Behind the Curtain: Volunteer Coordination at Theatre Calgary

When 400+ Volunteers Take Center Stage

At Theatre Calgary, the show starts long before the curtain rises.

Each season includes six productions and welcomes more than 100,000 attendees. Behind every performance is a front-of-house team powered by 433 registered volunteers supporting production runs throughout the year. Coordinating that many people (across multiple shows, roles, and reporting times) requires more than good intentions. It requires a system that keeps everyone aligned without adding extra strain on staff.

Clear Expectations, Confident Volunteers

Front of House Manager Lee Booth remembers when volunteer coordination meant juggling emails and manually updating schedules. Volunteers needed to know which show they were supporting, what their role included, and when to report — and those same questions surfaced again and again.

Today, show details, role expectations, and reporting instructions live directly inside each sign up. Volunteers can review everything before they commit, so they show up prepared and ready to step in.

That shift has made a noticeable difference. Volunteers arrive with fewer questions. Performances begin with less scrambling. Booth spends more time supporting the team in person instead of tracking down answers behind a screen. Clear communication upfront has translated into smoother production nights.

Managing Volunteers at Scale

As scheduling became more streamlined, something important became clear: Theatre Calgary didn’t need to hire a dedicated volunteer coordinator after all.

Since implementing SignUpGenius, Booth has been able to manage all 433 volunteers within the existing team structure. That’s a considerable cost savings for a nonprofit arts organization — funds that can stay focused on productions, programming, and patron experience instead of administrative overhead.

For an organization welcoming more than 100,000 attendees each year, being able to scale volunteer coordination without increasing payroll is a meaningful operational win.

Accurate Tracking, Shared Visibility

Volunteer contributions power every production, and understanding their impact matters. In the past, tracking hours involved estimation. Now, hours are automatically recorded through the system, giving Theatre Calgary accurate data they can confidently share across the office.

Instead of guessing at totals, staff can clearly see how many hours volunteers contribute throughout the season. That visibility reinforces just how much these 433 individuals give behind the scenes — and gives leadership reliable numbers when reporting on impact.

For Theatre Calgary, organized volunteers don’t just make scheduling easier. They create steadier production nights, reduce administrative strain, and protect resources that can be reinvested into the art itself.

Ready to change the way your group manages volunteers?