volunteering in it's many guises!
We have a vibrant and diverse group of volunteers at the Barbican Theatre who partake in many different aspects of our work.
We have volunteers working across marketing, writing, technical and pretty much all areas of theatre so read on for personal accounts of the work they do.
Have a look at the work our current volunteers are involved in and find out how you can access the volunteer programme.
If you're looking to get your foot on the first rung of the ladder, or you just have a general interest in theatre, volunteering is a great way to get experience in a professional theatre environment, meet and work with people already in the industry, and to see shows for free!
Volunteering Theatrically is currently closed for applications. The next application periods for 10/11 are:
AUTUMN SEASON (starting Sept. '10) Application period: 1st Sept'10 - 17th Dec '10
During these times the Barbican Theatre will be seeking top quality volunteers of 16 years+ to usher and help around the theatre, with opportunities from involvement in exciting projects such as In The Flesh to helping to market new work or tech-ing new multi-discipline performance work.
You can download an application pack here, consisting of:
To find out more about how the programme works, click here to go to our quick and simple guide .
Please return by e-mail to volunteer@barbicantheatre.co.uk or post it to us
If you have any questions about volunteering in general please contact Gina Sherman by e-mail or call on (01752) 242020
If you are interested in getting involved in our volunteer writers' group contact Kate Campbell by email or call on (01752) 242020
volunteering in action!
This month read our accounts of In the Flesh 09, the barbican theatre's live performance festival
In the Flesh tech experience by Jamie Smith
Working on ‘In The Flesh’ festival has to be put on my list of the greatest experiences in my life. As a ‘tech’ Volunteer I came in to the studio on Wednesday morning, where my first task was to help hang the hired black curtains along one of the walls and to finish setting up the space for the performances on Friday. We had to try and hide much of the paraphernalia that the studio had acquired over the last year, mainly chairs and tables and other props from shows which had all have to be put into the loft but thankfully we had the hands of many new volunteers.
Thursday was spent collecting a bath from Totnes with ‘Fozzy’ in the van and then setting up and focusing the remaining lights in the main auditorium and finishing at 9.00 that evening I was starting to feel the tiredness of what this job really takes out of you and with knowing that I had 3 more very long days ahead of me. The stage was now set, the studio was now prepared and the equipment was now delivered to Plymouth Arts Centre.
In The Flesh was only missing one thing - the performers! Friday morning had arrived and more eager than your average beaver I was down at the theatre running through the technical rehearsals with Mark, Doug, Alex and Luke. The schedule was tight and with my main objective of stopping the water leaking from the bath, which was being put at the top of the B-Bar area, I knew that today was going to be fun, exciting and exhausting. After managing to glue the plug in with resin and metal putty I headed off to run the technical requirements at the Plymouth Arts Centre.
Although it was only a PA system being used I was there mainly to help set up and clean up after the visual artists who defiantly didn’t mind smashing a lot of glass on themselves and throwing a lot of mud and paint around the fantastic space there. Along with Mark Greenwood of Red Ape I was able to complete the requirements of all the artists and make the three evenings there go as smoothly as possible.
On Saturday evening after the last performances at the Plymouth Arts Centre I was able to give a hand with the final pieces in the Barbican theatre and give a helping hand after the public had left to prepare for the next day of crazy entertainment. Sunday was spent dressing the top office in purple curtains and sorting the bottom office so that the Cluster Bomb Collective could turn it into a mock Underground tube station.
With the Plymouth Arts Centre performances finished for the weekend I took my technical hands to the studio and the offices that evening. I can only say two things about that evening - that Tim Bromage’s piece ‘Bad Teef’ was fantastic and what a mess! There was baby powder and tea everywhere. To have shared the buzz of the weekend with some brilliant people, cleaning away the studio was a joy with laughter and fun as we celebrated another astounding In the Flesh Festival. Can’t wait for next year!
In the Flesh ushering by Leanne Tough
I arrive at quarter-to-six. A little early but that’s fine. I’m given my badge and t-shirt, and a quick tour of the building – warned that the upstairs toilet couldn’t be used for this evening, there was a performance going on in there. Other ushers gather and the performers are manic; during the main briefing, you can feel a buzz in the air. Everyone is excited.
I’m told during the ushers’ meeting that I will be working with another usher, looking after the studio. The last act has been “felled by a tree”, jokes one of the organisers; there is a ripple of laughter but I’m nervous and only manage a smile. Soon a crowd begins to grow at the bottom of the stairs and as I talk to the other volunteers I begin to feel comfortable. In the first act, after settling the audience, I find myself drawn into the “magic that is the theatre”.
It is a wonderful sensation to be so captivated and fascinated by a single person playing at not being themselves. The night from that point goes by so quickly, and even though we fall behind schedule, the atmosphere is maintained through every performance. Staff, volunteers, performers and audience alike all enjoy themselves, and I am very proud to be part of it.
