Volunteer interview: Ollie

Juniper: Why don't you just start by introducing yourself, and what the performing arts mean to you in general?

Ollie: Okay, I'm Ollie. I'm seventeen, and performing arts to me is acting, and being part of a larger performance, and I think it's really important. I think it's a really special part of life, coming together and taking on other characters, and being part of a big piece of work. I enjoy being part of it because I like setting it up. I don't really like to be on stage as much anymore, but I think that being part of it, like creating the set and being backstage and helping with all that, is really fun.

Ollie Atkins, PAC volunteer

Juniper: So this is something you've done for a number of years now?

Ollie: I've been volunteering backstage for only about a year, and I'm the backstage manager for my school production this year.

Juniper: Yeah, very cool. Beauty and the Beast, right?

Ollie: Yes, yeah. I'm very excited for that, my first year having a big role as a backstage person. And so I'm a little bit nervous, but I'm very excited. But I did on-stage performing for about five years. I did enjoy it, but I kind of wanted to move a bit away from the limelight.

Juniper: Interesting you should bring up “Limelight” since that's the name of the show where you first volunteered for PAC! So how did you hear about opportunities with PAC?

Ollie: One of my friend's mums used to be part of the committee, and she mentioned that you guys were having a show, and that you wanted more volunteers, and I thought that would be fun. I've hadn't really done anything like it in the past, and I thought it'd be fun to try something new backstage - on the other side of the performance.

Ollie volunteering at Limelight 2025

Juniper: What has been the difference when you take on more responsibility backstage this year for Spotswood?

Ollie: It's just been a lot more intensive and like long days, whereas with PAC, it was just the one day, which was pretty long, but that was fine. It was maybe about 6 hours in total, but it's the with school, it's about 6 hours every Sunday and I'm not even going to the ones during the week. So for the for the actors, it's a lot. But for me, it's been more involved with the set. It's been a lot more involved with positioning and the whole setup, rather than just coming in at the last moment, like I did with PAC… Not being told what to do, this year I'm having more of a holistic role, I guess.

Juniper: So you're a decision maker, not just a facilitator. Do you have a visual arts background at all, since there's all this construction and crafty stuff going on?

Ollie: I've always been quite a crafty and creative person. I've loved arts ever since I was a little kid. I take sculpture at school, I'm hoping to get scholarship this year in sculpture. I think channeling it this way has been really special. I like it being bigger than me. Because in the past, my art's just been for me, or for a school project or something like that. But I think being part of this larger group and project and seeing stuff that I contributed to, whether like, building or painting stuff, be performed with. I think that would be really rewarding and cool in the long run.

Crafting props and scenery for Spotswood production

Juniper: Yeah, I was quite impressed with the set work for Percy Jackson last year, just how coordinated it was, and how active, and the set pieces almost felt like they had their own personality at times. It really made it stand out. So, I'm really looking forward to Beauty and the Beast in August. And as far as benefits of volunteering, would you say there's anything in addition to just the satisfaction of seeing a project go well?

Ollie: Well, with PAC, what I really enjoyed was I got to talk to so many people that night, and do a lot of things I'd never done before, like, obviously stepping into a new kind of job like that - definitely I was gonna do new things. I think I experienced a lot of stuff and it was really nice seeing all the different cultures, and talking to all these people. And I think with school, it's the same - just meeting a lot of these new people who I'd seen around school, but never, like, gone up to. And now I can talk to them, and make new friends.

Juniper: Right, the art comes first, but the community is such a big reward. It's the ongoing effect. Showtime comes and goes, but you still have friends. PAC every year tries to challenge ourselves to do something better, and I think in terms of volunteering, what we're hoping is that having a seasoned stage manager on board will make it so that the volunteers have a lot more guidance, and can maybe be more specialized. We'll see what we can work up for our Spotswood promotion, and see if we can get more friends on board.

Ollie: Yes, yeah.

Juniper: I think that was pretty much all I thought of. Is there anything you'd like to add?

Part two: Ollie fires back with some questions for Juniper!