VOLUNTEERING

Except for a few paid professionals, the work of operating the Dickinson Theatre Organ Society is performed by volunteer members. This includes operation, maintenance, and improvements to the organ itself, all of the stage management, lighting, sound, and ushering at each concert, and all of the writing, ticket sales, music sales, fund raising, mailing, and everything else involved in operating a successful organ society such as DTOS.

Perhaps you would like to be a part of the work and satisfaction of being involved in helping to preserve and promote theatre organ music. If you have some time and dedication to our cause, we very likely can find a place for you. Below you will find a description of our standing committees and the type of work that they do. If you are interested in any of them, please refer to the ‘Contact Us’ page for contact information. Tell us about yourself, how you would like to get involved, and the best way for us to get in touch with you.

DTOS STANDING COMMITTEES:

ORGAN CREW

The organ crew does almost all of the work required to maintain and improve the operation of the Dickinson Kimball Theatre Organ. This includes finding the problems with individual notes, which could be piece of dirt on a magnet armature, a defective key or stop contact, or a dozen other things that come up from time to time. It sometimes includes moving an entire rank of pipes in order to improve the sound distribution or perhaps to make room for a larger set of pipes. With two organ consoles and over 60 ranks of pipes, and a very sophisticated combination action preset system that allows artists to make quick changes in registrations, very few weeks go by without something needing attention. Helpful skills include carpentry and electrical experience as well as a certain amount of agility to climb through the pipe chambers. The organ crew performs most of their work at weekly work sessions, usually on Friday during the day; some touch-up work is done on the Saturday of the concerts.

ARCHIVES

The Archives Committee is charged with building and maintaining an audio, graphic, and text history of the theater organ music world in general, and the Dickinson Theatre Organ Society specifically. Archiving is an important facet of the theater organ world; it is particularly important for young people just getting acquainted with theater organ music to be able to learn something of the history and tradition, the actual theater organs played on, and the artists who through years have played them. At present, the archives committee is hampered by a lack of room to properly display what we have, but we hope some day to be able to present to the public an exciting display pictorially and in text.

Archives will consist of back issues of major theater organ music publications, illustrations of major installations, pictures of the artists who have played the organs in these installations, archived recordings of DTOS concerts, and a library of vinyl records of theatre organ music. The origin and history of the Dickinson Kimball will be an important part of these archives. Members of this committee would be responsible for collecting new items for our archives, corresponding with others to exchange material with other committees, classifying and indexing new additions to the collection, and hopefully, someday building a display for the public.

FOOD STAND

The Food Stand Committee is responsible for operating the food stand in the lobby of Dickinson High School before and during concerts. The committee buys and stocks food, candy, and soft drinks to be sold to the audience and prepares the hot dogs and pretzels. The committee is also responsible for cleanup after each event, handling the cash sales, and for presenting a written report of expenses and income. Volunteers help with the stocking of the food items, preparations, serving the public their selected items, and cleaning up following the event. Volunteers should be available at least an hour before the concerts and be prepared to say for awhile to complete the cleanup and counting process.

FUND RAISING

The Fund Raising Committee is charged with the annual "Appeal", which is our primary fund-raising effort. While ticket sales cover the costs of artist fees and concert related expenses, it is the money raised by the Appeal that allows us to keep in the Dickinson Kimball in top-notch operating condition. We continue to make improvements, both minor and major, such as the addition of the new Master Console which was added to the organ in 2007. The Committee sends out a letter that contains a brief report on the status of both the organ and a program schedule or the coming year. Volunteers would assist in the preparation of the Appeal letter and the process of completing a large mailing. Office and computer skills are required with a considerable time commitment over 3 to 4 months of the year.

HOUSE

The House Committee is responsible for the general operation of the lobby and auditorium at each concert and special event of the Society. There is a standard set up required prior to each event, and everything needs to be put away at the end of the evening. Volunteers work under the direction of the House Manager. Volunteers should be prepared to arrive an hour before the start of each event and be prepared for a brief stay after the event to assist the Reception Committee if necessary.

RECEPTIONS

The Reception Committee is responsible for the preparation and operation of the Artist Reception, which is provided following every concert. The work includes soliciting cookie donations from Society members, preparing punch and coffee, serving, and cleaning up. Volunteers would assist in all phases of this process including making some telephone calls. Volunteers need to be at each event an hour prior to concert time and should plan on staying for a brief time after the reception to help with cleanup.

STAGE AND LIGHTING

The Stage and Lighting Committee is responsible for preparation of the stage for each concert which would include any special items required by the concert, piano locations or substitute pianos, props, and occasionally additional musical instrumental augmentations to the concert program. All of the details of ensuring that the sound system is in operation, microphones are working, the projection screen is available, and all other props as may be required by the artist are available. The Lighting involves a great deal of detail of the stage lighting, console lighting, auditorium lighting and dimming, spotlight operation, color changes, follow spot operation, and any special affects that may be required by the program or the season. Volunteers would assist with all of the above. This work requires a fair amount of agility in moving and lifting things. Assisting with lighting would require familiarity with stage lighting equipment and a desire to learn. Volunteers should be prepared to arrive an hour prior to the concert.

TICKETS

The Ticket Committee is responsible for the sale of season tickets and individual concert tickets as well as providing guest tickets to season ticket holders. The Committee is also responsible for the sale of "at the door" tickets at every concert as well as a distribution of season tickets at the beginning of each Concert Season. Volunteers need good office management and computer skills as well as good organizational skills. The Ticket Committee also maintains the General Mailing List. There is a considerable time commitment. Volunteers would assist with many of the tasks involved throughout the year.

USHERS

The Ushering Committee is responsible for the safety and comfort of the audience at each event. This includes making sure that the entry doors are unlocked and ready, that there are no obstructions in the way of free passage through the halls and doorways, that only the proper doorways are utilized by the audience, that the ticket takers are ready and in place at the entry doorway, and that there sufficient ushers present to assist the audience in finding their seats. The ushers are also in charge of the distribution of the Playbill. Volunteers should be prepared to arrive at least a half hour before each concert and be prepared to sign up on a scheduled basis to ensure that a sufficient number of ushers are available for each event.

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE

The Publications Committee handles the work of preparing and distributing several DTOS publications. The Vox Humana is the Society’s newsletter. It is mailed out between concerts. The Society also publishes an annual Brochure and Playbills for each concert. Volunteers would assist with gathering information, writing articles, soliciting ads, and overseeing publishing and distribution.

PUBLICITY COMMITTEE

The Publicity Committee prepares flyers and news releases for distribution throughout the tri-state area for all Society events. Volunteers can help with preparation and distribution as well as making contact with those who can be helpful in promoting DTOS concerts.

WEBSITE COMMITTEE

The Website Committee posts information on the DTOS website and works to keep the website current and useful to our membership and the general public. Anyone with expertise in ‘multimedia’ technology could be very helpful to the Society.