Volunteer Signup

If you enjoy good company and would like to provide lodging for performers, use the form on the Volunteer Signup page tell us about accomodations you can offer our performers.

Housing in a private home is offered to all performers. Our philosophy is that we’d rather pay the performer a little extra than pay for a hotel room. Many performers enjoy getting to meet and spend some time with a community member. Hosts should keep in mind, though, that many performers spend incredible hours on the road and put incredible energy into being “on” for the crowd. Sometimes when they get back to the host house, they simply want to crash in privacy. Even though it can be exciting to have a performer as your guest, please keep in mind their need for rest and privacy.

Generally the performer will not arrive at your house until after the concert, and usually they leave after breakfast the next morning. You simply arrive at the concert and let the door person know that you are hosting the performers. They will be expecting you and will have your name on a list. You will receive complimentary admission for two for your hospitality.

Sometime during the evening, approach the performer to introduce yourself and let them know they’ll be staying at your place. Don’t wait until the last minute as the performer will be wondering. After the show, you’ll wait around for them to pack up and be ready to go. Keep in mind that this can take a while. When they’re ready, they’ll follow you home. Or, if there are two of you, you could offer to have one of you ride with them.

You need to be flexible with the whole after-show process. Sometimes performers want to go out to eat at this point, sometimes they take what feels like forever to be ready to go, and sometimes they even decide to just get on the road and skip the hospitality you’ve planned for them. Often there’s an after show party, which you and the performers would be invited to.

When you get back home, just do what you’d do for any guest: show them their room, the bathroom, and anything special about your house. If they have lots of expensive stuff in their car, offer them a spot in the garage if you have one. In cold weather, they’ll need to carry instruments in, so offer to help with that.

It would be nice if you’d offer breakfast the next morning but this is not a requirement. If you’d like to offer them dinner the night before or if you’d like to give them the option of arriving at your house before the show, let Performer Liaison know and s/he’ll get the offer communicated to them. Certainly these things are not expected, but this might be something the performer would enjoy.

If you enjoy hosting, and would like to offer your home to performers, use our form to tell us about accomodations you can offer. Have Questions? Email our hosting coordinator before/after you sign up.

BEHIND THE SCENES POSITIONS

Artistic Director

• Coordinates booking of main acts with the assistance of a booking committee.
• Negotiates the details of the contract.

Performer Liaison

Once the main acts are booked, PL takes care of signing and returning contracts. For opening acts, we don’t use contracts, but PL sends a “letter of agreement” with all pertinent information. Before each show, the Performer Liaison:

• Confirms with main & opening acts: arrival time, show time, length of show, details of contract
• For CWB, confirms they’ll play without sound system.
• For other sites, has main act arrive 2 hours before doors open and opening act 1 hour before doors open for sound check (later ok if it’s a solo act or easy sound check)
• Finds out housing needs and lets housing host coordinator know
• Sends directions
• Takes care of any special needs
• Lets show manager, asst manager, and host know what performer’s plans are
• Gives a copy of the contract to the show manager
• Gives a copy of performer bio to emcee

At-Show Volunteer Coordinator

• Lines up all show-night volunteers
• Posts to abcd-l a list of volunteers for each show
• Show manager then confirms with each volunteer the week of the show.

Baking Volunteer Coordinator

• Lines up people to bake for each show.
• Posts the list to abcd-l.
• We need 1 baker for every 20-25 audience members.

Host Coordinator

• Lines up people to host performers.

Ticket Manager

• Prints and distributes tickets to ticket outlets
• Calls ticket outlets mid-week and show morning to check on ticket sales
• Tracks ticket sales and payments to outlets

Publicity

• Post to Brewlist/Facebook/Twitter/Website to advertise show
• Gets copy of main and opener bios to emcee
• Calls Folk DJ before folk calendar with ticket status
• Send press releases with photos to local newspapers for each show
• For larger shows, or those where ticket sales are lagging, post artist’s promo material in local shops & PSU bulletin boards.
• Design and print season postcard and show posters

Website Manager

• Interface with hosting service (ISP) on any website issues.
• Maintain domain name registration, and ISP account(s)
• Update website each season and as needed during the season
• Manage E-Tix site
• Manage Paypal payment site
• Manage Contact Us page and php scripts used by patrons and others to send mail to volunteers.

Opening Act Coordinator

• Selects and books opening acts with the assistance of a booking committee.
• Negotiates details of the contract.

Contact Us about your interest in getting more involved by emailing our Volunteer Coordinator.