Ruckus Theatre Co

Volunteer Agreement
Ruckus Theatre Co strives to ensure that volunteers are offered a positive experience
during their time with the group and that the expectations for both parties are met. In
order to achieve this, the agreement, which is in no way legally binding, aims to identify
the expectations of all parties in order to ensure an effective relationship during the
period of the voluntary role.
Part 1 – Ruckus Theatre Co
As part of this agreement, the Board of Directors on behalf of Ruckus Theatre Co will:
• Recruit and manage show teams in line with equality of opportunity, ensuring
that all sections of the community are targeted and find the group accessible.
• Run the audition, recall and rehearsal process to meet the requirements of the
creative teams and performers.
• Cover out of pocket expenses in line with the Financial Policy.
• Store health information in line with our Safeguarding and GDPR Compliance
Policies.
• Provide ongoing supervision and support sufficient to the requirements of the
roles.
• Provide adequate insurance cover for the needs of the various Board, creative,
creative assistant, band and performer roles.
• Provide a safe environment.
• Apply our complaints procedure to deal with any problems that arise.
• Provide written references after creatives, creative assistants or performers
have finished a show with the Company.
• Ensure the welfare of members by actively resolving problems, grievances or
difficulties that may arise during the duration of a show.
• Run frequent Company socials to encourage cohesion amongst the Company
members.
• Manage termination protocols in line with the Financial Policy.
o This includes attendance at disciplinary meetings and full examination
of an appeal against termination.
• As a not for profit organisation, in the instance that any show makes a profit,
this will be split equitably amongst the Board, the creatives, the creative
assistants and the performers, in line with the Financial Policy.
• Ensure that volunteers are aware of the community outreach and charitable
work of the Company and have access to relevant information.
• Publish an anonymous list of allergens to the group to ensure the safety of
Company members at in-person rehearsals or shows.
• Manage all elements of liaison with the theatre venues.
• Cover up front costs including props, costume, set, deposits and rehearsal
space hire.
• Be transparent about the financial state of the Company and the relevant
liability that that imposes on the Company members.
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Volunteer Agreement
Part 2 – Creatives, Creative Assistants, Performers and Band
As part of this agreement, the creatives, creative assistants, performers and Band will:
• Complete and actively update the Health Form with relevant information for the
Company.
o Updating the Health Form is the individual’s responsibility and by
agreeing to this document, they agree to keep the Company up to date
with relevant health concerns.
o By completing this Health Form, you give the relevant Board member
the authority to handle a situation in line with this information and our
Health and Safety policy.
 You agree to not intervene in a situation with another Company
member unless explicitly asked for assistance by the relevant
Board member.
• Carry out the role in line with the Company’s policies and procedures, including
our expectations of professionalism, privacy and timeliness.
o You agree to keep details of our productions, including scripts, staging
concepts, design concepts and all sensitive information, private.
o You will not share any information that is sensitive to the production
outside of the Company.
o You will attend all required sessions on time. If, for an extremely relevant
reason, you are running late, you need to make the relevant creative,
creative assistant or Board member aware immediately.
• Be available for all required sessions.
o This will include but is not limited to:
 1-to-1 sessions
 Meetings
 Rehearsals
 Fundraisers
 Show dates
• If a session is non-compulsory, this will be made clear to
you.
o You are expected to attend ALL rehearsals which you are called to.
 If you are not available at the time you have been called, you need
to give the relevant creative, creative assistant or Board member
72 hours notice.
• In the instance of an emergency, you need to give the
relevant creative, creative assistant or Board member as
much as notice as is possible.
o You are expected to be at all relevant events and fundraisers unless
there is an extremely relevant reason. Discretion for whether this reason
is acceptable for an absence is held by the members of the Board.
• Have respect for all members of Ruckus Theatre Co and all our supporters.
 Ruckus Theatre Co
Volunteer Agreement
• Whilst you maintain the right to your own appearance, you will inform the
relevant creatives before making any major cosmetic changes to your
appearance until the end of the show process.
• All performers must ensure that they are off-book by the deadline set by the
creative team for the project.
• All creatives, creative assistants, performers and band will comply with the
following rehearsal room protocol:
o The Board reserves the right to refuse entry any Company member entry
to any Ruckus environment if there is a relevant health concern. This
includes any executive decision made with regards to COVID-19
transmission, in line with the risk assessment, Company policy and
lockdown restrictions.
o You will be on time.
o You will maintain respect for all other Company members at all times.
 If a creative or Board member gives you an instruction or
information, you must follow and respect this.
 We expect mutual respect for all Company members, regardless
of your level of involvement in the show process.
• This includes avoiding active endangerment either
physical or psychological of another member of the
Company. Any knowing behaviour which actively
endangers another Company member will be grounds for
expulsion from the rehearsal room/event and will trigger a
meeting with the Board members to discuss your
continued involvement in the Company.
 We have NO tolerance for any form of hate speech from
Company members either in person or online. Violation of this will
be grounds for termination of your involvement with the Company.
o The rehearsal room is a positive and productive environment. Your
conduct should not compromise this.
o You will be actively engaged in the rehearsal process.
 This includes participation in warm ups, cool downs and all other
safety precautions.
o The creatives will provide adequate and frequent breaks.
o At least 2 team members will be in the rehearsal room at all times.
 They will take responsibility for compliance with Health and
Safety.
o No allergens detailed on the published list will be brought into the
rehearsal room.
 This equally applies to all other Company environments.
o Ensure that you are clean and tidy in the room.
 Any fines incurred for damage that have been caused recklessly
by a Company member will be their liability.
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Volunteer Agreement
o Denim will NOT be worn by any member during any rehearsal which
requires physical activity, including but not limited to dance, drama and
stage combat.
o Make sure that you are aware of the verbal and non-verbal safe words,
as established by the Directors. You have every right to use them at any
point during the rehearsal. A break will be immediately called.
 If you do not respect the use of the safe word, the Board reserves
the right to remove you from the rehearsal room and you will be
called for a discussion on your continued involvement in the
Company.
o If you wish to bring a third party into the rehearsal room, you must follow
this procedure:
 You must first approach a Board member at least 72 hours prior
to the relevant rehearsal and get express permission.
 If you are NOT given express permission by a Board member that
much in advance, you will NOT be allowed to bring a third party
into the rehearsal room.
 In the instance of an emergency that requires a last minute caring
responsibility, please contact the Production Manager
immediately and we will organise appropriate supervision during
the rehearsal.
o We expect you to maintain an appropriate level of personal hygiene.
• Band members will be expected to make themselves available for rehearsal at
least but not limited to the week prior to the show week.
o Band calls may begin up to a month in advance of show week for non-
mandatory sessions, at the discretion of the Musical Directors.
o Band members can expect to receive their parts prior to the first band
call, subject to potential revisions being made later in the process.
o Band members can expect to receive their parts in .pdf form, however
they may be printed on request.
o Band members will be expected to look over their parts in advance of
the band calls and rehearsals beginning.
• During the show week, you will comply with the following expectations of
behaviour:
o Be on time.
o Be adequately prepared.
o Share the show social media on your personal social media.
o Take responsibility for the care of relevant props and costumes.
o You will not play with or misuse props or costume, particularly those
which are not your own.
 If you damage props or costume by misuse, you will be financially
liable for repairs and replacements.
o We expect you to keep your costume clean in line with the instruction of
the relevant creative or creative assistant.
o Since we will be in a professional venue, we expect you to act with a
level of professionalism which is in line with the values of the Company.
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Volunteer Agreement
 This includes maintaining professional relationships and
boundaries.
o Backstage is a space for the Company and the staff of the theatre. You
are not to invite anyone backstage unless you have express permission
from at least 2 Board members.
o We will be inviting a variety of different types of professional and
supporters to this production. This may include but is not limited to:
critics, agents, sponsors and charity representatives. You may be called
on to engage with these individuals/groups at any point during the show
week. Please be prepared to do so and present yourself with the level of
professionalism expected as a representative of the Company and
yourselves as artists in the industry.
o We expect to maintain an appropriate level of personal hygiene.
• You will comply with the following expected conduct when you are representing
the Company either online or in person:
o No hate speech.
o No sharing of sensitive information about the production or the
Company.
 Follow Board precedent if you are unsure of appropriate wording.
o Do not actively misrepresent the show or the values of the Company.
o Be respectful.
o When you are wearing or carrying any merchandise which is affiliated
with Ruckus Theatre Co, we expect you to be behaving in a manner that
is a good representation of the Company’s values and does not
compromise the reputations of the performance or the Company in any
manner.
 Any time you are wearing or carrying a piece of Ruckus Theatre
Co affiliated merchandise, you are a representative of the
Company.
 This includes after the production has finished, as the Company
is not limited to any singular production.
• Termination of involvement with the Company will be in accordance with the
Financial Policy.
o In the instance that you are removed from the Company by the Board:
 The policy details that you will be given ‘one strike’ for any breach
of the terms agreed here. This will be subject to a discussion with
the Board.
 In the instance of a more serious breach, e.g. hate speech,
repeated active endangerment, assault of any kind or any activity
which would be legally classed as criminal, your involvement with
the Company will be immediately terminated. You will be required
to attend a termination meeting with the Board.
• In the instance of a mistaken communication on this, you
will be able to appeal to the Board at that meeting and you
will be reviewed fairly.
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Volunteer Agreement
o In the instance that you wish to leave the Company, the Financial Policy
details that:
 You will be required to register your wish to leave the Company
directly with the Production Manager.
 The deadline for your leaving not imposing a financial burden is
exactly 3 weeks (21 days) before opening night.
 You must provide an adequate reason for leaving the Company.
 If you wish to leave the Company once the rehearsal process has
begun, you must directly contact the Production Manager and
attend a meeting with the Board to discuss your reasons. This will
include a mediation process if necessary.
 If you wish to leave the Company for a reason which is deemed
illegitimate by the Board AFTER the 21-day deadline, there will
be a £200 fine imposed due to the significant financial risk that
you will be imposing on the Company with regards to the
production.
• Terms for the payment of this are detailed in the Financial
Policy and will be available on request.
• You will follow the expectations of your role as outlined in the Constitution.
• Financial liability:
o As a not for profit organisation, in the instance that any show makes a
profit, this will be split equitably amongst the Board, the creatives, the
creative assistants, band and the performers, in line with the Financial
Policy.
o In the instance that the show makes a loss, ALL Board, creatives,
creative assistants, band and performers will equally share the cost of
the venue, in line with the Financial Policy.
• Reporting a problem:
o If any problem arises during your involvement in the process outside of
the rehearsal room, your first port of call is the Production Manager,
Bethany F. Knowles. Your second is the Artistic Director, Montaz
Marché.
o If any problem arises during your involvement in the process inside of
the rehearsal room, your first port of call is the creative in charge of that
rehearsal. Your second is the relevant creative who is supervising that
rehearsal.
o Any inter-company issues will be resolved by a mediation meeting
between all relevant parties which will be supervised by the Production
Manager. In the instance that this proves to be a conflict of interest, it will
be supervised by the Secretary.
• You will comply with all relevant legislation including, but not limited to, Data
Protection Act 1998.
 Ruckus Theatre Co
Volunteer Agreement
Part 3 – GDPR Compliance
By ticking this box and signing this document, you agree for Ruckus Theatre
Co to use your face, name and image in all social media/general marketing. You also
agree to allow the Company to store your information for the duration of the show
process. You recognise that we will destroy all personal information in compliance with
GDPR at the end of the process.

This agreement is binding in honour only and neither party intends any employment
relationship to be created as a result of this agreement.

Signed (Board Member): ……………………………………………………………………..

Signed (Creative): …………………………………………………………………………….
Signed (Creative Assistant): …………………………………………………………………
Signed (Performer): …………………………………………………………………………..
Signed (Band Member): ……………………………………………………………………...
Name (Please print): ………………………………………………………………………….
Date: __/__/____

Signed (Production Manager): ………………………………………………………………

Name (Please print): ………………………………………………………………………….
Date: __/__/____