Things You Don’t See Volunteers Doing at CWP

Most people know that small non-profit community theater groups are run by volunteers. That is certainly true at Carrollwood Players. Volunteers perform in our plays and musicals. Volunteers help build and paint sets, make costumes, find props, and run the lights. Volunteers help with “front of house” duties like taking tickets, checking in patrons, and working at the concessions stand.

But for a theater group like CWP that presents 18 Mainstage and Black Box productions every season, much more goes on behind the scenes. In many cases, it’s the work you don’t see volunteers engaged in that keeps the engines of the organization humming.

Here’s a look at just some of the vital things volunteers at CWP do every day that you don’t see them doing. Would you like to help? We welcome new faces and would love to find out more about your talents.

Marketing

From maintaining our website and social media pages to creating publicity videos, designing flyers, writing press releases and everything in between, all of our marketing work is done by volunteers. We would love to find additional volunteers interested in helping a great local arts organization get the word out. Other people can afford to hire a firm to help them with these things (like with https://victoriousseo.com/services/keyword-research/ services), but we rely on volunteers for our work so this isn’t an option for us.

Do you have a knack for writing that could be put to use? Are you a market research expert and can help in finding advertisable video content on newsflare or similar platforms? Are you a whiz with a video camera? Are you a people person that would be a hit manning a CWP table at a public event? Do you have MAD graphic design skills? These would be some general areas we are looking for additional help with.

Anyone with a little extra time, a little creativity, and a passion for quality can be matched with a specific “job” perfectly suited to your skills. Much of the work our marketing volunteers do can be done from home on a very flexible schedule. Contact our Marketing Committee for more information!

Fundraising

Did you know that ticket sales alone do not generate enough revenue to keep CWP going strong? We rely on the hard work and dedication of the volunteers on our Fundraising Committee to bridge the gap. As with marketing, much of the work done by these crucial volunteers goes on out of the spotlight.

Fundraising volunteers solicit local businesses for prize donations for major annual events, like our wildly popular Drag Queen Bingo fundraiser. They also organize our annual gala celebration, manage our annual Adopt a Musical campaign, and handle our relationships with small and large corporate sponsors as well as individuals who generously donate to Carrollwood Players.

The Fundraising Committee needs additional volunteers who have great people skills and a willingness to find and ask for the community support that CWP needs to continue to make live theater accessible to all. Contact our Fundraising Committee to find out how you can help!

Sound and Lighting Design

When you come to see a show at Carrollwood Players, you probably notice the friendly people sitting in “the booth.” These dedicated volunteers are very special, because they commit to running the lights and sound effects for every performance of a production, with little fanfare. They are a rare breed, and while we are always looking for volunteers to help in the booth, we are even more in need of sound and lighting designers.

Sound and lighting designers are the rarely seen technical geniuses who work to plan and implement the vision of the director for a production. Sound designers prepare all of the sound effects and incidental music for the production. This requires some knowledge, but CWP will train anyone interested in being a volunteer sound guru. Lighting designers are responsible for setting and aiming lights, and programming the light board. It’s not difficult, and again, CWP will train anyone interested in learning how to be a lighting designer!

Set Building

One of the most important aspects of getting our productions ready for opening night is building the set, and we are in need of individuals with experience in building and construction, even if that experience is not theater-specific. Because of the skills required, our Lead Set Builders do receive a small stipend for their work.

Lead Set Builders are responsible for working with the director to create a set plan. And this “job” requires leadership skills, too. The Lead Set Builder supervises volunteers on set build day. Taking the set vision from concept to reality is fun and rewarding.

We would love to hear from you if you have construction or theatrical set building experience, along with the ability to supervise a build, meet deadlines, and stay within budget. We would also like to hear from you if you just want to volunteer to help build our sets.

CWP Loves Volunteers!

Whatever your interests and talents might be, chances are we need you.

Reach out to us today at [email protected] and we’ll get to work matching you with a fun and rewarding volunteer opportunity that will make a real difference!

You can also join our special Facebook Group for CWP volunteers to stay abreast of all the latest volunteer news!