No matter how dynamic the cast or compelling the direction, a sensational theatrical production simply will not happen without hundreds working behind the scenes.
They include the people keeping the lights on at the box office, manning the phones, guiding you to your seats and selling concessions at intermission. They’re also painting the scenery, sewing the costumes and finding the props.
They form the boards, raise money and even clean the restrooms. And in community theaters, they are almost all volunteers.
“Volunteers are everything,” said Bryan Bergeron, artistic director of Surfside Playhouse in Cocoa Beach. “Nothing happens without them. They drive our fundraisers, produce our shows, manage the building, everything.”
Other theater managers call volunteers the family, the heartbeat, the backbone of their organizations.
And while that love flows liberally from the organizations to the volunteers, it goes the other way as well. It’s a giant love fest, said Mary Coleman Jennell, a 30-year volunteer for Melbourne Civic Theatre.
“First, it was ‘hold this while I nail it together’ and then (director) David Beyer asked me during tech week of a show if I’d like to run props,” she said. “Eventually I graduated to stage managing. I love the work and the people. I miss doing the shows, I’m not able to do those anymore, but I still do the program and help with mailings and such. They have become my second family.”
And that family is certainly celebrated. It’s de rigueur for theaters to make a fuss over their volunteers. They will host social gatherings, appreciation dinners and holiday parties for the volunteers. And, there are the birthday cakes and spontaneous social functions.
“A lot of volunteers are social with each other,” said Mark Wygonik, artistic director of the Vero Beach Theatre Guild. He says various Guild groups get together for dinners, after-show parties, theater excursions, even cruises and road trips.
While professional theaters use union crews in their scenic, costume, lighting and music departments, Vero’s Riverside Theatre has a roster of some 500 volunteers to usher, take tickets and run concessions. In Melbourne, the King Center draws on a list of more than 300.
The volunteers of the area’s community theaters number anywhere from 40 at Surfside Playhouse to more than 500 at Melbourne Civic Theatre. Vero Beach Theatre Guild has about 350, Titusville has about 100, the Henegar Center has nearly 200, and Cocoa Village Playhouse has about 200.
Don’t let that number stop you from contacting the theaters. They always welcome new volunteers with open arms.
“We wouldn’t be able to put on the seasons we do without the support of the community,” said Niko Stamos, associate director at Titusville Playhouse. “The jobs that are asked of volunteers throughout a year have varied from taking out garbage after a show to feeding goats and chickens to working a spotlight – all important roles that are sometimes looked over and forgotten about. We would not be able to continue expanding the way we have without both our community and our volunteers.”
Volunteering at a theater can also fill an empty spot in the heart, easing loneliness and providing a social life.
After Beverly Couch Burns lost her husband, she knew she needed new activities in her life. A friend took her to Melbourne Civic Theatre production. A year later, she joined its volunteer crew.
She sold tickets, served as an usher and sold concessions.
“I enjoy the interaction with other volunteers as well as with the audience members,” she said.
Another MCT volunteer, Steve Budkiewicz, says helping out the theater is a healthy activity for a senior.
“The friendships and bonds that are established are priceless,” he said. “You become a public relations representative for an organization that has become your family … I have always felt the benefits I receive as a volunteer far surpass those the organization receives from my service.”
Even if you don’t know what you have to offer, your neighborhood theater still wants you. They all offer on the job training and volunteer orientation.
When Surfside Playhouse gets calls from people wanting to volunteer, the first thing asked is how much time they’d like to spend, said Bergeron. The next question is whether they have a particular “itch that needs to be scratched.”
“Are they a seamstress, an upholsterer, a carpenter, artist, business person?” he said. “Some people organize their closets really well. That’s definitely a talent we can use at the theater.”
Others are just interested in “joining in and learning new things.”
“I have a lot of tech people who came in without specific skills,” said Bergeron. “Now they are go-to people for getting things done.”
You may not be able to sew, but perhaps you can iron. Building wooden platforms may feel daunting, but maybe you can slap on paint. Or maybe you’d like to fold newsletters or greet patrons as they enter the theater. Cocoa Village Playhouse even uses volunteers to supervise childcare during performances – not to mention that goat-feeding at Titusville Playhouse.
In fact, the hardest thing about getting involved is making that initial contact, and all theaters strive to smooth that process as much as possible.
“The bottom line, we love our awesome volunteers. … It’s a great way to make new friends and support the arts,” said Kathy Kett, front of house manager at Melbourne Civic Theatre. “And, we have fun.”

Vero Beach Theatre Guild, 2020 San Juan Ave., Vero Beach, FL, 772-562-8300.
Riverside Theatre, 3250 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach, FL, fill out an application online at http://www.riversidetheatre.com/volunteer-opportunities.
Henegar Center, 625 E. New Haven Ave., Melbourne, FL 321-723-8698
King Center for the Performing Arts, 3865 N. Wickham Rd., Melbourne, FL, download an application for volunteers 18 years and older, at http://www.kingcenter.com/volunteer
Melbourne Civic Theatre, 817 Strawbridge Ave., Melbourne, FL 321-723-6935
Surfside Playhouse, 301 Ramp Road (5th Street South), Cocoa Beach, FL, 321-783-3127.
Titusville Playhouse, 301 Julia St., Titusville, FL, 321-268-1125
Cocoa Village Playhouse, 300 Brevard Ave., Cocoa, FL 321-636-5050