Vacancies
We are looking for support at our performances to help with signing people in, handing out and collecting evaluation forms, ushering, being a runner. This role would be for about two performances a year. To enquire please contact Elisabeth Yeats-Brown via email to admin@blueappletheatre.com or phone 01962 827352.
We currently have a role for a volunteer to support our young online performing arts group.
Volunteers
Volunteer support has always been vital to the success of the company.
Volunteers play a crucial role in all that we do at Blue Apple. From helping our members with their lines on and off stage to providing a friendly face or listening ear at group rehearsals.
We are greatly indebted to Blue Apple volunteers who help us deliver over 400 drama and dance workshops a year with over 125 participants, in addition to two professional theatre shows each year and touring productions.
Above, volunteer Michelle Pluck backstage in Blue Apple’s The Railway Children in 2020
Michelle supports our Monday Stage Company.
Volunteer profiles
Mary Richards
What is your volunteer role at Blue Apple and what does it involve?
“I assist with the Monday drama group. The volunteers read with the students assisting them in how to portray their lines. We discuss the meaning of their lines and how they fit within the context of the complete play.”
What first attracted you to getting involved with Blue Apple?
“I have known about Blue Apple for many years and when I watched The Railway Children I was very impressed by how each cast member was able to have a part in the production, however small. It was a totally inclusive production. I’m retired and wanted to get involved with a group that enriched adults with learning issues and Blue Apple filled this role.”
What does it bring into your own life?
“Being a widow I find that helping out at Blue Apple gives me a sense of purpose again and the students certainly do enrich my Monday evenings.”
What would you say to encourage someone who has never been a volunteer before?
“Don’t make excuses for not volunteering - you will be amazed at how satisfying and rewarding it is.”
Chris Pearce
Chris Pearce has been a regular volunteer for 10 years with the Stage Company in Winchester, and he has also supported individual projects that have taken Blue Apple Core much further afield -including to the USA in April 2018. He supports the Stage Company and Special Assignments Company as a volunteer. He also supports the Chestnut Theatre Company and one of our performers as a paid assistant.
Chris Pearce appearing in It’s A Wonderful Life (2016) with Blue Apple performer Ros Davies - photograph by James Yeats-Brown
My background is in care work and volunteering, working with people of all ages and abilities. This has included: Over The Wall, a charity providing life-changing activity camps for children, teenagers and families living with serious health challenges; Osborne School for pupils with learning disabilities; the Jumbulance Travel Trust, which organises holidays for adults with disabilitie; KIDS SNAPS, a charity that ran various activity schemes for children and young adults with learning disabilities; the Winchester Night Shelter; and working as a Day Opportunity Facilitator at the Romsey and Waterside Day Services, supporting adults with learning disabilities through a variety of independence-building activities.
Having joined Blue Apple ten years ago in a supporting capacity, I believe that my diversity of experience has better enabled me to collaborate with the Blue Apple cast and assist in the development of their confidence, as individuals and as performers. I have been able to provide my support during rehearsals, on tour and backstage. Meanwhile on stage, as I have become more involved as a performer, the cast have certainly carried me through productions, with their vital professionalism, eager confidence and dynamic stage presence.
During the past decade I have witnessed Blue Apple grow as a professional company, along with the stunning theatrical capabilities of the cast and their ability to produce inspiring performances. My proud involvement with the company has become a very important part of my life, adding purpose and achievement to my week, as I believe it does for all the cast members. To me, Blue Apple is a tribute to believing in people’s ability to achieve anything we put our minds to.
Bernadette Lomas
Bernadette is currently supporting our Young Online Performing Arts group.
Bernadette lives in Hampshire and regularly performs in amateur productions across the region. She has a strong passion for theatre and is a member of several local companies, including Bench Theatre in Havant, Cheriton Players, Imagine That Productions in Haslemere, and West Meon Theatre. Through her training in Theatre at Rose Bruford College, she has developed a deeper understanding of how theatre can engage, inspire, and uplift communities. She is delighted to contribute to the work of Blue Apple Theatre as part of the Young Company Performing Arts online group. She is excited to be involved in a dynamic and creative organisation that promotes belonging and inclusion through theatre. Outside the theatre, she is a mother to three teenage boys and four dogs, all of whom keep her busy. She also has a passion for nature photography and enjoys capturing her walks through the South Downs with her husband and family.
Jessica Macey
Jess supports our singing group ‘Blue Apple Singers’.
Awaiting bio
Joseph Donellan
Joseph supports our dance group ‘Blue Apple Dancers’.
Awaiting bio
Rachel Collins
Rachel supports our Monday Drama Company.
Awaiting bio
Sue Dashper
Sue supports our Monday and Wednesday Drama Companies
Awaiting bio
Volunteer group assistant role
Some information about what is involved when volunteering as a group assistant with Blue Apple.
Volunteers help support the performers to rehearse in smaller groups once they have been set tasks by the facilitator, to work separately on specific sections of the piece so that they can move things forward faster. The volunteers also join in with full group activities and exercises, help contribute to discussions and provide supportive feedback.
There are also opportunities to support the performers during the shows for those interested in performance themselves, for example help with learning lines, stage positioning and other support.
Drama experience is very useful but is not essential. The volunteer will need a recent DBS check or be prepared to have one undertaken for the role.
To apply, please phone 07510 844480 or email outreach@blueappletheatre.com
Below, former volunteer Sophie talks to camera about what she enjoys about volunteering at Blue Apple Theatre - she has gone on to pursue performing arts as a professional.