Sunday, February 28, 2010

Spirits of Tudor Hall Starring You!

Ever since we first organized in 2008, Spirits of Tudor Hall has been in the business of taking something old (Tudor Hall) and creating something new (our tours and our growing sense of team spirit). Not only do we work hard but we have fun as we work together to explore and share the history of Tudor Hall and the Booth family.

There are no membership requirements or dues at the current time beyond providing active support in whatever way suits you best. However, we do encourage our volunteers to consider purchasing a membership in at least one of the organizations that support Spirits of Tudor Hall. Memberships are available in the Center for the Arts, the Historical Society of Harford County, and the Junius B. Booth Society. For more information about becoming a member of these organizations, please contact spirits-of-tudor-hall@msn.com.

If you enjoy “pitching in” and using your skills and knowledge to make things happen, Tudor Hall just might be the place for you. Below is a list of “jobs” that are currently open.

If you’re interested in any of these volunteer positions, please contact us with information about your skills, experience, and qualifications and explain how you would like to put them to work on behalf of Tudor Hall.

For more information, contact Dinah Faber at spirits-of-tudor-hall@msn.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Storytellers

Spirits of Tudor Hall invites anyone with a talent for storytelling to audition to bring to life the story of Tudor Hall and those who have lived there while guiding visitors through the house.

Anyone interested in auditioning should contact Spirits of Tudor Hall for more information, including an application form and guidelines for submitting a brief resume and preparing for an audition.

Actors and Reenactors of Historic “Characters”

The primary goal of Spirits of Tudor Hall is to insure that visitors enjoy visiting Tudor Hall and learning more about the history of the house and the Booth family. A visit to Tudor Hall should not only be educational but entertaining as well.

With that in mind, Spirits of Tudor Hall invites anyone with acting or reenacting experience to audition for the role of any one of several historic figures associated with Tudor Hall for the purpose of welcoming visitors and taking them on a tour of the house while “in character.”

The roles available include any and all the members of the Booth family, Ella Harward Kyle Mahoney who lived at Tudor Hall for nearly 70 years, and any and all members of the Joseph and Ann Hall family (an African American family associated with Tudor Hall from the 1820s into the early 1900s).

Those who successfully complete the audition process will receive assistance in researching the historical character they have chosen to depict and creating a “conversational” script for that character. Once a character and script have been developed and proficiency in depicting the character has been demonstrated, assistance will be provided in choosing, designing, and funding an historically correct costume.

Anyone interested in auditioning should contact Spirits of Tudor Hall for more information, including an application form and guidelines for submitting a brief resume and preparing for an audition.

Speech and Drama Coaches

Our "performers" would benefit from the advice of an experienced speech and/or drama coach who enjoys working with those who are new to the "theatre." If that describes you, we would be delighted to include you in our team. Please contact us with details about your experience and qualifications.

Script and Story Writers

While some of our actors, reenactors, and storytellers may create their own scripts, others may ask for assistance in developing a script or storyline. Anyone with a talent for drafting storylines and writing dialogue is invited to contact Spirits of Tudor Hall for an application form and guidelines for presenting a brief resume and samples of their writing.

History Buffs to Provide Research Assistance

It is important that all information presented to visitors at Tudor Hall be as accurate and complete as possible. While some of our actors, reeenactors, storytellers, and speakers may prefer to do their own research and fact checking, others may appreciate assistance. Anyone with experience researching historic people, places, and events, is invited to contact Spirits of Tudor Hall for an application form and guidelines for presenting a brief resume and examples of successful research projects.

Oral Historians

There are many people in the community who have been associated with Tudor Hall over the years. It is important to collect and record the memories of these individuals. If you enjoy interviewing and photographing people and/or if you are skilled with a tape recorder or video camera and would like to help capture the oral history of Tudor Hall, please let us know.

Reservations Manager

Once the buzz about upcoming tours of Tudor Hall begins to build, requests for reservations start coming in at a steady rate. The reservation manager completes the following tasks:

Checks the Center for the Arts telephone reservation line for requests for reservations.

Follows up with email, snail mail, and/or telephone confirmation of reservations.

Keeps a log of all reservations.

This “job” obviously requires a volunteer who can give attention to details such as  names, phone numbers, and email addresses and who interacts well with the public.

Welcome Visitors on the Front Porch

Weather permitting, visitors participating in tours at Tudor Hall are welcomed on the front porch, and their names are checked against the reservation list. The donation box is also displayed on the front porch. Welcoming visitors, confirming they have a reservation, and keeping an eye on the donation box are important duties generally performed by someone other than the tour guides. 

Gift Shop Sales

A few items related to Tudor Hall and the Booth family are offered for sale in one of the small parlors at Tudor Hall. These items are provided by the Historical Society of Harford County, and all sales benefit the Booth Research Center of the historical society. Anyone with sales experience who would enjoy assisting visitors with their purchases in the gift shop is invited to contact Spirits of Tudor Hall for more information concerning this volunteer opportunity.

Tudor Hall Speakers Bureau

To meet requests from community organizations and schools, Spirits of Tudor Hall needs people with a talent for public speaking to tell the story of Tudor Hall at local meetings and events and in local classrooms.

Actors, reenactors, and storytellers with experience at Tudor Hall may be interested in participating in community outreach of this kind.

Experienced PowerPoint Designer/Developer

Of course, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” and a PowerPoint “slide show” would enhance any presentation about Tudor Hall in a classroom or meeting hall. Anyone with experience creating successful PowerPoint presentations is invited to contact Spirits of Tudor Hall about the possibility of developing a PowerPoint presentation for use by members of our Speakers Bureau.

Online Publicity Hound

Attracting visitors to our tours is one of the most time consuming and challenging tasks we face, and it is also one of the most important and satisfying.

We’re looking for a dedicated and reliable person who:

is familiar with local media, including newspapers, web sites, radio, and television

has online computer skills

enjoys giving attention to details

has plenty of time and energy to devote to these tasks

Old-Fashioned Publicity Hound

Even though we live in an electronic age, there is still a need to reach people the old-fashioned way through printed fliers, posters, and letters sent via snail mail.

We’re looking for someone who:

can design attention grabbing printed materials, including fliers that advertise our tours

plan and execute an effective distribution plan for printed materials

occasionally print letters, stuff envelopes, and deliver these materials for mailing to the post office

Facebook & Twitter Fans

While Spirits of Tudor Hall already has a Facebook page, we could use some help making it more effective, lively, and engaging. We have yet to establish a presence on Twitter.

If you have experience creating and managing a successful online Facebook or Twitter page for a business or organization, Spirits of Tudor Hall would certainly welcome your advice and assistance in improving and managing our Facebook page and/or establishing a presence on Twitter and other popular social networking sites.

Photographers

Digital photographs of activities and the change of seasons at Tudor Hall are always needed for the Spirits of Tudor Hall blog and Facebook page. If you have a knack for taking high quality photos and would like to use your experience and talent to capture Tudor Hall in digital images, please email us samples of your work.

Party People

Last but certainly not least. Refreshments are served at every meeting or event sponsored by Spirits of Tudor Hall (this does NOT include tours), and “foodies” who enjoy preparing and serving food and beverages would certainly be very welcome and appreciated at Tudor Hall.

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