Document text
[an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) Volunteers make the difference By Troy Heie Ashland Daily Tidings Behind the scenes at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a company of volunteers taking care of everything from mailing out brochures to helping knit a costume that will one day be displayed center-stage. The reward is a feeling of being that much closer to one of the world's most renowned theater companies, said OSF Volunteer Manager Kit Dickey. "We really are the biggest repertory theatre in the nation," Dickey said. "We have this huge number of employees. But we couldn't do what we do without volunteers." One week, 50 people are needed to do a mailing. In another week there are more than 30 hats that need to be completed for the Green Show. That's where the volunteers come in. "By doing this hand sewing, they free the costume shop employees to go back to the cutting and draping that is their specialty," Dickey explained. The range of volunteering work at the Festival is vast. Tasks can include working in the Tudor Guild gift shop, tearing tickets inside theaters, serving as Red Coats to help answer people's questions and guide patrons to their seats, or filing Festival documents into the OSF archives/library. There are 22 sites where volunteers can work. At 10 of those sites there is someone who acts as Dickey's liaison to coordinate volunteer efforts. Dickey pointed out that most theatres have 115-120 volunteers donating 3,000 hours per year. OSF has 750 volunteers contributing 27,000 hours a year. Of those, over 350 are dues-paying members, contributing anywhere from $100 to more than $5,000 per season. "Lots of people are interested in volunteering. Some-times, I have a hard time accommodating their re-quests," Dickey said. "There are a significant number of people who are really, really devoted to it." There are three functions of volunteer organizations, Dick-ey explained: fund raising, fund saving and community outreach (friend making). Most of the fund raising activities are carried out by the Tudor Guild. In the area of fund saving, the 27,173 hours donated last year by volunteers saved OSF $176,624.50 in wages. Volun-teers act as ambassadors for the Festival in carrying out their responsibilities. Of the 750 volunteers, nearly 40 will contribute more than 100 hours each of their time per season. According to Dickey, a survey of volunteers found that 77 percent of those working at the Festival in 1999 stated that "OSF is important to my community and I want to be part of it" as their main reason for contributing their time; 69 percent answered that they "love theater and want to support OSF;" 28 percent said they "want to meet new people, make friends and extend my social circle;" and finally, 49 percent wanted complimentary tickets to selected plays. OSF volunteers still purchased more than $264,000 worth of tickets last year to see other Festival plays in addition to their complimentary tickets. "I'd say, roughly, it's 2-to-1 retired people to people still employed," Dickey said of the mix of volunteers. A few teens help here and there, either with the Green Show productions or in the costume shop. Most volunteer positions require work during school hours. Volunteers need to be 18 to fill any house positions. While nine of of 10 volunteers live in Ashland, about 50 people from Medford volunteer each week, as well as around 35 from Phoenix and 15 or so from Talent. Keeping track of hundreds of people keeps Dickey pretty busy each season, but it's a job she has grown to love. This is her first year running the volunteer program after serving for four years as the assistant volunteer coordinator. "I've truly become a manager. I recruit, hire and train people, then try to keep track of them all. It's a fun job." [an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) [an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) [an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2000 Lee Northwest Publishing