Help Build the Next Act at The Fort Theatre

Have you ever wanted to help run your own theatre?

Theatre gives people somewhere to escape, to laugh, to be moved, and sometimes to explore things that are difficult to talk about anywhere else. We think communities should have places where that can happen.

At the Antonine Theatre Group (ATG), we have one of those places: The Fort Theatre in Bishopbriggs, just one stop from Glasgow Queen Street by train.

We're an amateur theatre company run entirely by volunteers, with something relatively unusual: our own theatre. We produce several shows each year, while also looking after and developing the venue that makes them possible.

This year, our programme has included Bull by Mike Bartlett, Chatroom by Enda Walsh, God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza and 2:22: A Ghost Story by Danny Robins, alongside our annual Christmas pantomime, Hansel & Gretel. So, as you might gather, we're not afraid of a bit of variety.

We're now looking for new volunteer trustees who can bring professional or creative expertise to ATG and help us shape what The Fort becomes next.

Who we're looking for

First, an important point: we're not looking for one miraculous person who can do all the things below. We're looking for several people, each bringing skills or experience in any one of these areas. If you recognise yourself in one of them, we'd like to hear from you.

• Finance and accountancy- You might be an accountant, finance professional or someone with experience of budgets, financial reporting, financial controls and longer-term financial planning. If a reconciled spreadsheet gives you quiet satisfaction, you'll fit right in.
• Fundraising and income development - You might have experience of fundraising strategy, grant applications, trusts and foundations, corporate partnerships or developing new sources of charitable and earned income.
• Governance and organisational development - You might have experience as a company or board secretary, in charity governance, developing policies and procedures, or establishing a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). We're seeking to become a SCIO, and we're particularly interested in someone who can help us strengthen our governance and support that transition as ATG develops.
• Theatre and the creative industries - You might bring dramaturgical or other professional creative experience, a strong understanding of stagecraft and theatre-making, or established networks across theatre and the wider creative industries in Scotland. We're looking for someone who can bring a wider creative perspective into the room and help us think ambitiously about the work we put on our stage.
• Theatre technology - We're interested in people with a strong understanding of modern theatre technology who'd be excited by the opportunity to help modernise a working community theatre. You might already work professionally in the sector, be studying technical theatre or theatre production, or have developed practical experience in lighting, sound or video elsewhere.

What being a trustee involves

This isn't a trustee role where you turn up six times a year, read the papers, say something sensible about risk and disappear again.

ATG has no paid staff, so our trustees are hands-on. You'll help shape the organisation's direction and use your particular expertise to help make things happen.

The Management Committee meets around six times a year, and we'd normally ask trustees to be able to contribute around two hours a week outside those meetings.

You'll be helping to run a charity with its own theatre, an active programme of productions, finances, licences, members and volunteers. There are real responsibilities involved, but also a genuine opportunity to influence what a small cultural organisation and its theatre become over the coming years.

A board role, but also a creative community.

This is perhaps the unusual bit.

You won't just be joining a board. You'll be joining a theatre company and a creative community.

If you want to, you can audition for a play, direct a production, work backstage, design lighting or sound, build a set, help choose future productions, or learn something you've never tried before. You'll meet people who share an interest in theatre and, we hope, make some friends along the way.

No previous performing experience is required.

None of that is compulsory. If you'd prefer to contribute your expertise as a trustee and watch the shows from the audience, that's absolutely fine.

But we think there's something fairly special about being able to serve on the board of a theatre on Thursday and find yourself rehearsing on its stage on Monday.

You don't need previous trustee experience, and you don't need a background in amateur theatre.

What we're looking for is relevant skills or experience in at least one of the five areas above, sound judgement, and an interest in helping a volunteer-run theatre thrive.