of opportunities for participation at PBTS. PBTS needs you!

For more information about volunteering, please send an email by clicking here or calling at (904) 249-0289. Also, please click here for our PBTS volunteer interest form.

FRONT OF HOUSE

For most patrons of Players by the Sea, it is the “out front” volunteers with whom they have the most frequent or direct contact. Volunteers augment our professional staff to help us meet our objective of making every patron’s theatre-going experience a pleasant one.

The work is not difficult, but it does require an interest in assisting Players patrons – while paying careful attention to detail. Depending on the shift worked, Box Office volunteers are scheduled on a show by show or a non-show dependent basis. Volunteers on all Box Office shifts earn complimentary tickets to any performance during the opening week of the next production after their shift schedule ends. Volunteers serve in three main areas as follows:

Box Office Representatives/Hosts

Volunteers augment our professional staff in the Box Office during business hours. Working two or three hour shifts, volunteers sell tickets using computer ticketing software and answer questions to PBTS patrons. Volunteers answer phones and greet walk-in patrons. (All volunteers attend a short training session to learn how to use the computerized ticketing system.)

Beginning a half-hour before each performance, volunteers (called “Hosts”) are stationed at the Box Office check-in patrons and other front of house volunteers.



Ushers

Ushers help patrons find their seats in the Mainstage Theatre or Studio Theatre and hand out copies of our theatre program. Ushers arrive one hour prior to curtain time in order to become familiar with specifics for that performance and to review emergency procedures. Subject to availability, each Usher is given one complimentary seat for that evening’s performance. When the performance begins, they go to their seats, which have been set aside for them. During intermission, the ushers help patrons find their way out of the theatre and the Gallery and lavatory facilities; and may help sell refreshments in the Gallery.



Greeters

A night out at the theatre should be an “event” for the patron. To help set that mood from the moment the playgoer enters the building, volunteer greeters are stationed at the main entrance to the Players by the Sea Theatre. As patrons arrive, Greeters hold the door open, offer a friendly greeting and point out the Box Office. If someone needs assistance climbing or descending steps, an ambassador is nearby to help. Greeters arrive one hour prior to curtain time, check in with the Box Office, and remain at their posts until five minutes before the curtain. Subject to availability, each Greeter is given one complimentary seat for that evening’s performance.



Running/Deck Crew

The running crews are the volunteers who run all the backstage operations during a production. Players productions run approximately four weeks, plus tech week. The Mainstage Theatre and Studio Theatre productions run Thursday through Sunday with one matinee on Sunday. The running crews arrive approximately one hour before the performance begins to preset all stage pieces.

Each volunteer working a full time position on a running crew receives two complimentary tickets to opening weekend of the production they are working on.



Light Board Operator

The lights are controlled by a computerized lighting system that is located in a booth directly behind the audience. The lightboard operator’s job is to follow the stage managers cues and execute the lighting cues. He/she also checks to see that all the lighting instruments are working. Other duties include the operation of the house and lobby lights plus chiming in the audience and checking to make sure the lobby is clear before starting the show.



Sound Board Operator

The sound is controlled from the same booth as the lighting. The sound operator is responsible for all the taped effects that occur during a production. All taped effects are on a computer. The operation of fixed or wireless microphones are also the responsibility of the sound operator.



Spotlight Operator

A spotlight is a lighting instrument that produces a concentrated beam of light. The spotlight operator changes the color and size of the light, and aims the light and follows the actors. Spotlights are located in auditorium behind the audience.



Properties Crew

Properties are all the set dressings and small articles used in a production, such as furniture, books, dishes, lamps, tools, luggage, etc. The properties crew makes sure all the props are in the right place before the performance and between each scene.



Special Effects Crew

Players uses a wide variety of effects to create the theatre magic our audiences see on stage. The effects crew operates equipment generate fog, smoke, wind, snow, bubbles, confetti, pyrotechnic effects, etc.



Wardrobe Crew

The wardrobe people keep track of all the costumes during a performance and assist the actors during quick changes.



BACKSTAGE

TECH SHOPS

Scenic Construction

Set construction encompasses a wide variety of construction techniques and materials. Some of the materials used in scenery are wood, metal, foam, plastic and fabric. Projects in the scene shop depend on the degree of experience of the volunteer. The scene shop is a well-stocked and well equipped facility and is responsible for building a wide variety of products.



Lighting/Electrics

Volunteers interested in the lighting area can learn to hang, focus, patch and color the lighting instruments. Players uses a computerized lighting system to control all the instruments used in a production. Some other devices used in the electrics area are strobe lights, rope light, black light, mirror balls, effects and slide projectors, pyrotechnics and electronically controlled effects and machinery. It is not necessary to have an electronics background to work in this area.



Properties

Props are anything that is used to dress up the set from furniture and curtains to books and food. Many of our props are pulled from our stock or bought or borrowed from other theatre, local businesses and antique stores. Some props are made from scratch at Players while others must be searched for. If you are interested in building, finding, gathering and returning props, we have a place for you in the properties department.



Players by the Sea Theatre

106 6th Street North • Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250

(904) 249 - 0289 • View Full Contact Details

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