Volunteer programme further information

About us

C venues operates on a not-for-profit basis without public funding or major commercial sponsorship, and we work with volunteers to help deliver our season each year. Founded in 1992, C has grown from small beginnings to become an established producing organisation working internationally. Our ethos is based around the C family of team members and performing companies: to create an environment where people from different backgrounds with an interest in the arts can meet, make creative work and see creative work together. Our alumni have gone on to work in professional theatre and the creative industries around the world, and our visiting performing companies and artists have gone on take their work to other festivals and venues worldwide.

Venue locations

We operate our programme of shows across multiple central Edinburgh venues. All venues are temporary, just set up for the summer festivals in halls and rooms rented from their year-round owners. As we don’t have any permanent venues, our venues can change from year to year.

Dates

The full festival dates for 2024, for those who would like to take part in our technical training programme (also available to those in non-technical roles), and taking part in the full fit-up period are Monday 15 July to Friday 30 August. Alternative starting dates are Saturday 20 July (taking part from the second week of the fit-up), Saturday 27 July (arriving just before we start technical rehearsals), or Saturday 3 August (arriving for the first weekend of the run). We can also can accommodate other dates within the overall period, including dates solely within the fit-up and get-out periods, or solely within the run. We can accommodate short periods, or dates with gaps between them. If you are interested in press and marketing, administration, in-house or co-productions or events, there can be opportunities in London before the festival and at other times of the year. We will always try to accommodate individual circumstances by arrangement.

Volunteer shifts and availability

We accommodate full-time and part-time volunteering. Volunteer shifts during the run of the festival for most full-time team members are typically around 8 to 10 hours. We schedule reasonable breaks within and between shifts. Occasionally we may ask for volunteers to contribute longer shifts, such as sometimes during set up and take down, or when new shows come in to rehearse mid-run, however you are free to choose how much time you would like to contribute. If you’re not at your best with long shifts, we will find alternatives. We can accommodate shorter shifts and part-time volunteering based around volunteers’ availability. We will always try to work around individual circumstances and preferences. We understand that as a volunteer you are free to offer your time whenever you want, however we request that you follow the schedule in order to be fair to the whole team, and let us know of any prior commitments, illness or other issues which may affect your attendance. We will do our best to accommodate your preferences for days off and shift hours in our schedule, and to work around any prior commitments you may have, and we will always consider individual requests. If you can only offer shorter volunteering dates or times, even just a few hours on individual days, we would still like to hear from you.

Travel

You will need to arrange your own travel to Edinburgh. However, if the cost of travelling to Edinburgh from within the UK prevents you from taking part, you can apply to our travel bursary scheme.

General considerations

We pride ourselves as having one of the friendliest and most professional teams of any independent arts organisation, and on supporting our team members and visiting companies and artists. We request that you do your utmost to help us maintain this. If you experience issues with other team members, companies, or the public, or with our management, please come and talk to us so we can do what we can to resolve the problem.

Feedback

We welcome feedback on from volunteers on how our volunteer programme could be improved. Please be aware that it may not be feasible to make changes during the festival, but all feedback is considered at the end of the Festival and is instrumental in planning for the following year.

Taking care

As a team member you will need to follow our codes and operating and safety procedures, and adhere to any recommendations and codes applicable to summer festival participants. These include measures to prevent discrimination, harassment and bullying, to promote a caring and supportive environment for participants, and relating to confidentiality, public statements and social media. Please note that you must take reasonable care of any tools or equipment lent to you or provided for your use and return them on request.

Equal and fair opportunities

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We welcome applications from anyone, with any level of experience. Additional bursaries may be available to assist people with circumstances which would otherwise preclude them from taking part in this volunteering opportunity.

Accessibility/differing abilities

We will make every reasonable effort to accommodate people with access requirements or differing abilities. Please note that by the nature of the buildings, some of the venues are not fully suited to those with access requirements.

Records

Information you provide to us, including any personal data, is stored digitally and is only accessible to a limited number of administrative team members. Team members’ names, mobile numbers and email addresses may be provided to other team members for operational purposes.

Insurance

We provide public and employer’s liability insurance covering our volunteer team, however anything you bring to Edinburgh is at your own risk, and you are responsible for your own possessions. You may wish to hold insurance for items you bring to Edinburgh.

International participants

We are only able to offer places on our volunteer programme to people with the right to work in the UK, and we will ask for evidence of this before you start your placement. This includes British and Irish citizens, EU/EEA citizens with the right to work in the UK, and citizens of other countries with a visa or permit which allows work in the UK (currently this includes permanent residency/indefinite leave to remain, other applicable work visas, youth mobility/working holiday visas, and many full time student visas). Unfortunately we are unable to organise work visas for volunteer applicants.

Edinburgh’s summer festivals are a truly international experience, with artists and companies from all over the world. While we are unable to take international venue team members unless they have permission to work in the UK, there is an route for people from outside the UK to experience the festivals – attending as part of a performing company or artist’s support team, such as a company or artist from your home country, as opposed to volunteering with a venue. We can often put people from outside the UK in touch with performing companies and artists looking for support team, so please contact us about this if you are interested.