Stage Hand

STAGEHAND

PART TIME (SEASONAL)

PS21, a cutting-edge performance venue in the Hudson Valley, seeks to hire a Stagehand for our 2023 Season of innovative programming by leading and emerging artists in music, dance, theater, contemporary performance, and the visual and multimedia arts.

OVERVIEW

Stagehands are part of the Production team and support the planning, preparation, and physical implementation of all rehearsals and concerts for PS21 Performing Arts Center. They report to the Production Manager or Technical Director and work closely with other production team members.

While prior theatrical experience is helpful, we are accepting applications from entry-level candidates, including current and/or recently-graduated students who are eager team players and are willing to receive training on specific tasks related to being a stagehand.

This is a seasonal, non-exempt (overtime eligible) position from June – August, paid hourly at a rate range of $18 - 27/hr depending on experience. Hours will average 10-20 hours/week, with the potential of more dependent upon performance schedule.

This position requires local residence during the dates listed above.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintain a safe, healthy, and inclusive workplace at all times.
• Assist in the installation of stage plots, orchestra chairs and stands, risers, and other equipment.
• Assist in the moving of equipment and instrument deliveries across campus.
• Assist the Stage Manager in technical rehearsals.
• Run crew for orchestra rehearsals, technical rehearsals, and performances.

QUALIFICATIONS

• High school diploma or equivalent
• Ability to work in an organized, self-directed, and detailed manner.
• Ability to prioritize tasks in a fast-paced, continually-changing environment.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively.
• Ability to work evenings, weekends, and holidays, as determined by the production schedule.
• Ability to climb stairs and ladders
• Ability to push, pull, hang, reach, lean and balance
• Ability to move and lift up to 50lbs.
• Ability to sit or stand for extended periods of time.
• Ability to remain calm during high-pressure backstage situations.
• Successful candidates possess strong communication skills and a keen attention to detail. They are collaborative, self-motivated, and bring a positive, can-do attitude!

PREFERRED/ADVANCED QUALIFICATIONS

• Scenic construction & carpentry
• Rigging experience preferred but not required
• Experience clean licensed driver for box truck or cargo van
• Theatrical run crew or stage management experience.
• A passion for the arts; some theatrical experience—either scholastic, community, semi-professional or professional.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• May work in outdoor conditions or event tent conditions with limited temperature control.
• Frequently works at heights above 6 feet.
• Regularly exposed to electrical connections
• Regularly works in dimly lit areas
• Regularly works in areas with atmospheric effects including but not limited to haze and strobes.

TO APPLY

Send a cover letter with your resume to info @ ps21chatham.org. Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT

PS21 is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, immigration or citizenship status, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, marital and partnership status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran or active military service member or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws in its employment policies.

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ABOUT PS21/CHATHAM

Established in 2006, and with a well-earned reputation as “a Hudson Valley outpost of the avant-garde” (The New York Times, June 2022, more press is here, https://ps21chatham.org/ps21-press-and-media/), PS21 is a not-for-profit (501(c)(3)) organization for the performing arts whose mission is to provide support for innovative performing artists and creators and to introduce their work to a broader audience, while also providing the surrounding region with opportunities for arts engagement regardless of economic status, cultural background, and age.

Just five of PS21's 100 acres of grounds are developed; the rest are meadows and woodlands. Environmental awareness is interwoven with our arts programming and is integral to PS21's mission. The PS21 grounds are home to a new (2018), state-of-the art, green, 350-seat theater offering resident makers and performers the tools and flexibility for successful innovation and collaboration in the development of sophisticated multi-media work. Situated near the theater are the Dance Barn, a rehearsal and performance venue, and two artists’ residences accommodating sixteen individuals. The PS21 property is also host to the Chatham Farm Animal Rescue.

In 2022 PS21 produced 19 weeks of challenging and adventurous lineup spanning—and often bending—genres from across the globe, 19 productions in the summer, 7 international, from South Korea, Nigeria, Haiti, Canada, France, Israel, and Ukraine, with programs that address challenging contemporary issues. Highlights included Philippe Quesne’s ecological fable Farm Fatale; DakhaBrakha, the Ukrainian “ethno-chaos” band that preserves their country’s traditional music while transforming it, in concert and performing live accompaniment to Oleksandr Dovzhenko ’s Earth (1930), the classic cinematic tribute to the Ukrainian landscape and those who work the land; and One. One & One, a vision of sustainability expressed through movement by Israel’s celebrated Vertigo Dance Company, whose base is their Eco-Art Village in Kibbutz Netiv Halamed-Heh.

Here are some of the projects we’re planning for 2023 that you’ll be as excited about as we are:

• Anima, from France, an immersive multidisciplinary installation by French visual artist/photographer Noémie Goudal, theater director Maëlle Poésy, and circus artist Chloé Moglia, September 2-3
• Juneteenth Celebration with the Resistance Revival Chorus at Henry Hudson Waterfront Park
• Amoukanama Circus, Guinean acrobats, dancers, and musicians in a work centered on themes of migration, education, and opportunity, August 19
• Alessandro Sciarroni’s Save the Last Dance for Me, the inventive Italian theatermaker’s rediscovery of the polka chinata folk dance, July 29 and August 4
• Runners, by the Czech New Circus ensemble Cirk La Putyka, a hit at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, praised by The Guardian as “a moving exploration of time . . .through dance, music, acrobatics and dialogue,” July 21
• Developmental residencies, where artists create new work for performance at PS21 and elsewhere, including our music commission, Sound Construction, a site-specific work composed for PS21’s sprawling landscape.

SELECTED PRESS

” ‘You Are the Show’: A Hudson Valley Outpost of the Avant-Garde, PS21 presents work that challenges and invites…”, “The summer programming — which also features contemporary chamber opera, postapocalyptic scarecrows, a parade of human-size moles and a participatory installation made of string — is indicative of how PS21 has become a rural outpost of high-end and often avant-garde performance.” — Brian Seibert, The New York Times, June 2, 2022

“A beautiful, reconfigurable indoor-outdoor space that appears to have landed like an exotic bird in the midst of a 100-acre former apple orchard in this tiny Hudson Valley town. It’s not the first place you would expect to encounter cutting-edge performance, yet PS21 offers little else.” —_ Jesse Green, The New York Times, _June 22, 2021

“This supercool avant-garde hothouse in Columbia County.” —Jesse Green, The New York Times, January 17, 2022

“It’s not easy being green. Full marks to Philippe Quesne’s sprightly eco-clown show ‘Farm Fatale,’ created at the Münchner Kammerspiele and now at PS21 in Chatham, N.Y. — a country theater that outclasses most of Manhattan.” — Jason Farago, critic at large for The New York Times, September 3, 2022

Job Type: Part-time

Pay: $18.00 - $27.00 per hour

Schedule:

• 10 hour shift
• 4 hour shift
• 8 hour shift
• Day shift
• Evening shift
• Holidays
• Night shift
• Weekend availability

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Chatham, NY 12037: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: One location

Salary : $18 - $27