Crescent Membership
It comes as a surprise to many people that the Crescent Theatre is run by volunteers and that Crescent Theatre productions are created by people who are not paid, but who have a passion for theatre and are dedicated to producing work to the very highest standard.
Apart from an interest in theatre, people join for different reasons: for social contact, to gain experience of “real theatre” before going to drama school, to use their technical expertise, or simply to find out how theatre works.
Theatre is more than acting. Even a “one-hander” like Shirley Valentine or Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell requires a large team of people to put it on:
- Actor(s) and Director of course, but also
- A Set Designer,
- Sound effects and any recorded music,
- Lighting and special effects,
- Costume,
- Props.
- An assistant to the director (called a Production Assistant at The Crescent) who writes down the moves at rehearsals, smoothes ruffled brows, makes endless cups of tea and coffee and prompts the performances;
- a Stage Manager who runs the performances,
- possibly an Assistant Stage Manager and/or stage crew,
- props assistants,
- Sound and lighting operators (often the same people that have designed the show).
- Set construction team
- “Strike” team, who take down the set and put everything away at the end of the performance run.
To find out more about these roles explore the menu on the left.
And then there’s Front of House: legally three stewards must be present in the main auditorium and two in the studio, throughout the whole of a performance to ensure the audience’s safety. We also need bar and coffee bar staff – generally two people at least on each.
To get an audience in to buy tickets we need people to carry out marketing and publicity functions, designing posters, organising photo shoots, keeping the website up-to-date, selling tickets at the box office, stuffing envelopes to send flyers and brochures to our mailing list…
You get the picture! A lot of people are needed and only half a dozen or so are paid.
Some of these tasks only need a commitment of an evening’s work. We are always short of people to help with front-of house duties and the bonus is that you get to see the show for free! Production roles probably require a commitment of several weeks, mainly during evenings and weekends.
The Board of Management
The Crescent Theatre Ltd is a charitable company managed by a Board of Trustees who are elected by the membership.
Paid staff team
The Crescent has a core staff team who carry out the day-to-day running of the building and manage the visiting companies. The team includes administrative and technical staff led by the Operations Development Director, Ian Thompson.
Youth Theatre
If you are under 18, you could join the Youth Theatre which meets regularly on Saturday mornings. Details on the Youth Theatre page.
How to Join
Joining The Crescent Theatre Company is easy. Simply come along to a Members' Evening, download the membership application form below or contact the theatre (telephone 0121 643 5859) for a Membership Pack.
Document Downloads (PDF format)
Limited Company Membership application form
Memorandum and Articles of Association (Constitution) Revised November 2006