Front of House sign up book is now available, April 2013

Usher / Will Guide Sign up Book Ready!

The Front of House (Ushers, Will Guides) Sign up book will be available in the GRSF office starting with a kick-off event on Monday April 22 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.   Lea Karlssen, our House Manager, and Judy Rusert, our Volunteer Team Leader, will be on hand to review what’s new and answer your questions.  The usher book will be available in the GRSF office during regular office hours until June 24, when usher sign up will move on-line  as the festival begins.   If you know your summer schedule, come on in and sign up for the dates you most want to usher.

We recommend all ushers attend a training before the first time you usher.   All trainings will be held in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center.
Usher trainings are scheduled for

• Tuesday June 18, 6  - 7:30 p.m
• Thursday June 20, 6  - 7:30 p.m.
• Monday June 24,   Lead Usher Training* 6 – 7:30 p.m.
• Wednesday July 10, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday July 25, 6 – 7:30 p.m.

New this year – Lead Ushers  are taking the place of Head Ushers and performing many of the same duties, but able to watch the performance. Recommended for experienced ushers who have a cell phone, and are ready to take more leadership.

~ Ushers can sign up for either a Short Shift outside position, or Full Shift inside position.  Stations, including accessible area ushers, will be assigned the day of the performance.

~ Watch for improvements to our on-line usher scheduling as the Festival starts. Thank you to all our eager and enthusiastic Front Of House Volunteers.   Once the usher book is here – can summer be far behind?

Friends of Will welcome new members

Stop by the GRSF office to pick up a brochure or sign up online.

Left:  FOW Sharron Grossardt visits with future Friends of Will at the April 14 Season 10 Preview

FOW Cyntha Porter and Paul Mundt; Steering Committee Member Tracy Morgan and FOW Transportation Team Chair Jim Nelson at the Season 10 Preview.

For Your calendar!

Wednesday, June 5, 12 and 19.  Will Reads, 7-8:30, Mugby Junction.  Specifics for which Season 10 play will be studied each session will be announced later.

Sunday July 14, Friends of Will Volunteer Recognition, WSU Science Atrium, following the Matinee performance of Twelfth Night. FOW will receive invitations later this spring.

Congratulations to Janet Seabern

Janet received the Jefferson award in recognition to her many volunteer contributions  throughout Winona.  Janet has ushered for six seasons.

Links

Current and Archived Friends of Will Newsletters
Friends of Will Web Page.
Cyntha Porter’s Why Everybody Loves Winona recent blog post about GRSF

Winter FOW Partnerships and Spring Company Requests, March 2013

Save these dates!

~ April 14, GRSF Spring Preview, 4:00 pm, Winona County History Center
~ June 26, Free Preview, Twelfth Night
~ June 27, Free Preview, King Henry V
~ July 14, Friends of Will Recognition Celebration  after the matinee performance of Twelfth Night        Watch for details this spring!

Early Housing & Hospitality Team Needs

Hello, Friends of Will.  Company Manager Rob, here. The season quickly approaches and we could use your help.  First, we have early housing needs.  In our constant efforts to make procedures more efficient and effective, we’ve developed a form to fill out if you’re interested in hosting people who arrive before permanent housing becomes available for the season.  This way, we can create a database.  If you’d like to host, please click link below to fill out the form. You will be contacted sometime in the next few months and on a as needed basis.  Early Housing Needs!

Our second request is for a refrigerator and microwave for our hospitality team to keep our crew and actors happy and well-fed.  If you have a fridge sitting in your garage collecting dust, just let me know.  We’ll do all the work of picking it up and removing it.  And, guess what.  It’s tax deductible!!
Contact Rob Thomas, Company Manager   rob@grsf.org

GRSF VISITS Project fine

GRSF Education Team Co-Chair Ruth Carlson and Associate Director Doug Scholz-Carlson were guest speakers at the February meeting of Project FINE’s Diversity Youth Quest students.   Doug talked about Shakespeare’s plays and stage fighting basics. Shakespeare for Young Actors Katie Bowler and Moira Market shared why they love learning about Shakespeare.

FOW Partners with the Rockwell Kent Festival

Friends of Will contributed over 50 hours of volunteer time at the Rockwell Kent Festival in February.  Thank you to all FOW who helped. Festival organizers were very appreciative of your efficient and friendly assistance.   Photos: FOW Diane Forsyth and Pauline Christensen along with Shari Schuh greet patrons at the Theatre Du Mississippi Production of Angels in the Trees while Sue Gilman greets guests at the festival film.

Greetings from the GRSF Office

The GRSF development team has pinpointed a potential new grant opportunity that could be possible in conjunction with our Friends of Will members.  We would love to know if any current Friends of Will are employees, advisors, or retirees associated with the business Ameriprise Financial.  If you have professional ties to this company and would be willing to be listed as such, along with being a volunteer for GRSF, please contact Irene ErkenBrack directly at irene@grsf.org or 507.474.9376.  Thanks for considering it!

Season 10 FOW Steering Committee Members
Tracy Morgan, Jane Baartz, Marsha Yancy, Dee Cipov, Blandine Berthelot, Terry Hawkings, Jean Hayes, Mary Alice Anderson, Jim Nelson, Ruth Charles.  Not pictured: Tom Hoffman, Diane Stevens, Judy Rusert, Michelle Kline, Kris Blanchard.

Friends of Will Home Page

Volunteer at the Rockwell Kent Festival & more news for FOW, January 2013

Rockwell Kent Festival Volunteer Opportunities
GRSF and the FOW are partnering with the Rockwell Kent in Winona Festival in celebrating the work of artist Rockwell Kent.  There are over 20 volunteer positions that FOW are invited to fill. Volunteers are needed February 6 – 10. Opportunities include ushering, greeting festival guests, helping with concessions, art exhibit gallery sitting,assisting at a registration table and putting signage in place.  FOW who assist at Angels in the Trees: Rockwell Kent in Winona, an original play, will receive complimentary tickets to the performance.  All other festival events are free. The festival is the culmination of many years of dreaming and planning by Winonan Taff Roberts.

Select a link below to learn more about each event and choose a time to assist. Please make your selection by midnight January 30
Please include your email address with your name!!
Questions? Contact Mary Alice Anderson

• Rockwell Kent, a film, WSU Stark Hall. Feb 7 and Feb 9.
  (2 volunteer positions)  FILLED
• Angels in the Trees: Rockwell Kent in Winona, an original play, Theatre Du Mississippi, Feb 8, 9, 10 (12 volunteer positions)
  FILLED
• Rockwell Kent Art Exhibit, Gallery Sitter, WSU Watkins Hall Feb  6, 7, 9  (8 volunteer positions ) FILLED
  
• Sign Placement, February 7  (1 volunteer position) FILLED
• Bus Tour Registration Table, WSU Stark Hall. February 9
  (2 volunteer positions) FILLED

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Jane Bartz

Diane Stevens

Welcome New FOW Steering Committee Members
Jane Bartz  and Diane Stevens  are the newest members of the Friends of Will Committee representing the Will’s Opening Weekend and Concerts on the Green and  committees. FOW steering committee members.

Thank you, Dee
A very special thank you to my retiring Friends of Will Steering Committee Co-Chair, Dee Cipov!  Your enthusiasm, love of the Festival, and your “get it done” attitude is very apparent and certainly appreciated!  It has been a pleasure to volunteer so closely with you all of these years!  The Friends of Will could not be accomplishing what we do without great people like you.  I am grateful for those many things I learned from you and hope to carry them forward with strength.  While Dee is passing the Co-Chair mantle on to Mary Alice Anderson (who has also been on the Steering Committee for many years) she’ll continue to head up the distribution team as she has done since practically the beginning.  Thank goodness! Thanks again, Dee, and welcome Mary Alice. Looking forward to a great Season 10!  Hope to see you all at the Theatre!    ~ Terry Hawkings

Friends of Will are at Work Behind the Scenes, Every Day (every day) Every Day of the Year
Enjoy the GRSF Calendar Girls (and men) lyrics “performed” at the Season 9 Callithump.

FOW  Welcome New and Returning Members
If you know someone who would like to become a FOW or a FOW who did not work in 2011 or 2012 please refer them to a printable FOW brochure  OR online form.  Both forms are on the  Friends home page .

FOW who worked in 2011 or 2012 do not need to complete a form!

Behind the scenes, every day (every day) every day of the year

As GRSF prepares for Season 10, the Friends of Will are working behind the scenes,  also getting ready for Season 10.  Learn what the Friends do throughout the year. . . . . . . .

We love, we love, our good Friends of Will
Yeah, our good Friends of Will
We love, we love our good Friends of Will.
Behind the scenes every day of the year…..

Education – teaching your kids and mine
Newsletter – stay informed all the time
Preview – we sneek a peek at the plays
Distribution – promote the festival in many ways

Yeah, yeah, our head’s in a whirl
We love, we love all our good Friends of Will
Every day (every day), every day(every day) of the year
Every day of the year

Transportation – folks arrive from shore to shore
Hospitality – cooking meals for the entire corps –
Front of House – ushers and ticket takers work the floor
Move In & Out – pack and move out/ it can be a chore

Yeah, yeah, our head’s in a whirl
We love, we love all our good Friends of Will
Every day (every day), every day(every day) of the year
Every day of the year

Secretary – record the minutes and share the news
Planning – Season 10, we are so enthused
Fantasy of Trees – off season, don’t forget we’re here
Projects – Getting ready for another year

Behind the scenes, every day (every day) every day of the year

Lyrics written by Marsha Yancy for Callithump 2012. Original lyrics by Neal Sedaka.

Photo: Dee Cipov and Kathy Benke created a tree display for the Winona Health annual Fantasy of Trees.  The winner of the tree received a bottle of wine, Writer’s Block + The Complete Works + a gift certificate for 2 tickets!!

Friends of Will – September 2012

I can no other answer make, but thanks,
thanks, and ever thanks.   Twelfth Night  3.3

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the over 350 dedicated volunteers for their hours of commitment to the success of the Great River Shakespeare Festival. You have read about the increased interest and patronage; we trust you know you play a major role in this success. We look forward to your continued involvement as we look ahead to Season 10!! There will be more great theater and many volunteer opportunities.  We hope you will stay involved and help us recruit new volunteers as well.
~ Terry Hawkings & Dee Cipov Co-chairs, Friends of Will Steering Committee

The Friends of Will organization is one of the most unique and impressive groups of volunteers of which I’m aware from my experience directing at theatres around the country. Your quiet, unsung, and incredibly efficient, always cheerful way of stepping in to fill the gaps in our operation is amazing. . . so many times the job is simply ‘done’ before the need is even apparent. Whenever I encounter our volunteers, I sense such pride among their ranks, and an inspiring sense of ‘ownership’ of and dedication to the Festival. We may have brightened and enriched the lives of the hundreds of people who volunteer on behalf of the company, but trust me, our Friends brighten and enrich our lives every day we’re on the job. We couldn’t do it without you. Thank you for another great year of service! ~ Paul Barnes, Artistic Director
(Photo by Kathy Christenson)

Numbers Tell the Story: 
FOW Teams at Work

Front of House: 159 ushers provided 2292.25 hours of wonderful support. Ushers worked at 64 shows and 8 special events.  Nine head ushers added 191.25 hours and 63 ushers attended training. The breakdown of hours for shows and special events is: King Lear, 769; 
Two Gentlemen of Verona, 733.5; Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), 565.75; All’s Well that Ends Well, 115.5.  Special events: 108.5.  
Irene ErkenBrack, Director of Sales & Marketing/Assoc. Dir. of Development said, Everyone looked so professional and acted that way, helpful and happy to be there.

Will Reads, sponsored by the Education Team had an “awesome turnout” with over 30 people representing a wide age range at each of the three events.

Cheerful Transportation Team members made 49 trips to airports in Rochester, LaCrosse, Eau Claire and Minneapolis to bring company members and speakers to and from Winona.

New this year for the Distribution Team was the publishing of This Week in the Winona Post and Rochester Post-Bulletin. Our core of FOW continued to regularly check local establishments for the availability of GRSF brochures and rack cards plus many regionally spread the word and we believe even more always had GRSF promotion materials with them to share with friends, family, and strangers they met along their way.

The Hospitality Team served 50 cast and crew members lunch and 90 cast and crew members dinner for 8 days during their extremely busy “tech week”. These are the days where everything finally comes together and all are involved and busy! We take pride in our committee members and with their help in our ability to serve satisfying and nutritious meals that are very much appreciated! Whether you cooked or brought in items you purchased we could not have done it without you! Did I say very much appreciated!? That’s an understatement!

On behalf of the Great River Shakespeare Festival, I would like to extend a sincere thank you to each and every volunteer who gave of their time and talents this season. As a new member of staff, I was ASTOUNDED to realize the depth and breadth of GRSF’s volunteer base. It is humbling and extraordinary. I am so proud to tell others in our community and beyond what a strong volunteer sector we have. It speaks volumes to the community in Winona, and to the heart of the Great River Shakespeare Festival. Thank you for “holding us up” in Season 9.~Irene ErkenBrack, Director of Sales & Marketing/Assoc. Dir. of Development

Photos
Friends of Will Calendar Girls (and Men) thumped it up at the Callithump Accessories Parade.  Steering Committee carried objects representing the year-round contributions of the Friends of Will.  Shown above are Blandine  Berthelot, Jim Nelson, Terry Hawkings, Kris Blanchard, Dee Cipov, Mary Alice Anderson, Tom Hoffmann, and Marsha Yancy.  
Photos by Mary Alice Anderson
Diane Stevens, Terry Hawkings, Blandine Berthelot and Claire Smart worked at concessions while the Apprentice acting company performed All’s Well that Ends Well.  Dee Cipov visits with apprentice actor Robert Montgomery   Photos by Paul Barnes.

Friends of Will 2012 THANK YOU Poster

View a larger PDF File.

Friends of Will – July/August 2012

E-Newsletter Highlights

Jean Hayes is the Friends of Will Liaison. She  started volunteering in February and focuses primarily on pre and post season work in a role that is still evolving.  Jean developed a recruitment brochure for volunteers and welcomes new Friends, connecting them with Team Leaders. She is working with the data base to make it more useful. She worked pre-season for Public Relations on projects like  Chill with Will and the Free Previews.  She says she finds the work and the staff at GRSF exciting, nurturing and creative and has never had a job that is so “fun, well defined, and positively affirming.”

Students participating in the Shakespeare for Young Actors program will perform the comedy As You Like it Friday, August 3, in the WSU Performing Arts Center.  There is no charge to attend this free 1:00 pm performance directed by Dr. Andrew Carlson. 

The Shakespeare for Young Actors 1 students performed scenes in July. Photos by Kathy Christensen.

Hire an Apprentice
On Monday July 9, four of the apprentices, Brittany, Donny, Nate and Ted, washed all of our windows. Seldom have we seen such efficiency and dedication. They were done so quickly that we had to wait a bit for  lunch, which we had a bit later in our garden. We encourage everyone who needs a job done around their house to contact the Hire an Apprentice program. Ray and Carolyn Felton.  

The 2nd Annual GRSF Calithump benefit is July 31.  Outdoor festivities begin at 5:00; the indoor fun begins at 7:00.  Advance tickets are needed for this sure-to-be-sold-out benefit.

The winner of the art quilt wall hanging will be drawn during the Calithump. Quilt raffle tickets are $5.00 and available in the GRSF gift shop. GRSF Steering Committee members will appear on stage highlighting their around-the-year work.

Education Team Co-Chairs Ruth Charles and Michelle Kline invite you to join a discussion of the progress and future of the Educational Programs at the Great River Shakespeare Festival. Where: Blue Heron Coffee Shop
When: Wednesday, August 1, 5:30- 7:30pm.
Food and beverages available for purchase followed by group discussion.
Program: What are your suggestions and input for the Educational Programming at GRSF? Where would you like to see our programs heading in the next five years?  RSVP to Ruth Charles,rcharles@winona.ed
Learning for Teens: GRSF Web site