So you want to volunteer at the Village Players?
WELCOME!
Our volunteers are a valued part of the theatre experience we provide for the community; we couldn’t put on 5 shows each season without them. Our volunteers do everything needed to get a show on its feet.
If you’re interested, fill out the volunteer form here.
Having our own premises in the heart of Bloor West Village is a big advantage. We rehearse, build, paint, sew, and create props all in the same space. It also means that if you are in the neighbourhood, and feel like dropping in some evening during the season, there’s a good chance there will be something going on you can get involved with! The Runnymede subway station is less than a block away, there’s a supermarket, library and LCBO within our block and, at last count, 15 places to sit down for a coffee, a drink, a snack or fine dining within a two-block radius.
Enthusiasm, a love of theatre and a desire to use your skills in a common project (and learn new ones) is all it takes to be a member of Village Players. We have no membership fee.
Volunteer work can be divided into pre- and post-opening night.
♦ Pre-opening night we design the poster, the set, the paint schemes, costumes, props, lighting and sound plots. Once we start rehearsals, we need stage managers, props people to corral all the props used, sewing people, and set builders and painters.
♦ Post-opening night, for each performance, we need people to take tickets and hand out programs, take phone messages, help out at the Box Office, help out with lighting and sound operation, be assistant stage managers (cueing actors and moving set pieces, props, and furniture), and work as stage managers “calling” the show.
You can give as much or as little of your time as you can – we are very grateful for any contribution.
҉ If you’ve always been interested and involved with theatre, we would love to see you at the VP doing what you love to do.
҉ If you have been curious about theatre and didn’t know where to start, we will get you started and train you in any area of interest to you.
We do community theatre because we love it and it feeds our creativity in so many ways! We hope you will join us and have some fun along with us!
FOCUS ON VOLUNTEERS
David Nicholson
David Nicholson, a dear friend and colleague died at the end of August, 2026.
David was a valued member of the Village Players from 2001 when he helped to build the set for “Charing Cross Road”. He became a member of the Board soon after. As well as looking after Publicity, Reservations, Archives and, until recently, the interaction with potential Directors, he was also a Set Designer, Set Builder, Poster Designer, Lighting Designer, Producer and Programme creator. Many patrons knew him as the man who solved their ticket booking issues. He loved talking to them as well as making the process as easy as possible. We lost count of how many people told us how they liked David, and how helpful he had been.
He also acted in “All My Sons” (2003) at the Village, as well as taking roles with other groups. He loved older French plays and used to take an annual trip to Paris (France!) where he would rent a bicycle and cycle around, making sure that he took in as many thespian delights as possible. His good command of French enabled him to translate several plays into English. Two were performed at the Village, Cyprienne (2009) and “Tartuffe” (2011- premiered at East Side Players in 2008). “Two Weeks in Normandy” (now “Vice Versa”) premiered at the Alumnae Theatre’s New Ideas Festival 2011, and he had performances of Tartuffe and other, shorter plays produced in places as far flung as USA, Australia and Costa Rica. He won awards in Canada, Ireland and South Africa. All of these successes gave him great pleasure.
He was proud of his life experiences as a social worker, an underground miner in the Yukon, a Toronto taxi driver and a lawyer. A sound foundation for a man who loved the elegance of French plays!
He was as active as possible right up to the end, and always had the continuation of quality theatre at the Village as one of his goals.
We shall miss him. We are missing him.
David Charles
David Charles passed away on Friday, March 6th. He devoted countless hours to our theatre. His expertise in set piece design and custom builds will be truly missed. We will also miss his always interesting stories and dry sense of humour. We extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends. For a full obituary, click the image below. . .
