Volunteer Guide

2008 New Orleans Fringe Festival

Volunteer Coordinators:

Ben Moren, ben@nofringe.org, (504) 344-6480

Amanda Forde, (504) 931-2204

Welcome to the 2008 New Orleans Fringe Festival!

New Orleans Fringe Festival is a nonprofit organization that organizes an annual theater and performing arts festival. The Festival nurtures emerging and established performing artists by presenting fun, fearless and affordable theater to the community and creating ties between artists, audiences, businesses and local organizations. This is our first year, and we have received amazing support from artists, folks in the community, businesses, organizations, and the press. We are confident that our first festival will be a success!

In 2008, we are presenting 30 productions in 6 venues throughout the Marigny, Bywater, and French Quarter, plus 12 more in our 8 affiliated venues throughout the city—that is well over 100 performances in 4 days! The shows include comedy, drama, dance, burlesque, circus, performance art, puppetry, improvisational, one man shows, and more. About half the artists are local, and the other half come from Austin, New York, Chicago, Madison, Richmond, Albuquerque, Baltimore, and Dallas. The line-up is quite impressive!

The Festival could not happen without volunteers, so we are all grateful for your time and service! Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the festival. Plus, you get to see shows for free and meet cool people! There are a little over 100 shifts at both the venues and the Festival Tent. As a volunteer, you represent the Fringe, so remember to be welcoming and helpful to audience members, and make sure they have a great time. Thank you for your time!

What will I do?

There are step-by-step instructions on how to do your job in the Job Breakdown section of this guide. Please familiarize yourself with your job before the day you work your shift!

Venue Volunteers:

Box Officers sell tickets, buttons, and passes in the venue lobby, and they complete box office forms for each show. You must be comfortable with counting and handling cash.

House Managers take tickets at the door and hand out programs if the performers have them. You will be directing the audience members and handing out and collecting surveys. You will also tidy the house between shows and after your shift and solve other problems that may arise.

Festival Tent Volunteers:

Beer Sellers sell beer at the Festival Tent. You also will be handling cash.

Box Office volunteers sell tickets and t-shirts. You will be handling cash too.

How to sign up

There is a schedule online, under volunteer sign-up info, where you can see what shifts are still available if you want to sign up for specific shifts. Also, you can email your availability (days and times) to ben@nofringe.org, and we will put you in the schedule. Do not assume that you will be able to watch the performances that you volunteer for because you will be working! Instead, save time to see the shows you are excited about (there are 3 performances of each show).

Volunteer Rewards

You get 1 comp ticket for every shift you work, and with that ticket, you can see any show you want, whenever you want! Also, you will get 1 free beer ticket per shift and 1 volunteer t-shirt, which you must wear when you are volunteering.

Orientations

Orientations are very important. At orientation, you will pick up comp and beer tickets, meet other volunteers and the volunteer coordinators, and ask any questions.
We have 4 times scheduled, but you only need to attend one:
- Sunday (Nov 9) at 5pm or 7pm at the Sidearm Gallery (1122 St Roch Ave)
- Monday (Nov 10) at 5pm or 7pm at the Marigny Theater (1030 Marigny St)
If you cannot make any of these orientations, please email ben@nofringe.org

Where will I go when it is time for my shift?

Everyone must check in at the Festival Tent on Press St. and Dauphine St. on the grassy strip next to XO Gallery promptly the time the shift starts. Press St. is where the railroad tracks divide the Marigny and the Bywater. Dauphine St. is between the river and St. Claude Ave.

At check-in, you will get a work packet with supplies and a copy of this guide. (The Job Breakdown section provides step-by-step instructions on how to do your job.) From check-in, you have the rest of 30 minutes to get to your venue.

Venue Addresses (see map below):




How does Fringe work?

As a volunteer you are a Fringe representative, so audience members might ask you how this whole Fringe thing works, and they may ask your advice on what shows they should see – don’t be shy about offering your opinion!

Here’s how the Fringe works from the audience perspective:

Pick a show

There are two tools to guide audiences in show selection - the print program and the Fringe website (www.nofringe.org). The print program is in the November 11 Gambit Weekly or at any of the Fringe venues. The website will give you the latest Fringe news, helpful information, and a schedule of Fringe events.

Get to the show

Four of the Fringe venues (HiHo Lounge, Marigny Theater, Sidearm Gallery, and the Skull Club) are clustered in the Marigny section of St. Claude (from Elysian Fields to St. Roch), which makes it easy to go from venue to venue. Notably, the Sidearm and the Skull Club are 1 block off St. Claude. North Rampart Community Center is in the French Quarter, about 11 blocks from the Marigny/St Claude cluster. NOLA Candle Factory is on the fringe of the Bywater, about 20 blocks from the Festival Tent. If you follow St. Claude away from the French Quarter, you will hit Poland Ave immediately before a bridge to the Lower 9th Ward. Turn LEFT for 4 blocks, and then RIGHT on N Roberts, which forks right into the road you want and left into the Claiborne bridge to the Lower 9th. Caution people about those bridges!

Familiarize yourself with the neighborhood beforehand, so it is easier to give directions. Venues are easy to get to on foot (mostly), by bike, and by car. Buses exist but are somewhat unreliable. Bring Your Own Venues are scattered throughout the city, some in the same neighborhoods and some beyond. Details about these venues are in the program.

Buy a button and a ticket

To see a Fringe show, everyone must purchase a $3 admission button. The button is valid the length of the festival. Buttons can be purchased at the Festival Tent or any venue.

A single ticket to see any show is $7. There are also 5-show passes for $30. People may have purchased tickets with a credit card on the website through TicketWeb, but once the festival starts, tickets are cash only! Every venue has a box office, including the Festival Tent.

People who buy their tickets ahead of time—either online, at the Festival Tent or another venue—are considered “pre-sales”. They get priority seating, meaning they get seated at a show first. People who buy their tickets at the door get seated after them.

You will see six kinds of tickets:

  1. General Admission

  1. Five-Show Passes

  2. Ticket Web General Admission (these look kind of like TicketMaster tickets but have the TicketWeb logo and say Fringe Festival General Admission ticket on them. Treat the TicketWeb tickets just like Fringe General Admission tickets.)

  3. TicketWeb Five-show passes (these also look like TicketMaster tickets but have the TicketWeb logo and say Fringe Festival Five Show pass on them.) These are vouchers to pick up a Fringe 5-show pass. Patrons are supposed to do this at the Festival Tent, but they can trade them for a Fringe 5-show pass at the venues too. Make sure you take their TicketWeb voucher!

  1. Comp Admission

  1. VIP passes

Box office and seating start 20 minutes before show time. Standing room (with tickets) can also be permitted as long as people are cool with that , and they know that they need a ticket too.

Volunteer Job Breakdown

House Manager

As the House Manager, you are host, problem solver, ticket taker, and audience tracker.

This is what you do:

  1. Check in at the Festival Tent when your shift starts, where you can pick up your work packet (with checklists, surveys, and ticket envelopes for each show) and meet your fellow volunteer.

  1. Go to your venue. You must be there 30 minutes before the first show starts.

  2. When you arrive at your venue, make sure that everything is tidy and clean (inside the performance space, outside the building, in the lobby area, in the bathrooms). Also, there should be a box with pencils, a clipboard, and Volunteer Guides near the box office area. Locate these items!

  3. Locate the Tech Manager on duty (his/her name will be printed on your packet). This is the person who will know what is going on with the show in case of any problems. S/he also decides when the show starts.

  4. Ask the performing group if there are programs for the upcoming show. Place the stack near the entrance. Also, place one survey on each seat. During the seating process, your hands will be too busy to hand them out, so make sure you take care of this! Pencils for surveys go on the box office table.

  5. Keep the door closed prior to seating. Pre-sold ticket holders, comp ticket holders, and VIPs may line up at the house entrance. People who need to buy tickets form a line at the box office.

  6. Seating begins 20 minutes before show time. When seating starts, check to make sure ticket holders have a Fringe button, then rip tickets (sold, pre-sold, and comp) in half. Put the colored half in the show's ticket envelope, and give the other half to the audience member (do NOT put both halves in the envelope). For 5-show passes, rip off the numbered section (1, 2, 3 ,4, or 5) and put that in the envelope. VIP passes only need to be shown. As you rip tickets, mark the checklist distinguishing between bought tickets, comp tickets, and VIP. Mark “G” for general admission, “V” for VIP, and “C” for comp admission as you take the tickets. Ask people to take a program from the stack.

  7. Inform the box officer when there are only a few seats left. If you reach the end of the list, the show is sold out! Tell people standing in line that there is only standing room available once all seats are taken. They can still choose to see the show, but they still have to provide a ticket.

  8. Tell the Tech Manager when everyone is seated. S/he decides when the show will begin.

  9. After the show, collect surveys from people as they leave. Then tidy up the house.

  10. Find the leader of the performing group and show him/her your filled out check list. After they have reviewed it, they must sign the show's ticket envelope, then seal it.

  11. Tidy up the house, pick up any drinks and extra programs, check the bathrooms, etc. Prepare for the next show (Step 5 on this list).

  12. When the shift is done, put all envelopes, checklists, and all surveys (filled out and blank) back in your work packet. You can leave when a volunteer coordinator comes and collects your packet.

If you have any problems, call a volunteer coordinator. Ben (504) 344-6480 or Amanda (504) 931-2204

Box Officer

As a box officer, you sell tickets, passes, and buttons.

This is how to do your job:

  1. Check-in at the Festival tent when your shift starts, so you can pick up your work packet (with tickets, buttons, passes, cash, and reconciliation form) and meet your fellow volunteer.

  1. Go to your venue. You must be there 30 minutes before the first show starts.

  2. When you arrive, locate the box office. Open your packet, and set up your station. You should have a bank of $100 in ones, tickets, passes, and buttons. There will be a copy of this guide at the venue for reference.

  3. Begin selling tickets 20 minutes before show time. Sell tickets for $7 and passes for $30. Everyone must have a button (except VIP and comp ticket holders). They are only $3, so do not feel bad about being insistent!

  4. People may arrive with TicketWeb 5-show pass tickets. These are essentially vouchers to pick up a Fringe 5-show pass. They are supposed to do this at the Festival Tent, but you can trade them a Fringe 5-show pass for a TicketWeb voucher. Make sure you take their TicketWeb voucher, and factor it into your reconciliation form.

  5. Between shows, DO NOT LEAVE MONEY UNATTENDED! If you must go to the bathroom or smoke outside, keep the money safe and secure. (You may want to bring a bag.)

  6. When your shift is over, count the leftover buttons, tickets, and passes. Complete the reconciliation form printed on your packet to help you calculate your overall profit. Count the money, and make sure that you have the profit (plus $100 for your bank). Put the money and leftover tickets, passes, and buttons in your work packet.

  7. You can leave when a volunteer coordinator comes to collect your work packet. Ben (504) 344-6480 or Amanda (504) 931-2204

If you run out of anything, call a volunteer coordinator, and we will send the runner over to rescue you!

Runner

Go to the Festival Tent when your shift starts. You will be sent to venues if any volunteers run out of supplies. Also, if a volunteer flakes, you will take their place! Be prepared to fill either box officer or house manager roles at any of the venues.

Festival Tent Volunteers

At the Festival Tent, you will either sell beer or work the box office. Go to the Festival Tent when your shift starts and check in with volunteer coordinators for instructions. The Festival Tent Manager will change out kegs and help you if there are any problems.

Fringe FAQs

Are buttons required?

YES. Everyone, except VIP pass and comp ticket holders, must have a Fringe button to see a show. They are only $3, and you reuse them for as many shows as you see. Buttons are not required for the Festival Tent.


What if the show sells out?

Great! First see if anybody wants standing room. They will still need a ticket. If too many tickets were sold, give people a refund if they ask. Remind them that the same ticket can be used for any show, so they can save it for next time.


Who do I talk to at the venue?

There will be a Tech Manager at each venue. His or her name will be printed on the front of your work packet. The House Manager is responsible for being in contact with the technician, in case any problems arise that hold up the show. The venue owners may be floating around also, ensuring that things run smoothly. And of course there will be the performing group. Introduce yourself!


The last show of my shift is going on, and I am ready to go. Can I?

You must stay at your post until a volunteer coordinator comes and collects your money. The shift times include time for this. Shifts also overlap slightly. If the next volunteer comes, you still must wait for a coordinator!


I just want to sign up for the shows I want to see. Can I do that?

All volunteers get comps for any show they want to see. When you are not volunteering, you can see the shows you want to on your own time, free of responsibility.


What if an artist comes up and hands me a comp list?

No way! Artists are given a certain amount of comp tickets to hand out to whoever they want.


What do I do if I have a very unruly patron who doesn't want to pay, or says they lost their button, or I find myself in a situation that I have no idea how to handle?

Shows are not expensive, and these artists are not making much on these performances, especially out of town artists! If the patron will not listen to reason, call a volunteer coordinator. We will come to your rescue and sass their pants off.


What do I do if I'm running low on buttons, tickets, passes, or change?

We are providing you with enough supplies to sell out, so it should not be a problem. But just in case, call a volunteer coordinator.


Can I bring my children with me when I’m working a shift?

You are doing an important job for the Festival and the performers. You will have a lot to figure out and will not want to worry about adding your kids to the mix. We want you to include your children in the Festival, so bring them to the free children's performance from 2pm – 5pm on Saturday at the Festival Tent.


What should I wear?

Please wear your Fringe shirt, so you are easily identifiable by patrons and other people working for the festival. Otherwise, be clean and comfortable!


What if I'm a box officer and want to step outside for a smoke, or have to go to the bathroom? Should I leave the money there?

No. Take it with you. We suggest bringing a bag, so if you need to step away from the box office, you can inconspicuously keep the money on you. Do NOT leave the box office during the 30 minutes before each show. This is when you need to sell tickets.