Whether you can help with one show or five shows, your effort counts. Everybody can make a contribution.

For those who may be looking for ways to support their community and have fun at the same time, volunteering for the Huntsville Festival of the Arts and the Algonquin Theatre may   be the answer.

A volunteer sign-up evening has been organized in the Partners Hall of the Algonquin Theatre tomorrow, Thursday, May 8 starting at 7 p.m. The evening is being hosted jointly by the festival and the theatre.

As front-of-house volunteers and ushers are fully staffed at this time, this call for volunteers is directed specifically at those individuals who want to provide services either backstage on the production crew, or as part of a hospitality team which provides support and services to the artists while they are in the theatre.  

Volunteers are tremendously important. Without them, neither the festival nor the theatre would be able to function. The payback for those willing to help is the enjoyment and sense of satisfaction they receive from participating in the delivery of each of the evening’s performances at a professional level for which the festival and theatre have become well known.

Volunteers working backstage do all the little things required to make the show seem seamless from the audience’s viewpoint. They help focus lights, load equipment, run cables and help the artists become familiar with the theatre space. Volunteers also manage the stage and rub shoulders with some of this country’s finest performers.

Hospitality volunteers help in the artists’ dressing rooms, tending to their needs and making sure they have food and fluids.

Most importantly, volunteers become part of the performance. They’re the ones who allow the show to go on.

Whether you can help with one show or five shows, your effort counts. If you can’t lift a heavy cabinet, maybe you can help with sound check, or cut up fruit and vegetables in preparation for the artists’ arrival. Everybody can make a contribution.

Representatives from the various volunteer positions will be in Partners Hall on May 8 to answer questions, explain potential duties and review the 2008 summer lineup.

Come on out and join a great team. Those who are interested but unable to attend the sign-up evening should contact Chris Boon at 789-1751 ext. 2249 or Rob Saunders at 788-2787.