Parent Volunteer Handbook

TROY HOWARD MIDDLE SCHOOL

DRAMA CLUB

CENTER STAGE ENSEMBLE

PARENT VOLUNTEER HANDBOOK

2011-2012

Welcome to the Troy Howard Middle School Drama Club, Center Stage Ensemble. We have a rich history and proud tradition of offering students many opportunites to learn about and participate in theater arts, either on stage or behind it.

Since I took over the drama club in 2005, there have been over 10 productions, including plays, musicals, cabarets, a 10-minute play competition, student film festivals, and a regional acting compeition.  Miss Joy stepped in as costume designer and assistant advisor in 2009. She and I work hard to include as many kids as possible.

That being said, parental involvement is critical to the sustainability of the drama club. Parent volunteers are the cornerstone of our success. Without your help we simply can not provide the same level of activities. We truly appreciate your help.

There are many ways parents can help. Some parents volunteer a little of their time, some a lot. The goal would be to have every parent of every cast member contribute in some way.

In this handbook you will read about the different ways you can volunteer to help your child’s drama club. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at 338-3320 x101 or jbannister@rsu20.org.

Sincerely,

Jason Bannister

General Guidelines

1. Parents (or any family member) who want to volunteer must fill out a district volunteer form. These can be found in the office.
2. As much as we appreciate the gesture, anyone wishing to volunteer must be signed up in advance. Having someone show up the night of a performance to help out, without knowing what to do, makes things difficult. It takes away from the kids and adults who have already been trained in their job.

Ways to volunteer during rehearsal process

1. Costume crew - You will work with Sarah Joy to find and/or construct the costumes for the production. You don’t need to be able to sew, although that is helpful.

1. Props supervisor/crew - You will work with Mr. Bannister to identify all the props needed in the production. Then the props supervisor will work with the props crew to locate all items. Some items will be needed immediately for rehearsals, although rehearsal props can be used. The props supervisor is in charge of setting up and labeling the props table backstage.

1. Set crew - You will work with Mr. Bannister to identify all the set pieces needed in the production. Mr. Bannister usually designs a set that may or may not be the same idea as the playwright. Mr. Bannister will utilize his performing arts classes for most of the building and painting of the set, but some elements will need parental assistance.

1. Concessions coordinator - You will receive a list of emails/phone numbers of cast members’ parents. You will be responsible for contacting them and creating a list of items that will be made/purchased for the performances. You will also create a list of parents who will work the concessions table during performances. You will help with set-up and clean-up.

1. Pre-show movie/dinner/party coordinator - You will be responsible for contacting parents and creating a list of items that will be made/purchased for the pre-show party. Food, drink, plates, cups, etc. are needed. This party is usually 2-3 weeks before opening night. You will also help with set-up and clean-up.

Ways to volunteer during performances

1. Costumes crew - You will work with Sarah Joy to help kids get into costumes. You may need to make quick repairs, iron, etc. You may need to help kids with costume changes during the performance. You will help remind students to hang up their costumes properly to reduce ironing and lost costume pieces.

1. Hair/Make-up crew - You will work with Miss Joy to design make-up and hair for the cast. You will help apply make-up to kids, along with other parents and students. You will help do hair for the kids. You will help with set-up and clean-up.

1. Backstage supervision - You will stay backstage and in the green room during the performance to ensure the cast and crew is quiet and ready for the entrances and cues. You will have a script to follow, a list of who is in each scene, a list of scene changes, and a monitor in the green room to hear the action onstage.

1. Tickets sales - You will set-up a small desk to sell tickets and hand out programs. You will receive a cash box with a key. You are responsible for collecting money from the audience, handing out programs (and photocopying more if need be), and handing the money over to Mr. Bannister.

1. Concessions crew - You will work with the concessions coordinator to set-up, sell, and clean up the concessions. This includes making coffee, getting ice, etc. You may help sell shirts/sweatshirts, as well as presell dvds. The coordinator is in charge of the money box and getting it to Mr. Bannister after the show.

1. DVD crew - If there is a parent interested in videotaping the performance and would like to use the multi-camera editing software, you can speak to Mr. Bannister about that. Selling dvds of the performances is a good way to fundraise, but it is a lot of work. Without parents to film/edit, there will not be an official dvd made of the performance.

Ways to volunteer after performances (during strike)

1. Costumes/Hair/Make-up crew - You will work with Sarah Joy to clean-up and put away all costumes, make-up and hair products and work areas.

1. Props crew - You will be responsible for returning all props to the appropriate people and places. You will clean-up the prop table. Any props that belong to someone who is not present at strike to collect will be left on prop table with a nametag (if known).

1. Set crew - You will assist in tearing down the set. You will work with Mr. Bannister and the kids to disassemble items and move them to the outside storage facility. You will help return all harware and tools to their appropriate places in the light booth. You will help clean-up the stage (unpeel spike tape, sweep, mop, etc).

1. Concessions crew - You will work with the concessions coordinator to clean-up the concessions table. You will rinse out the coffee machine and return it to the box. You will help move items that didn’t sell to the cast party food/drink area. You will return tables to Mr. Bannister’s room.

1. Cafeteria setup crew - You will help set the cafeteria tables and chairs. There are 3 rows of 6 tables. Each table gets 8 chairs.

1. Cast Party coordinator - You will coordinate with other parents and with Mr. Bannister (if needed) the purchasing and set-up of food, drinks, and other party items. There may be some unsold items from the concessions table, which you can use. In addition you may need to use some concession sales money to buy pizza, chips, soda, etc. The cast party begins after strike is competed and consists of the traditional THIMS Awards, handed out by Mr. Bannister and Miss Joy, as well as eating, drinking, and general hanging out (dancing usually occurs).