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 Autumn, 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. For our family shows at weekends, 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. For evening shows (usually starting at 7.30pm) we need FOH staff from 6/6.30pm until end of the performance (any time between 9.30-10pm) – this role often includes setting out chairs and putting them away, tidying up at the end.
Our box office staff assist the BO manager sell tickets and check off pre-paid bookings/sell programmes etc. For our family shows at weekends volunteers are generally required from 1pm, to ensure the box office is open by 1.15pm (for the show at 2pm), 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!)
Backstage helpers are generally required between 12.30pm-5pm at weekends, and ideally can attend some daytime rehearsals. For evening shows, call times are usually 6-10pm, with variations.
Outdoor theatre shows*
(*Please note these roles relate to our planned walkabout ‘street theatre’ show in July2025)
Stewards
With performances scheduled at 2pm, 3pm & 4pm on Fri 25, Sat 26 & Sun 27 July, we expect to need stewards between 1.30pm-4.30pm on each show day. They will be needed to ensure the safety of audience members, who will be invited to follow the action from location to location.
Volunteer prop-makers
We expect to need help making props and signage for this production. Those interested should contact producer/creative director Jonathan Kaufman directly: jonathan@sptheatre.co.uk
Upcoming Dates
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) there will be two performances: Fri 20 June at The Sydenham Centre (7.30-9.30pm) and Sat 21 June at The Albany, Deptford, times to be confirmed but likely 3-4pm. For both performances we will be looking for backstage crew and front of house ushers/stewards, needed between 6/6.30pm on Fri 20 June and 2-4.30pm on Sat 21 June [tbc].
SYDENHAM’S BIG CAT SAFARI – walkabout street theatre show Fri 25/Sat 26/Sun 27 July, 30 min performances at 2pm, 3pm & 4pm each day. We will assemble outside the Greyhound Pub on Sydenham Road from 30mins before each performance. Stewards will be required to accompany the audience as they follow the action, down Spring Hill/into Peak Hill and ending at Kirkdale Green, SE26 4NL. Stewards will be briefed before each performance and provided with high-vis yellow t-shirt.
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JANE AUSTEN IN 90 MINUTES – marking Austen’s 250th birthday celebrations, this collaboration with Kirkdale Bookshop will stage a rehearsed reading of short, comic adaptations of her novels over two evenings at St Bart’s Church, Sydenham: Fri 5 & Sat 6 September, 7.30-9.30pm. Both shows require FOH staff and box office assistants, from 6/6.30pm-10pm each evening. We may require backstage helpers, will update here if needed.
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.
