Student Handbooks

Undergraduate Handbook

GETTING INVOLVED IN THEATRE:  VOLUNTEERING

Join the team, have some fun, and help your Department of Theatre and Drama excel!
The Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center (LNTDC) is an active production facility, presenting the work of the entire Department of Theatre and Drama to the public. Our tight production schedule keeps us constantly designing, building and painting scenery, sewing costumes, focusing lights, rehearsing, and promoting shows for the Ruth N. Halls Theatre and the Wells-Metz Theatre. Our workforce for the technical end of production comes from undergraduates taking technical theatre classes and limited work-study opportunities.  Casting is done in open auditions.

Our success, like most producing theatres around the world, depends upon many volunteers outside of the classroom and rehearsal hall. There are a number of perks for volunteering, including free tickets to shows, the opportunity to learn about different areas in theatre production, and making many new friends. All volunteer opportunities are open to any student at IU, so bring your friends from other departments to help. Here’s a secret….volunteering in the Department of Theatre and Drama is a great way to have fun and see our shows for FREE!

WHAT TO DO AND WHOM TO SEE:

• HOUSE MANAGEMENT (for information, contact Trish Hausmann at pjhausma or by phone at 856-3844)
  • USHERING IN THE LEE NORVELLE THEATRE AND DRAMA CENTER AND BROWN COUNTY PLAYHOUSE: 
    • This is your chance to meet our audience and see a show free for a couple hours of fun work.  Check out the instructions and contact Trish Hausmann for more information.
    • The same procedure applies for the Brown County Playhouse.  Limited transportation is available to the Brown County Playhouse, so sign up early if you need a ride.  The instructions for ushering at the Brown County Playhouse are a little different than for the Theatre and Drama Center so check the call board for details.

• AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT (For information call audience development at 855-0514 or e-mail thtraud@indiana.edu)
  • POSTER ROUTES:  About three weeks prior to the opening of every show, students have an opportunity to put up posters around town in exchange for free tickets.  Keep an eye on the main bulletin board outside the scenic studio for information or see anyone in the audience development office for more information. Stop by room A300T in the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center to sign up.
  • CONCESSIONS:  University Players provides the work force to sell concessions at every performance.  Their sign up sheets will go up next to the usher lists.  You will have an opportunity to meet our audience, sell them some snacks, see a show for free, and help raise a little money for University Players.  See their sign up sheets or any University Players Board member for more information.
  • OUTREACH:  Beginning with the 2005-2006 season, the audience development office will be visiting many organizations around campus to share the good news about the great work we do in the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center. Look for notices and e-mails with more information about how you can join this fun effort.

• TECHNICAL AREAS: 
  • If you are interested in helping in the Scenic Studio, please see Assistant Technical Director Chris Berg (LNTDC A103A).  You will need to commit to a minimum block of 2 hours in the afternoon.  Check with Chris for other questions.
  • If you are interested in helping in the Costume Studio, please see Costume Studio Supervisor Robbie Stanton (LNTDC A203).  You need to be able to sew and know the equipment in the studio.  Check with Robbie for other questions.
  • IF you are interested in helping in the Lighting and Sound area, please see Master Electrician/Lighting and Sound Supervisor David Krueger (LNTDC A214).
• STAGE MANAGEMENT:  Students who wish to explore a variety of aspects of production are encouraged to consider working on a stage management team for a production.
  • Stage Managers are the primary information hub in a production and have daily contact with all production areas.  Seeing how departments interact and relate with one another toward the meeting of a common goal is a valuable theatrical experience no matter what your final career goal.  Stage Managers meet weekly with the Production Manager to discuss the progress of their productions and to plot the progress of rehearsals and technical departments to achieve a unified production during tech week and performance.  Stage management also puts you in contact with a large number of students and is a good way to become well-known in a large theatre.

While priority is given to students who have completed or are currently enrolled in T229 to fill stage manager positions, any student can apply to the Production Manager to be an Assistant Stage Manager.  For information, contact the Production Manager, David Grindle (LNTDC A203).