Volunteer Duties

Description of Volunteer Duties (All positions have limited space).

Boutique Sales – Your responsibilities will include: arriving 1hr prior to the performance start, selling boutique items, wrapping and organizing boutique items, taking money and giving change when necessary, and passing the boutique table to an LDT supervisor 45min-1hr after the show’s conclusion. A boutique volunteer cannot leave the boutique table unattended. If your child is performing, please plan out the watching schedule with the other boutique volunteers and only enter the auditorium for your child’s section so that you may watch his/her performance.

Ushering – Your responsibilities will include: arriving 1 hour prior to the performance start, passing out programs, taking ticket stubs and delivering them to the House Manager after the show, helping audience members find their seats, directing patrons to the restrooms and through the lobby area, reminding parents that they may only pick up their performers at the backstage door, calming patrons in the event of an emergency or disturbance, contacting the House Manager if there are any problems, cleaning up the auditorium after the show’s conclusion, keeping the doors to the auditorium closed during and prior to the performance, keeping the doors to the auditorium from slamming during the performance, and opening the doors prior to the show, at intermission, and after the show. Please make sure that Act 1 Performers only may enter the auditorium to see Act 2 of the show if they are accompanied by an adult, have their own ticket for the show, have all of their performance make-up removed, and are wearing normal clothes (not ballet attire). Ushering Volunteers may sit in temporary chairs and watch the entire show from the back of the auditorium unless you are needed in the lobby area. You should be able to watch the show in its entirety.

Load In – Your responsibilities will include: meeting at the LDT storage facility on the morning of the Load In, lifting sets and props into a rented truck, continuing to LDT to lad the costumes and the rest of the props and marley flooring, continuing to the auditorium to load all of the contents of the truck onto the stage. No children will be allowed to help with Load In.

Load Out – Your responsibilities will include: meeting at Niwot HS Auditorium on Sunday, April 11th at 4:00pm, loading contents of the performance (by lifting sets, props, marley flooring, and costumes) into the rental truck, continuing to the storage unit at the Sugar Mill Self Storage and unloading contents, continuing to LDT to unload more contents, lay down the marley flooring in LDT’s Studio 1, and mop marley flooring. No children will be allowed.

Backstage (with any group of performers) – Your full list of responsibilities will be handed to you after you have signed up for a specific backstage position. We will need: 1 volunteer for Boys, 2 volunteers each for Ballet level 1, 2 volunteers for Ballet level 2, 2 volunteers for Ballet level 3A, 2 volunteers for Ballet level 3B, 4 volunteers for level 4A/B/C, 2 volunteers for Ballet level 5, 2 volunteers for Ballet level 6, 2 volunteers for Ballet level 7. Below are some of the guidelines and expectations of a backstage volunteer. 1. Your first and foremost responsibility is the safety of the dancers. All dancers should be supervised at all times. Do not let them run. Keep the students calm yet excited about performing. Please help keep the noise down in all changing rooms. There are a lot of young dancers in a small amount of space. Do not leave them alone to sew a costume or to take a student to the bathroom. If you must leave, please make sure someone else can supervise them. 2. Dancers should arrive performance ready (leotards/tights/hair in a bun). You will need to help them into their costumes/hair accessories/face makeup BEFORE they go onstage. 3. NO eating or drinking when in costume (except water). 4. Know when your group of dancers is to go on stage, and from which side of the stage they enter/exit (backstage manager will assist you with this task). You will need to escort the performers onto stage, keep them quiet until they go on, then return them to the backstage room. 5. Hang up all costumes after the performance, if mending is needed, there should be sewing supplies handy, or let the costumers know. 6. You must stay with your group of dancers until they are picked up by their parents at the end of the show. 7. Be sure all dancers go to the bathroom BEFORE putting on their costumes. 8. Bring games, coloring, blankets to sit on, anything to keep them busy but in your control, quiet, and having fun backstage while waiting to perform. 9. Extra supplies that come in handy: bobby pins, hair gel, hair spray, wipes, simple makeup, water, simple non-messy or sticky snacks, comb or brush. 10. After the show, be sure to leave your area clean and throw away all trash.

Backstage (but not in charge of a specific group of performers) – Your full list of responsibilities will be handed to you after you have signed up for a specific backstage position. We will need: 1 volunteer for Sign In/Out Table at the Backstage Entrance Door, 1 volunteer for Upper Door, 1 volunteer for Potty Mom, 1 volunteer for Seamstress, 1 volunteer for Sewing Room Help, 1 volunteer for Backstage Manager, and 2 volunteers for Runners. Below are some of the guidelines and expectations of a backstage volunteer. 1. Your first and foremost responsibility is the safety of the dancers. All dancers should be supervised at all times. Do not let them run. Keep the students calm yet excited about performing. Please help keep the noise down in all changing rooms. There are a lot of young dancers in a small amount of space. 2. Sign In/Out Volunteers will be asked to communicate to the parents who are dropping off students the estimated time of pick-up, that parents may not enter the backstage area for any reason, and that performers must be performance ready (leotards/tights/hair in a bun) when they arrive at the theatre. This job must have someone who is very cool and collected, able to handle confrontation, and should be aware that this job is very thankless but is one of the most important backstage because it ensures the safety of our dancers. 3. The Upper Door volunteer must be very adamant about not allowing parents, friends, or strangers to enter the backstage area from the lobby or through any other Niwot HS hallway entrances to backstage. This person must be able to handle confrontation and should be aware that this job is very thankless and is also one of importance because it insures the safety of our performers. 4. Potty Moms will be asked to ferry performers to the bathroom when necessary. Potty moms may be asked to do other small tasks necessary for the performance. 5. Seamstresses must have excellent sewing skills. This person will be the person backstage who does any emergency stitching to costumes while in the auditorium before, during, and after the show. This person must wear an apron and be prepared with small flashlight, scissors, seam rippers, and pre-threaded needles of every color. 6. Sewing Room Help volunteers should have very good sewing skills because they will be asked to make repairs to costumes before, during, and after the show. 7. The Backstage Manager is integral to the success of the performance. This person is “Kristin” backstage during the production week and during all performances. Please contact this person instead of Kristin when you have questions or concerns at the auditorium. 8. Runners assist the Backstage Manager and should be aware of the show order. They “run” from the backstage manager to the backstage area and tell the performers and their volunteer when it time to come to stage. These volunteers may not do any other work. They must stay close to the Backstage Manager at all times because during a show or rehearsal, the Backstage Manager must be onstage and in the wings.

Selling Program Ads: Selling program ads is a fun way to volunteer to help the productions. Our community members need to know the importance of these performances and who better to tell them about it than YOU! If you work for or know a business that may be interested in advertising in our performance programs, then this way of volunteering is really easy. Businesses will get the opportunity to be seen in the programs for Nutcracker and the Spring Gala, or for either production singly. Over 700 audience members will see each show and most shows are completely sold out. The performance program is an 8.5 X 11 inch black and white finished booklet. All ads must be placed and finalized one month before the show dates.