Volunteering at The Bear Pit Theatre

We love our Bear Pit volunteers, the running of our theatre and our shows depends on them. New volunteers are always welcome and however much, or little, time you can commit, we can find a role for you.
You’ll always be working as part of a team, and we’ll give you all the help and support you need to become more confident and experienced.
There are two main categories of volunteers – Front of House and Backstage.
You can do either or both. See below for the roles available

Volunteers should be 18+ for safeguarding purposes. Currently, we are unable to offer Work Experience.

Front of House

Front of House volunteering is ideal for you if you can only help occasionally, or for a few hours at a time. During shows, we need volunteers to do the following jobs:

• Bar Staff – running the bar as part of a team of two or more, making tea and coffee as needed and selling drinks, crisps and ice creams. A great way to meet people. This needs you to spend the evening at the theatre.
• Box Office – selling tickets for that night’s performance or for later in the run, checking tickets against a list and telling people their seat numbers if they can’t remember them. This usually requires just an hour or so of your time and you can go home once the performance has started.
• Ushering – welcoming people as they arrive, showing them to their seats, giving out programmes and keeping an eye on the audience during the show, summoning help if there are any problems. This generally means being at the theatre all evening.

Once signed up, you can put yourself down for any job and session that suits you, so it’s very flexible and simple. Front of house volunteering is an ideal way of meeting people and getting to know the theatre. And, who knows, you might then want to do more and progress to being a Duty Manager.

Our Front of House Manager is Tony Homer. To apply to be a Front of House Volunteer, please complete and submit this form: Front of House Application Form

Backstage

Backstage volunteering requires some time commitment, but is hugely rewarding, as you’re an integral part of the team on the show – just as important as the cast. You only commit to one show at a time, so you might decide to do just one a year, or you might want to do more. Each show takes about three months to put together, though a big show can sometimes be more.

The backstage team for each show is usually agreed several months before the performances. So, although we try to have at least one new volunteer on each show, it may be a while before we can offer you a show to work on. In the meantime, why not volunteer for Front of House and get to know us?

Our Production Support Manager is Jacquie Campbell. To apply to be a Backstage Volunteer, please email her at volunteer@thebearpit.org.uk with your contact details, and she’ll have a chat to you.

There are a number of areas that backstage volunteers could work in:

• Wardrobe – working with the Director and cast to find the right costumes for the play. We have a wardrobe of our own, but we also make, hire and borrow costumes. You need to be available to come to some evening rehearsals, give some time to finding or making the costumes, and then attend dress rehearsals and performances as needed. No skills necessary, but an interest in fashion and the ability to sew are helpful.
  If you’re interested in hair or make up, this would also be the team to join.
  Our Wardrobe Co-ordinator is Elizabeth Foster.
• Props – sourcing the furniture and small props that are needed by the actors and to make the set look perfect.  We have stores of props but we also buy, borrow and sometimes make them.  You need to be available to come to some evening rehearsals, give some time to finding or making the props and then attend dress rehearsals and performances as needed.  No skills necessary but if you’re at all into arts and crafts, it might be helpful. Our Props Co-ordinator is Lynda Liddament
• Technical – operating the lights and sounds. This is a lot easier than you might think! Everything is programmed into our system beforehand, so your job is to press the button to turn things on and off at the right moment. You need to be available to come to some rehearsals to get to know the play in advance, and then to be there for technical and dress rehearsals and performances. No skills needed other than the ability to follow a script. Our Technical Manager is Richard Ball
• Set Design, Building & Painting – designing a set starts long before the actors start rehearsing, but the building and painting mostly take place in the couple of weeks before the show and are done during the day.  We provide all the tools and equipment and plenty of support.  No skills necessary for painting, but physical fitness and some basic woodworking experience is useful for building.
  Our Sets Manager is Martin Tottle
• Stage Management – this is the biggest time commitment, as Stage Managers usually attend all rehearsals and all performances. However, we don’t expect you to start stage managing a show straight away! Usually volunteers help on the crew of a show first, moving furniture and set. That just requires coming to a few rehearsals to learn the ropes and being there for the dress rehearsals and performances. No skills necessary – you learn on the job
• Marketing & Communications – we need audiences to support our shows, so marketing is a vital part of what we do, as is communicating with our members and our supporters. We are always delighted to welcome people who have design, photography, copy writing and other marketing skills to help us manage our website and social media, and to design materials and publicity for each show that will help us attract audiences of all ages. You can give as much or as little time to marketing and communications as you can spare – it can be a regular commitment, or you can just help on an occasional show.
  If you have any relevant skills or experience, our Marketing Manager, Richard Sandle-Keynes, would love to hear from you.

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