Volunteers

Volunteering for the Festival

Every year dozens of volunteers help out during the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival to make it a success. This year we’d love to have you on board as part of our team! (and we’ll get back to you with more information)

Volunteer News

  • We are currently seeking volunteers.  Regardless of your experience or interests we have a job for you!
  • Have some fun… meet new people… see great theatre and gain new skills!
  • We mainly seek volunteers from March-May but have opportunities all year round.

Sign up here

What is the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival?

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The International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival (IDGTF) is one of the largest theatre festivals in Dublin and is the largest festival of its type in the world. We are also one of Ireland’s friendliest festivals and as a volunteer you will get to mingle with other volunteers, theatre companies, crew and festival-goers from Dublin and around the world. We host drama, comedy, musical theatre, dance and free events from around the world in venues around Dublin for two weeks every May. This year’s Festival is taking place from May 1st to 14th 2023 and we’d love for you to be part of it!

Sign Up Form…

You can email us at volunteers@gaytheatre.ie

OR

Fill out our online sign-in form and tell us a bit about yourself.

Why volunteer?

The Festival is entirely volunteer run and every year dozens of people get involved to help make the Festival a success. From the organising committee, to the box office staff, to the technical team, we’re all volunteers and without volunteers there simply would be no Festival. So here’s a few great reasons to get involved:

  • It’s great fun! You’ll get to meet loads of wonderful people over the course of the Festival from fellow volunteers to theatre companies to audience members.
  • There’s plenty of ways to socialise and meet people during the Festival and lots of opportunity to have a really good time.
  • Gain some valuable experience in areas such as event management, box office work, technical theatre, marketing, and a whole host of other things.
  • Volunteers make sure the Festival keeps running and so by volunteering you’ll be adding a huge amount to the cultural life of the city and to the LGBTQ community.
  • There’s some great perks for volunteers from free tickets to shows, and free entry to the Festival’s nightly Festival Club to discounts at various things around Dublin, and even some exclusive events for volunteers!

What’s Involved?

There are four main areas that volunteers normally get involved in: Front of House, Box Office, Press & Marketing, and Technical. Each of these groups adds something special to the Festival and there’s something for everyone. Some volunteers even volunteer for more than one group! We provide full training for all our volunteers in whatever role they’re undertaking.

Front of House

Our Front of House volunteers really are the face of the Festival, from greeting audience members, to running venues, and helping out with visiting companies. It’s a great way to be at the very heart of the Festival and savour the atmosphere of it all. Our shows normally run at 19:30 and 21:00 and our Front of House Volunteers generally arrive at least thirty minutes before the show. We have a dedicated Volunteer Coordinator to look after all the scheduling so you don’t have to worry about that at all!

Box Office

We run a physical box office from a central city centre location for 3 weeks before & during the Festival.  It’s a great way to pick up some really sought after box office skills. Working at the Box Office you’ll have loads of opportunities to meet with the visiting companies as well as the members of the public wanting to know what’s the hottest ticket in town.

Press & Marketing

Our Press & Marketing Office is one of the most dynamic areas of the Festival. A constant hotbed of activity as it works to help both the Festival and the shows that are part of it as much coverage as possible. Getting the word out about a really great show is hugely important and can make a huge difference to ticket sales. Working alongside our Press & Marketing Officer, our volunteers in the Press & Marketing Office can make a huge difference to the profile of the Festival and its shows.

Technical

The Festival’s Technical Volunteers, under the stewardship of the Festival’s Technical Director provide the logistical, technical, and backstage support in all our venues for the visiting companies. Work before the Festival can include sourcing and constructing set and prop pieces, and during the Festival the work centres around Sunday get-ins as well as operating shows when needed, as well as helping out during the turnarounds. It’s a really important role that keeps the shows running and it’s a really good way to gain some experience as well as build some strong links with the companies that you’re working with. We are currently looking for technical volunteers as we will be offering an exciting training program in the run-up to the Festival. For more details contact RC & Derek at tech@gaytheatre.ie and please provide details of your experience (including a CV if relevant).

It is important that you would be available on both Sunday the 1st of May and Sunday the 8th of May for get in days as well as in the evenings for the two weeks of the festival.

Ideally we are looking for people with experience and familiarity with rigging and op-ing. It is important that prospective tech volunteers also have excellent organisational and people skills. This is a great way to work with casts, crews and directors from all over the world and be part of a fun and dynamic team!

What’s the commitment?

We appreciate any amount of time that volunteers can spare us and we’re totally willing to work with you and your commitments so you’re free to give as much or as little time as you want. Remember the more you put in the more you’ll get out of it!

How to Volunteer?

It’s really simple to volunteer for the Festival. All you have to do is click here and fill out the online form to register interest in being a volunteer. Once you’ve done that our Volunteer Coordinator will be in touch about coming along to our next volunteer meeting. If you’ve any questions at all please just email us at volunteers@gaytheatre.ie and we’ll get back to you ASAP. We’re really excited about you volunteering as part of this year’s Festival and we can’t wait to meet you!

A big thank you to all past-, present and future volunteers, without your hard work the Festival would not have grown this much! Thank you!