Have you ever had an interest in what happens behind the scenes in theatre? Perhaps acting isn’t your strong point, but you’d love to contribute to a stage masterpiece? One Saturday a month from April to July, the Theatre Arts Guild will be putting on four free workshops concerning some of the inner workings of theatre; producing (April 28), stage management (May 26), lighting (June 23) and publicity (July 21).
We spoke to the facilitator of all four workshops, Rebecca Humphreys.
Q: What prompted TAG to put on these workshops?
A: The first reason was to give people the chance to will learn about the required skills and the necessary time commitment for various volunteer roles at Theatre Arts Guild. We want to empower our volunteers and potential volunteers with this valuable training opportunity, so they will be able to determine whether the volunteer role is a good fit for them. Studies have shown that volunteer engagement is increased when they have received focused training that prepares them to for their position and to meet the expectations of their volunteer assignment.
Q: Has Theatre Arts Guild held these workshops before? If so, what was the response?
A: TAG has held individual workshops in the past, and the response has been good. We have not done a series of workshops before, but based on feedback from an online survey, we know that the desire is out there. Hopefully these workshops can contribute to the growth of our theatre community.
Q: What is your background in theatre?
A: Throughout the years I was involved in school plays, theatre classes and summer camps. The summer after I graduated from High School I went to Oxford University for an Enrichment program in Drama. I went on to study theatre in University where I got my Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of Saskatchewan. From there I went to study Musical Theatre at Grant McEwan College in Edmonton before moving back to Halifax in 1996. I have been involved with Theatre Arts Guild ever since then. I have acted, directed and worked as crew on more than 12 shows, as well as served on the Board in various capacities over the years.
Q: How extensive are the workshops?
A: They are really a “taste test” of what a producer, stage manager, lighting designer or publicity person would do and be responsible for during a production at Theatre Arts Guild. We hope that volunteers will gain some of the basic skills and knowledge about these workshop topics, and empower them to make an educated decision about pursuing a role in one of these areas. Volunteers informed us that not knowing what roles are available or what is involved in a specific role is one of the main reasons that they have not volunteered at TAG—we want to change that.
This article appears in Apr 19-25, 2012.