Updated Schedules and Week 6 Posted - USHERS

The usher schedules have been updated on the schedule page along with the schedule for Week 6 of the season.

Either later today or early tomorrow, two emails will be sent.  The first will go out to all ushers announcing the updates.  The second will go out to those ushers who are scheduled in the first two weeks of the season. This second email will be the first of weekly emails you will get from Scott with two weeks of schedules.  These emails will also include information that ushers should be up to date on in case patrons ask them questions about Sarasota Opera.

If you do not receive an email from Scott by 1pm tomorrow afternoon, please contact him by phone or email.

Please remember that on days with two performances, the person listed first works the matinee and the person listed second works the evening.  For example:

I.Bookbinder / P.Leopold

Bookbinder would work the matinee, Leopold would work the evening.

For those of you who cannot attend the training tomorrow evening:

We are asking that you arrive to your first scheduled shift half an hour early for brush-up training.  Those of you who have never ushered before will be given a quick tour and briefing.  You will then be paired with a veteran usher for that evening.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Scott!

Dress Rehearsals

Each season Sarasota Opera opens up selected dress rehearsals to Volunteers.  This year those dress rehearsals will be:

The Pearl Fishers - Thursday, February 14 at 1:30pm (note time)

A King for a Day - Thursday, February 28 at 12:30pm

Of Mice and Men - Thursday, March 7 at 12:30pm

About an hour prior to each dress rehearsal, Scott Guinn will be in the lobby to distribute tickets.  Volunteers must have a ticket to get into the dress rehearsal.

ALL Sarasota Opera Volunteers, including ushers, are eligible to receive tickets for these performances.  There are a limited number of seats available (around 190), and tickets will be given out on a first come, first served basis.  Tickets may not be reserved in advance.

Each Volunteer may bring one (1) guest to each dress rehearsal.

Volunteer seating is in the balcony in rows GG through MM.  Seating for these rehearsals are split between Production, Development, and Education, so Volunteers may only sit in the section that is reserved for them.

If you have any questions about the dress rehearsal ticket policy, please feel free to contact Scott Guinn by email or at extension 228.

January 25 Volunteer Orientation - CANCELED

The January 25 Volunteer Orientation has been canceled.

This isn't a bad thing.  We simply did not have enough people sign up to merit the cost and time.  What will happen now is that the folks that signed up will receive their handbook electronically.  Any questions will be handled by phone or email.  Again, it isn't a bad thing that we're canceling, just a cost-effective way to manage the time of our staff and Volunteers.  As of today, we have over 300 volunteers at Sarasota Opera, and we are thrilled to have so much help from such wonderful people.

Scott will be in touch with those of you who have RSVP'd for the January 25 date.

The Usher Training Session on January 31 IS STILL ON and will not be canceled.  Like we said in the email for this, if you are unable to attend this training session, we do have a "Plan B" in place for you.  No one is going to be left out if they cannot attend the January 31 session.  If you've already RSVP'd for that, we will see you at 5pm on the 31st.  If you have not RSVP'd, you have until Friday to do so.

To recap:

January 25: Volunteer Orientation - CANCELED
January 31: Usher Training - STILL HAPPENING at 5pm

As always, contact Scott if you have any questions!

Winter Orientation and Usher Training

**IF YOU ATTENDED TRAINING IN THE FALL, 

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ATTEND IN THE WINTER**

Invitations have just gone out for the 2013 Winter Volunteer Orientation and Usher Training via email.  If you attended these sessions in the Fall, you can disregard this post and the email.

Volunteer Orientation - Friday, January 25 at 5:00pm

This is not a mandatory session, but you are encouraged to attend if you have not yet done so this year.  We will talk about the program, new procedures for time sheets, and the new benefits for volunteers.  The session begins at 5pm and will be over between 6pm and 6:30pm.

Please RSVP for this event by Friday, January 18 by emailing Scott Guinn at sguinn@sarasotaopera.org or calling him at 941-366-8450 ext. 228.

Usher Training - Friday, February 1 at 5:00pm

If you have signed up to be an usher with us for the coming Winter Season, this is a mandatory session for both new and returning ushers.

Schedules for the first five weeks of the season are posted on the Volunteer Blog, with the remaining two weeks to be completed in the next few days.  If you do not attend this training session, your spot will be given away to an usher who has attended training.  We need to make sure that all ushers are up to date on seating and emergency procedures.  Next season, training will not be mandatory for returning ushers.

The session will begin at 5pm and will last approximately two-and-a-half hours.

Please RSVP to this event by Friday, January 25 by emailing Scott Guinn at sguinn@sarasotaopera.org or calling him at 941-366-8450 ext. 228.

Winter 2013 Usher Schedules and Some Changes

Hello everyone!

The 2013 Winter Usher Schedules are now in progress.  If you have not yet submitted your sign-up form, now is the time to do it.  Schedules will be sent to ushers who have attended training on Friday sometime before 5pm.  Ushers who have not yet attended training will receive their schedules when they arrive at the training session in February.

Usher Seating & Post Changes
Richard Russell and I have met to discuss usher seating after receiving feedback from several of you.  We have decided to change the policy.  This change will be in Usher Handbook that is distributed in February and in the online copy that is posted on this blog.

The new policy:

There will be ten tickets set aside for Ushers at each performance.  Ushers who do not receive tickets may sit after the first intermission as long as:

• the House Manager has given permission for Ushers to sit

• those seats are in the rear of the theater (behind row O)

• those seats are on the aisle

• you do not have to step past any seated patrons to get to the available seats

• and those seats are not in a box

Ushers may also sit in available aisle seats in the balcony as long as those seats are not in the Loge/Mezzanine section.

If at any time a ticketed patron or Sarasota Opera staff member asks an Usher to surrender their seat, the Usher must do so.

In addition to the seating changes, we will be moving the two Usher posts that were in the Loge/Mezzanine section to the balcony lobby left and right stairs.

If you have any questions, please let me know!

~Scott

Updated Usher Schedules Posted

Thank you to everyone who volunteered for extra ushering dates.  I have posted the updated schedules through January 5.  There are still some holes to fill, so if you're available, please let me know!

THANK YOU!!!!!

CALL FOR USHERS!

I have listed some dates below along with how many ushers are needed for those events.

Ushers will be scheduled on a first come, first served basis.  Please reply to me by the close of business tomorrow, Tuesday December 4.

December 8 (Ditchfield Family Singers) - We need 6 ushers for the matinee and 7 ushers for the evening performance.  Matinee call time is 1pm; evening call time is 6pm.

December 15 (Diane Partington Nutcracker) - We need 16 ushers for this event.  Call time is 6pm.

December 16 (Diane Partington Nutcracker) - We need 22 ushers for this event.  Call time is 12:30pm.

December 22 (Sarasota Pipe Band Celtic Christmas) - We need 4 ushers for this event.  Call time is 6pm.

Remaining Rental Schedules

All rental schedules have been posted on the usher schedule page of this blog.  To view them, please click here, or head on over to the schedule page.

You'll notice there are a lot of holes.  I am sending out a call for ushers momentarily.  If you are interested in working one of these events, please let me know by the end of the day tomorrow.

Usher Sign-Up Form and Rental Schedules

I have emailed the Usher sign-up form and the schedules for the upcoming rentals through December 11.

The form and the schedules can also be found here on the blog.  For the form, click here.  For the schedules, click here.

If you have any questions, I will be back in the office on Monday.

I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving!

~Scott

Sarasota Ballet Usher Schedules Now Posted

The usher schedules for the Sarasota Ballet performances are now posted on the Usher Schedule page of this blog under "Week of November 12 - Sarasota Ballet."

Please look carefully at the schedule and remember that for days where there are two performances, the first name in a slot works the matinee, the second name works the evening.

Example: 

Tickets   M. Todaro/H. Sussman 

M. Todoaro will take tickets for the matinee performance, H. Sussman will take tickets for the evening performance.

If you have any questions or cannot work at your assigned time, please EMAIL me, as this will be the quickest way to get a response.

The call times for these performances are:

Friday, November 16: 7:00pm for an 8:00 curtain
Saturday, November 17: 1:00pm for a 2:00 curtain & 7:00pm for an 8:00 curtain.