At the American Shakespeare Center, our amazing volunteers serve as the backbone of our community support from the Shenandoah Valley. Every day they make an essential contribution to the enthusiastic, friendly atmosphere at the Blackfriars Playhouse. As the Blackfriars Playhouse has performances, special events, and education programs in progress year round, the ASC is especially grateful for the time and effort our volunteers so graciously donate. Everyone at the American Shakespeare Center is excited to welcome you, your family, and friends into the ASC Volunteer Program and enjoy all its exclusive benefits!
Since the Blackfriars Playhouse opened in 2001, the American Shakespeare Center’s Volunteer Usher Guild has welcomed over a quarter of a million guests through its doors. In addition to sharing their love of Shakespeare and Renaissance staging practices, our volunteers usher for the exciting opportunity of sharing their community with the world. We have many guests for whom their trip to the Blackfriars Playhouse is not only the first time they have been to Staunton,Virginia but also to the United States. For these guests, who often come straight to the Playhouse from the airport, one of the first people to welcome them to our country is a smiling member of the ASC Volunteer Usher Guild.
Now we want to welcome YOU as a volunteer usher!
To join the ASC VUG, simply attend an orientation. Usher orientations are held the second Sunday of every month, 6:30-7:15pm, in the Blackfriars Playhouse front lobby. Anyone over the age of 16 can be an ASC volunteer usher. Once you have completed an orientation, you can usher as often as you like. Please direct any questions or concerns about the volunteer usher program to Chris Nash (ASC House Manager) at 540-851-1733 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Here is your chance to act or direct on the Blackfriars Playhouse stage! The Bring 'Em Back Alive reading series draws regional actors together, scripts in hand, to perform a lively interpretation of lesser known works from the Renaissance. In the laboratory that is our Blackfriars Playhouse, come help us to discover the joy of these treasures that thrilled Shakespeare's London. These readings are also a means of determining if these plays could be used as a part of a future Playhouse performance season. The 'Bring 'Em Back Alive readings are free and open to the public. The readings currently scheduled are listed in our performance calendar.
To volunteer for this reading series, contact Sarah Henley (ASC Education Program Manager) at 540-885-5588 ext 29 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Do you have sewing experience to share? Volunteering at the ASC Costume Shop is your chance to weave your mark into the ASC’s dedication to Shakespeare’s Renaissance staging practices.
What are Shakespeare’s Renaissance Staging Practices Regarding Costuming? How Does the ASC Interpret Them?
Costuming was important to the theatre companies of Shakespeare’s day for three reasons. First, the frequently lavish costumes provided fresh color and design for the theatres. Second, costumes made it easy to use one actor in a variety of roles. Third, as they do now, costumes helped an audience “read” the play quickly by showing them at a glance who was rich, or poor, royalty or peasantry, priest or cobbler, ready for bed or ready to party, “in” or “out”. But costumes were NOT important to Shakespeare and his fellows as a way of showing what life used to be like in a particular period. They performed Titus Andronicus, for example, in primarily Elizabethan garb. Costumes are important to the ASC in the same way. For them, as for us, the play always spoke to the present. Sometimes we’ll use contemporary costumes, sometimes Elizabethan, and sometimes a mix of everything in between.
How Do I Volunteer for the ASC Costume Shop?
To become an ASC Costume Shop Volunteer, contact the ASC costume shop through the box office at 540-851-1733 ext 74 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .