Positions and Descriptions
Not sure which volunteer role you’re best suited for? Contact the Volunteer Department in June 2012 when the volunteer application will open!
Fringe Volunteer Teams
PRE-FESTIVAL TEAMS:
FESTIVAL-TIME TEAMS:
- Venues
- Fringe Bar
- Volunteer Centre
- Dispatch
- Box Office/Info Centre
- Production and Signage
- Fundraising
- Events
- Distribution
- Office
POST-FESTIVAL TEAMS:
Fringe Volunteer Positions
BOX OFFICE/INFO CENTRE TEAM
Festival-Time
Count Room – Bean counters unite! Count, reconcile, and prepare floats and deposits in our top secret Count Room location. One of very few Fringe volunteer jobs where you are always warm and dry! Count Room volunteers need to be very familiar with Canadian currency, and some Count Room shifts go until midnight.
Count Room Captain – NEW – If you’ve volunteered in our Count Room before, or have event experience and are good with math, come be a Count Room Captain! Communicate with other departments via radio, process change requests from venues, and be the gatekeeper of our top secret location. Some shifts will involve late hours.
Fringe Ambassador – Put your best Fringe forward! Fringe Ambassadors work in the Info Centre or rove around Granville Island to answer questions and help people get the most out of their Fringe experience. For this role you need a very high level of spoken English, and a very low level of shyness!
Info Line – NEW – Do you love talking on the phone? Come hang out at the Box Office and take charge of the ever-ringing Info Line! When Fringers call with questions, the Info Line volunteers save the day, looking up information on our website and database. Basic computer skills required. This role could be convenient for those who are available early in the day; the Box Office is only open from noon to 8:00 p.m.
Drivers – Drivers are crucial for pick up and delivery (of people and supplies), and are some of the only volunteers who get to visit every BYOV venue! If you know your way around Vancouver and have a valid (Class 5) Drivers License, this is the job for you. You don’t need to bring your own vehicle; Dispatch will have a car for you to drive.
Runners – Fringe on the go! Runners relax in Dispatch until a call comes over the radio, and then spring into action to move critical information and supplies between venues on Granville Island. Warm, waterproof clothes and comfortable footwear are a must; runners don’t actually run, but they do a lot of walking!
DISTRIBUTION TEAM
Pre-Festival, Festival-Time, and Post-Festival
Distribution – Help spread the word about the Fringe – by foot, bicycle, or car! Distribution volunteers deliver our festival program guides, display racks, and posters to locations across the Lower Mainland before and during the festival, then pick everything up afterwards. A great way to get most of your volunteer hours done before or after the festival so you can see as many Fringe shows as possible!
**Note: Fringe Bar volunteers must be 19 years of age or older, and must have at least some late-night availability. Shifts go until midnight on weekdays and until 2:30 a.m. on weekends.**
Bartenders – If you have your Serving It Right certification, come pour frosty beverages for our Fringe Bar customers at the Agro Café and Performance Works. Night owls needed – the Fringe Bar is open late!
Bussers – Help Fringe Bar staff keep the party rolling by clearing cups and collecting empties. Bussers must be at least 19 years of age. Night owls needed – the Fringe Bar is open late!
Bar Ticket Sellers – Sell tickets for drinks at the best party in town! Bar Ticket Sellers need to be familiar with Canadian currency, and at least 19 years of age. Night owls needed – the Fringe Bar is open late!
Security – Help keep the fun in the bar and off the streets. Check IDs, keep drinks in and smoke out, and help keep the club celebrations safe and fun. Night owls needed – the Fringe Bar is open late!
FUNDRAISING TEAM
Pre-Festival and Festival-Time
Sweet on the Fringe – Are you sweet on the Fringe? We need enthusiastic volunteers to help with our festival-time fundraising presentations by running around the theatre to collect donations before the show starts and giving out delicious fair-trade chocolate to audience members as they leave. Since SOTF volunteers often get to watch shows, this job is sweet in more ways than one!
Events – We have some great Fringe special events, including our Opening Night fundraiser on September 6 and Awards Night on September 18. Events volunteers help with a variety of tasks including setup and strike, monitoring our silent auction, selling raffle tickets, and just generally helping the events run smoothly. A great way to make sure you’ve got a ticket to the hottest events of the festival!
OFFICE TEAM
Pre-Festival, Festival-Time, and Post-Festival
Office – Office volunteers help with a number of important tasks, from preparing artist welcome packages to compiling Pick of the Fringe results to entering new Fringe members into our database. If you’re comfortable around computers, this is the job for you! Shifts start as soon as August and continue after the festival into October, so there is a lot of work to be done.
PRODUCTION AND SIGNAGE TEAM
Pre-Festival, Festival-Time, and Post-Festival
Site Crew – It takes hard work to look this good. Help our production and signage team build venues, paint and install signs, hang banners and prepare the island for the Fringe – then take it all down again 11 days later! During the festival, Site Crew are like Runners with more stuff, helping to make sure that everything’s in its place each night, from setting up outdoor BYOV venues to replenishing the beer supply at the Fringe Bar. Comfortable shoes and warm clothes required. You might work outside, get dirty, and need to be able to lift stuff.
VENUE TEAM
Festival-Time and Post-Festival (Pick of the Fringe)
Crew Chiefs – Crew Chiefs are experienced and committed to the Fringe. They take on a larger role in the festival, helping to train volunteers and roving between venues to support Venue Captains and troubleshoot any issues that arise. Crew Chiefs are selected through an interview process, attend a Crew Chief and Venue Captain training session in addition to the general volunteer training, and commit to a minimum of 40 hours during the festival. In return, they receive a Kick Ass Pass (which gets you and a friend into shows without waiting in the Rush Line)!
Venue Captains – Venue Captains are volunteers with strong leadership skills who have volunteered at the Fringe before or have other leadership experience. They coordinate and supervise Front of House activities at all 29 Fringe venues. Venue Captains are selected through an interview process, a Crew Chief and Venue Captain training session in addition to the general volunteer training, and commit to a minimum of 8 shifts during the festival. In return, they also receive a Kick Ass Pass!
Ticket Sellers – One of the most popular volunteer positions, this is the Fringe Customer Service point of contact numero uno! Ticket Sellers work in pairs to manage Will Call, sell tickets to the shows, handle money, and keep track of how many pass holders attend each performance. All Ticket Sellers must be familiar with Canadian currency and have a high level of spoken English.
Ushers – Another very popular volunteer position! Ushers get involved by taking tickets, handing out programs, and showing the audience to their seats. Ushers also help with crowd control and answer a lot of questions from the audience standing in line. And they often get to watch the shows!
VOLUNTEER CENTRE TEAM
Festival-Time
Registration Attendants – This position is key to the Volunteer Centre. Registration Attendants are the keepers of the daily volunteer schedule, and help make the Volunteer Centre a fun, welcoming, and informative place for volunteers. They sign volunteers in for their shifts, let staff members know if there are any holes in the schedule, and dispatch Floaters to fill in where extra help is needed.
Floaters – Can’t make up your mind which position you’d like the best? Want to try your hand at a bit of everything? This is the job for you! Floaters fill in for volunteers who can’t make their shift, or jump in to help when things get really busy. Read all the other job descriptions here to get a sense of what you might do as a Floater!
