Give a little to the theater, get a lot in return

Happy New Year! As you’re recovering from the Champagne and eggnog of New Year’s Eve celebrations, watching the parade or one of the college bowl games, perhaps you’re contemplating those new year’s resolutions: which ones will be an effort to keep, which ones sound like fun, and which ones might become habit to enrich your life.

Well, I have a suggestion for you that could be fun, enrich your life and that of others, and save you money to boot! The performance organizations need your support in ways that don’t include putting a large dent in your wallet.

Oh, sure, they’ll gladly accept your monetary donation. But they could also use your expertise and time.

You may think you don’t have a skill these groups need but, believe me, it takes more than acting, singing, dancing, or directing to produce a play. Bringing the written word to the stage also requires a boatload of other abilities that pretty much anyone could handle.

There are things that do require a bit of instruction, stuff like running a light or sound control board. But don’t let that stop you, most production teams are more than willing to teach a dependable person how to do them. They don’t require anything more than some finger dexterity, watching the action onstage and listening for cues.

Really good stage managers are tough to come by. Can you keep your nose buried in a script to prompt lines as actors learn them, and write down the above mentioned cues and stage movements? It takes organization, and a willingness to be a tad bossy, which, at times, can be mighty enjoyable.

One company that seems to get short shrift is the Speeding Theatre — Over 55. The company, formed out of the UNLV Senior Theatre Program, was developed to let seniors tread the boards. But, trust me, they’ll happily embrace an energetic person of any age. Can you swing a hammer, wield a paintbrush? Can you drive around seeking and collecting props and costumes for the actors? Then you’re the man — or woman — they’re looking for.

Are you good with social media such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? Can you write emails, compose a press release, or make phone calls? Those are all part of publicity and marketing, an area of running a theater sorely lacking in most community organizations.

All the theaters need help in so many areas. Those smiling faces you meet when you enter the venue, those friendly people taking your ticket and handing you a program, are volunteers. It didn’t take any special skill or knowledge.

Giving your time, rather than your money, is a rewarding way to help the performance companies. The added perk is, while you may not be getting paid for your efforts, most of them give you complimentary tickets to see the piece you’ve helped produce.

Try volunteering for a local theater company. It’s fun, and you get to meet lots of crazy new people. OK, so I forgot to mention you might need to be slightly off-balance, but so what? It’s an enjoyable kind of crazy, and everyone could use a little crazy once in a while.

Paul Atreides is one of the theater critics at the Las Vegas Review-Journal. His Offstage column appears on the first Thursday of the month.