May 2017

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

What’s New……………………..2 Save The Date.………………...2 ArtsLaunch ......................... .2 Upcoming Trainings………...3 Opera Challenge Winners....3 Rock Odyssey………….………..4 Graduations……………………...4 Vol Calendar Clarifications….5 Report Times……………………..6 A Star Among Us!...................7

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST

• May/June Parking Passes

• From The Advisory Board

• Volunteer Pins

• Volunteer Snacks

• Uniform Pricing List

• Running from Eugene!

The Bridge

Rock Odyssey is in full swing!

Our halls are full of a different kind of excitement this month.

From the sheer elation that every 5th grade child in Miami-Dade

County exudes as they experience live theatre, some for the very

first time, to the proud parents and grandparents doting on the

accomplishments of their high school graduates.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to help at a Rock Odyssey, I

encourage you to try it out if you can. Seeing the smile on the

faces of the children as they are mesmerized by the Rock

Odyssey stage is more rewarding that you can imagine.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your time and dedication to the center. You really do

“Make A World of Difference.”

- Nicole

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WHAT’S NEW WHAT’S COMING

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ARTSLAUNCH 2017— SEPTEMBER 9TH

In order to give our

volunteers better customer

service, we have

implemented a system to

be able to contact you if

necessary (ex. Lights left

on in car) should a need

arise in the parking

lot. With that being said,

if your temporary parking

pass has expired, please

provide the following

information. Once you get

back to us, we will issue

you a new temporary park-

ing pass. If you have re-

ceived this and you have

made over 72 actual hours,

please let us know and we

will get you a permanent

pass.

Name:

Tag Number:

Car Make:

Car Model

Color:

Year:

ArtsLaunch is around the corner! Save the date on your calendar. This spectacular

kick-off to the arts season is something you don’t want to miss. We had hundreds of

guests visit our campus for the first time and were dazzled by the experience. It is ex-

pected to be much bigger this year and we are going to need all the help we can get!

You can help at the volunteer table, give abridged tours, help out with workshops, help

subscribers select their seats for the season and much more. Afterwards, you can join

in the festivities for food tastings and free giveaways! You don’t want to miss it. You

will be able to sign up for this event on August 1st so mark your calendars and get ready

for a fun-filled day!

SAVE THE DATE! OCTOBER 2, 2017

As the season winds down, it’s time to start thinking about the Annual Dinner! If you volunteer for at least 72 hours this season (not including bonus hours), you will receive an invite to the annual volunteer dinner. Can anyone guess where it will be held this year? Location to be announced in the next newsletter!

NEW PARKING PASS PROCEDURES

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UPCOMING TRAININGS

In efforts to improve the

sign up rate for the opera,

we created a contest that didn’t seem to really en-

courage opera sign ups on a

large scale. We only hit our

goal of a fully staffed show

once this season. We as your Advisory Team would

like to hear from you on

how we can improve

attendance. We are open to

all suggestions as we have

exhausted all other ideas!

We would like your feed-

back!

1. Have you ever worked

an opera?

2. If no, why not?

3. What would entice you

to sign up for the opera

besides incentive

hours?

4. Have you worked one or

more operas?

5. What about working for

the opera do you like?

6. What don’t you like

about working the

opera?

7. Any other comments?

Talk with us!

The Advisory Team

members are: Sondra, Angela, Jonathan

S, Sara, Ramon and Mary.

See you in the clubhouse!

A NOTE FROM THE ADVISORY BOARD

Docent / Docent Training:

If you are interested in joining our Docent/Docent Assistant team, please e-mail

us at volunteers@arshtcenter.org. If we have enough interest, we will look to

schedule a date.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR OPERA CHALLENGE WINNERS!

The challenge: Anyone who volunteers for a minimum of 10 shows will be entered into a drawing for a Grand Prize of a $150 gift card and several secondary prizes of “Select My Position” certificates and incentive hours.

Congratulations to our winners!

Grand Prize! Ramon Suero

2nd Place Winners with 10 incentive hours each

Rubdys Santiago Angela Chin-Tai Enid Hernandez

3rd Place Winners with “Choose My Position” certificates Dagmar Gomez Hannah Wilson

Sensitivity, Diversity and Inclusion Training:

In our ongoing efforts to provide our guests with an outstanding experience at

the Arsht Center all new volunteers need to participate our Arsht Center

sensitivity course. Please see the dates below and sign up online to reserve your

spot.

Date Time Scheduled Performances

May 22 6p—7p none

May 24 12:30p—1:30p After Rock Odyssey

May 24 6p—7p none

May 25 2p—3p After Rock Odyssey

May 26 2p—3p After Rock Odyssey

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Rock Odyssey is now on the calendar for everyone to sign up for. If you love the arts

AND love working with children, this is just the event for you! Rock Odyssey is a

theatrical rock opera style show to educate students on the Homer classic that

chronicles Odysseus’ epic journey. Each year, we invite every fifth-grader in

Miami-Dade County to share this experience at the Arsht Center, and it is heart-

warming to see their faces since for many of the students, this is their first exposure to

a “live theatre” experience.

The performances will take place from May 15th - May 26th. Each shift is from

8:30am (the call time) until about 1:30p when the kids return to the buses.

Two performances are completed in one shift (with the exception of

Wednesdays where it is only one shift).

You can sign up to be a bus wrangler (directing kids off the buses and into the KCH

theatre) or you can sign up to usher the show to guide and direct students to their

seats. After you register, if there is a position that you prefer over the other, please

send us an e-mail so we can notate your account for the House Managers. They will

do their best to accommodate.

GRADUATIONS

GRADUATIONS

This is your chance to be a part of something special! Volunteering for graduations

can give you an amazing sense of fulfillment as you hear the challenges that students

had to overcome to earn their degrees and listen to the Valedictorians encourage their

fellow students. Graduations are approximately 4-5 hour shifts and a great way for

the newest volunteers to gain hours since the season is beginning to wind down.

Please remember that as the

approved uniform allows for

only one pin on each shirt

collar. In order to remain

uniform, please do not wear

your pins on the vests or

elsewhere on the Arsht

Uniform (even if you own your

vest). Also, as

Rock Odyssey

rounds the corner,

you will see more

new

ushers wearing this pin. Be

sure to welcome them and take

them under your wing!

If you need somewhere to

display your plethora of pins,

we are more than happy to

supply with you an Arsht

Volunteer hat to display your

badges of honor. Please be

aware that if more than one

pin is displayed on each collar,

it will be noted on your

account as “out of uniform” &

will count as one of your 3

infractions for the month

towards bonus hours. Thank

you for your cooperation.

VOLUNTEER PINS

VOLUNTEER CALENDAR CLARIFICATION

Every Tuesday two angels

(who prefer to remain name-

less) come in to create the

snack trays, organize the

uniforms and arrange the club-

houses. They spend no less

than 4 hours per week doing

just that. They put a lot of

time and effort into making

sure that each tray has just a

little bit of everything for each

shift, and that we have enough

to last the entire week.

Each tray is prepared in such a

way that each volunteer work-

ing can get two snacks per

shift.

Please keep this in mind as

lately people have been taking

extra snacks! Remember, the

more snacks you take, you are

taking away from someone

else.

Also, please keep in mind that

when the refrigerators are

stocked on Tuesday, the

drinks, hummus, carrots etc.

are meant to last the entire

week (through Sunday).

We are asking each person to

please remember your fellow

volunteer and be sure to only

take what you need and leave

the rest for the volunteers

working the shifts after you.

This way we all benefit.

Thank you for your coopera-

tion! 5

VOLUNTEER SNACKS

When viewing your “Schedule History” tab in the online volunteer room, you may see

“Cancelled Advanced” or “Cancelled Assignment”

Cancelled Advanced: This means that you signed up for a show and cancelled. It

counts towards the three cancellations that you are allowed to have per month.

Cancelled Assignment: This means that either the event was cancelled by the Arsht

Center OR you were able to find someone to replace you for your cancellation. These DO

NOT count towards your cancellations for the month.

Ex:If you have 5 cancellations in a month: 3 cancelled assignments and 2 cancelled ad-

vance, you are still eligible for bonus hours. If you still have questions, please e-mail us at

volunteers@arshtcenter.org or ask a Advisory Team Member for further explanation.

CANCELLED ADVANCED

VS CANCELLED ASSIGNMENT

WHICH UNIFORM DO I WEAR?

Sometimes when you receive your confirmation, it will state “Standard Usher Uniform

unless otherwise noted.”

It is important to pay attention to the “unless otherwise noted.” If your confirmation has

this verbiage, the “noted” will display on the calendar in the description. Lately more

and more people are disregarding this and showing up in the incorrect uniform.

We are working with our IT department to try to make the messaging more clear, but until

then, if you have any question about the uniform, please double check the description

section of the website and it will indicate what the correct dress code should be.*

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

*The only exception to this is if you are bus wrangling for an education event which will always

be the Red Arsht Volunteer Shirt and jeans.

UNIFORM

PRICING LIST!

As the season continues, should you decide to pur-chase any part of your uni-

form please see the pricing below. Send us an e-mail with what you would like

and I will have them waiting for you or you can schedule

a time to come in to the office to pick up your uni-

form pieces. White Shirts: $15.00 Women’s Vests: (XS—XL) $22.50 Women’s Vests: (sXL—3XL) $24.75 Men’s Vests: (S—XL) $22.50 Men’s Vests: (2XL—4XL) $24.75 Ascot: $6.25 Tie: $7.25 Flashlight: First one $5 After 1st one: $10 Batteries: $.50 each

Flashlight Batteries

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VOLUNTEER REPORT TIME

One of the most important

parts of volunteering as an

Usher is the Volunteer

Report time. It can be

anywhere from 30 minutes

to 2 hours prior depending

upon the assignment/

performance. For any gen-

eral performance, (CST/

KCH/ZBOH) your report

time is 1.5 hours prior to show time, but you may wonder “WHY?”. Hopefully,

this gives you a little insight. There is so much that happens in preparation of a

show to ensure the best guest service possible. Volunteers receive the general

briefing and their assignments from the House Manager. Next, the Volunteer

is briefed by their Tier Leader on the specifics of their assigned tier. This may

include pre-show checks of restrooms, water fountains, monitors, seat remov-

als, as well as emergency evacuation drills. All of this needs to happen and

everyone in position when the upper lobby opens 60 minutes prior to curtain.

Those in the lobby and the lower tiers normally feel the immediate affects as

they tend to be the first people that guests interact with. However, being

show ready means being ready to welcome guests on all levels without regard

to when a guest may first reach your tier.

Below are the briefing times for general performances, Resident Company

shows and extra events. Occasionally a briefing time will change and we will do

our best to communicate that to you in advance.

If you have any questions, please feel free us or a House Manager. We will be

glad to answer any questions you may have.

General Performances 1.5 hours

Florida Grand Opera 2 hrs due to pre-concert lectures

Miami City Ballet* 2 hrs due to pre-concert lectures

TCO (The Cleveland Orchestra) 2 hrs due to pre-concert lectures

Classical Music Series 2 hrs due to pre-concert lectures

Extra Events varies due to the needs of the event

*This excludes “The Nutcracker” and the opening night of each program series.

Those remain 1.5 hours

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TAKE A CLOSER LOOK! We have a celebrity among us!

If you have an opportunity to volunteer for Rock Odyssey, make sure you look

closely. The lovely daughter of one of our volunteer couples, Paul and Ela Gorwky, has landed a starring role! Jessica will be a member of

this year’s two week run playing the role of Circe. Be sure to check out her vivacious vocals and congratulate Paul and Ela on a job well done!

——————————————————————————————————————

Proud Parents

Paul and Ela Gorwky

I am sure that lately you

have noticed Eugene taking

pictures out the wazoo!

This was at my special

request. Since I cannot be

at every briefing, I asked

him to try to capture at least

one picture of everyone. I

would like everyone to be

included in the end of the

year picture slide show. So,

when you see Eugene com-

ing with the camera…

Don’t Run!

Give him a huge smile and

best model pose especially if

he hasn’t taken your picture

yet this season!

Thank you Eugene for all of

your help!!

RUNNING FROM EUGENE