YTA at The Orpheum Theatre
The Knox-Orpheum Young Theatrical Alliance (YTA) was developed in 2015 through a partnership with KnoxCorps, Knox College’s volunteer program. Through the YTA, Knox College students volunteer at the Orpheum and take seminars on working in theater. The hope is that in the future, the program will grow to include high school and Carl Sandburg students, as well as other young people in the community.
The YTA is about to begin its second year of its unique long term volunteer program linked with Knox College-- if you are a student at Knox College and interested in participating in the YTA, please read on!
The YTA is a select few Knox students who have a passion for learning, theater, and giving back to their community. These undergraduate students donate 3-4 hours of their time every week to the historic Orpheum Theatre. These hours are spent caring for the building, organizing, preparing for upcoming shows, hanging lights, making new friends, publicizing shows, performing basic office tasks, event planning, and learning new skills. In exchange for their time, our members are treated to exclusive seminars and hands on workshops presented by The Orpheum Theatre staff and other local theater professionals. These seminars have included: light focusing, working with a weighted baton system, resume/cover letter writing, creation of a season, sitting on a board/committee, theater games/working with children in theater, among others!
Orpheum volunteers also have the opportunity to usher for some exciting events at The Orpheum (including last spring's appearance of renowned author David Sedaris!).
Shannon and Gil from the YTA learn about rigging. Here, Gil swings from the fly system, demonstrating that with the proper safety precautions and know-how, you can "fly" just about anything... Including people!
Questions? Contact The Orpheum's current KnoxCorps Fellow, Niki Acton at niki@theorpheum.org!