As a not-for-profit, professional community theatre, we rely on volunteers to help us to stage our events throughout the year. The benefits of volunteering are many and varied, and all of them go towards enhancing the lives of individuals and the community. Here are just six of them:
- You give something back to an organisation that makes a positive impact on the local community
- You become a valued member of a team
- It’s also a route to employment, through gaining new skills, knowledge and experience – or developing existing abilities and knowledge
- It’s a way to enhance your CV and improve employment prospects
- It helps you to use your professional skills and knowledge to benefit others
- It’s tons of fun!
Photos by Mark Drinkwater
Below are the roles we need volunteers for this Summer, and what you can expect to be doing with us.
Box office & Front of house staff
We always need help ‘front of house’ eg. helping usher audience members to their seats, showing them to the toilets, selling programmes etc, as well as setting out and clearing away seating. FOH staff are generally required from 2pm-5.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays, though we do not expect any volunteers to be available for all dates and times.
Our box office staff assist the BO manager sell tickets and check off pre-paid bookings/sell programmes etc. Generally volunteers are required from 2pm, to ensure the box office is open by 2.15pm (for the show at 3pm), and again between 2.45-3.45 for the 3.30pm performance. We usually expect our box office team to be on site for up to 15mins after show start time, to allow for latecomers (we often get lots of these!)
Outdoor theatre shows*
(*Please note these roles relate to the outdoor productions in Home Park, behind Sydenham Library, in Spring and Summer 2025)
Stewards
12.30pm-4.30pm
Our volunteer stewards are on hand before, during and after performances to help guide audience members to their seats, ensure they are correctly distanced and escort them to the public toilets if necessary. They are present throughout the performances, keeping an eye out in case an audience member needs help, and they assist in clearing up afterwards. The stewards’ call time is generally 12:30pm, for a briefing no later than 1pm, when they are allocated their roles for the day. Stewards usually finish at 4.30pm, depending on the show’s running time.
Box office staff
1pm-2.30pm (to cover the show at 2pm-3.30pm)
Box office volunteers work at a table at the entrance to the audience area. They check ticket holders on a daily sheet as they come in and sell day tickets, as well as handing out flyers and any other information the public asks for. As soon as the performance has started and any latecomers have been checked in, they are responsible for returning all cash/card receipts, plus card reader and documents to a secure location, after which time they are free to go, or to continue as stewards. There is always a security guard present at the box office, and stewards to help if there is a long queue for tickets, which is very often the case! Box office volunteers are needed from 1:15pm at the latest, and stay till around 2.30pm, for latecomers, unless they are staying as stewards or watching the performance. On days with multiple performances, two box office shifts may be possible, but we will most likely require staff to stay for the second performance.
Backstage Crew
12.30pm-5pm
Our volunteers who work as stage hands have plenty to do! They assist in setting up the performance space, including the installation of gazebos, sound system and any scenery; before and during performances they may assist the stage manager with moving scenery, props and sometimes helping the actors with costume changes. Because there is a lot of fetching and carrying to do, these volunteers must be physically able. Their call times are usually from 12:30pm to at least 5pm, where they will assist with the clear up. In each case, all volunteers will need to report on arrival to our Volunteers Coordinator, who will have already contacted you to confirm which day(s) and time(s) you are available to help.
A note on Technical and Dress Rehearsals
We always have technical and dress rehearsals which are the last ones before the performances, called of course, ‘tech’ and ‘dress’ days. It is always tremendously helpful if some volunteers are able to attend some of these, so that they can see how the shows work and what needs to be done.
Upcoming Dates
THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF will be our first outdoor show of the year, running over a week from Sat 24 May-Sun 1 June (no performances on Mon 26 May/Wed 28 May) in Home Park, just behind Sydenham Library. We always need a large team of volunteers for our outdoor performances, so look out of details of opportunities in the near future!
We are now urgently seeking volunteers to help with scenic design and prop making! If you have skills as an artist, painter, prop maker or scenery designer, please contact us asap using the email link below, or email director/producer Jonathan directly jonathan@sptheatre.co.uk
NO PLACE LIKE HOME – REFUGEE STORIES will be a development of the ‘HOME FROM HOME’ show we staged last June. Marking Refugee Week (16-22 June 2025) it will include at least two performances (at Sydenham Centre and The Albany, Deptford) on 20 and 21 June (times TBC). For both performances we will be looking for backstage crew and front of house ushers/stewards. We will provide more details nearer the time.
Please email our volunteer coordinator (see below) to offer your time for any of the above roles.
Important notes
We never expect anyone to sign up to every single rehearsal and performance, but if you want to do that we won’t object! As many or as few as you can manage will be very gratefully accepted, and if you want to bring along your friends and family, we always say the more the merrier. As long as our volunteers show up on the days they have committed to, we’ll be happy, and we want you to be happy too.
Apologies but we cannot accept volunteers under the age of 16 unless they are accompanied by an adult throughout their session/s with us.
Expenses
We are able to reimburse travel and other expenses within reason, up to £5 per day travel and £3 for food and drink if required all day. Please keep any receipts and send copies (scans will suffice) with an invoice to claim back expenses, to producer Jonathan Kaufman at jonathan@sptheatre.co.uk
Contact Us
To volunteer for any of our upcoming performances please email volcoordinator@spontaneousproductions.co.uk.
For more general volunteering questions please email volunteers@spontaneousproductions.co.uk.
