Volunteer With Us
The Stars of the Show
Shakespeare & Company volunteers love what they do – and make a difference doing it!
If you enjoy theater and have a love of community, we invite you to become involved in one of the world’s premiere Shakespearean companies.
Volunteers not only become important parts of the Company but also touch thousands of lives, from audiences to youth groups to actors-in-training, in the community and around the globe. Volunteer Company puts the individual skills, knowledge, and life experiences of more than 200 people at center stage. Volunteers come from diverse locations, backgrounds, and lifestyles, support the work of Shakespeare & Company year-round, and have a lot of fun in the process. It’s an enriching, rewarding experience that includes great theater performances, fascinating people, and opportunities to connect with friends both old and new.
How to Join the Volunteer Company
Email the Volunteer Office at volunteers@shakespeare.org. Leave your name and phone number and a Membership Committee member will contact you. Or, fill out a Volunteer Application below.
Volunteering Opportunities
Ushers
Shakespeare & Company volunteer ushers typically:
- Welcome patrons;
- Scan tickets;
- Offer patrons assistance before show and during intermission;
- Stuff and distribute programs;
- Help patrons locate their seats;
- Assist at the Gift Shop during intermission when needed, and
- Collect programs at the end of the performance.
Staff Support
These volunteers offer assistance with posting promotional flyers for S&Co. shows at area retail establishments, libraries, community centers, etc., and with mailings and other administrative functions on an as-needed basis.
Community Events Support
Shakespeare & Company plans to have a presence at multiple community events in Berkshire County (e.g. Berkshire PRIDE, Pittsfield Juneteenth, and the annual Lenox Apple Squeeze) to promote the Company’s performances and Education and Training programs, as well as volunteer opportunities.
Community Events Support Volunteers assist staff with interacting with members of the public, answering basic questions, handing out promotional material, and occasionally making sales of merchandise from the gift shop.
Company Events
This group provides assistance to staff and patrons at special Shakespeare & Company donor events and patron/donor receptions.
Company Hospitality
These volunteers bake tea breads as a welcome to visiting artists during the summer season, breakfast baked goods for the Volunteer Welcome Meeting in early June, and cookies for the Fall Festival of Shakespeare in November. Volunteers also make hors d’ouervres for Cast/Crew receptions and provide car transportation for visiting artists if needed.
Flower Arrangements
Meet one morning each week to plan, design and create flower arrangements for the Tina Packer Playhouse and Elayne P. Bernstein theater lobbies.
Gardening
Our dedicated gardening volunteer group maintains the plantings in the Shakespeare Garden, and around the Packer Playhouse, St. Martin’s and Miller Building. As the job involves digging, pulling weeds, and replacing plantings, you’ll want to dress appropriately for this kind of physical work.
Gift Shop Sales Associate
Volunteers with a flair for retail will love to staff our unique and accessible gift shop, open to patrons prior to showtime and during intermission.
Greeter
Greeters place themselves in the public space next to the Tina Packer Playhouse to welcome patrons and direct them to the performance location or to the box office and/or rest rooms inside the Playhouse.
Oral History and Archive Project
The Oral History and Archive Project team is intrinsic to preserving the Shakespeare & Company story, even when it’s stored on a cassette tape. With the goal of creating a digital archive and online database for anyone to explore, these Volunteers catalog, digitize, and preserve materials and corroborate accounts from artists, staff members, and others. They also conduct interviews with past and present Company Artists and staff to add to this archive.
Campus Tour Support
Assisting with scheduled tours beginning at 10:30 am on Thursdays, these Volunteers answer questions, keep participants moving, and engage with them in myriad ways throughout the tour.
Volunteer Company
Members Enjoy:
- Vouchers to free performances of plays and to special programs at Shakespeare & Company;
- Community Service credits for honors programs, college applications, and resumes;
- Learn the workings of one of the largest Shakespeare festivals in the country, and
- Meet a dynamic and diverse group of professionals who appreciate the effort in support of Shakespeare & Company.
