Employment
Traveling Players Ensemble offers robust summer programs for dedicated students (in grades 3-12) to perform classical plays in outdoor amphitheaters. Selected as a “Summer School in the Arts” by the NEA, Traveling Players’ summer programs provide intensive theatre training to small troupes of actors. Programs include outdoor rehearsals, classes, and outdoor public performances.
Our most advanced program, Shakespeare Troupe, culminates in backpacking trips to perform their show, giving teens and pre-teens the experience of wandering entertainers who carry dinner, a tent, and props all in their trusty pack. Traveling Players has performed at The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, Wolf Trap’s International Children’s Festival, and Colonial Williamsburg.
Our staff is our most valuable asset. They have the privileged position and responsibility to play a significant role in a child’s life. Former successful staff have said it was the hardest job they ever had – and the best job they ever had.
Employment Information
- Dates for Residential: June 19 – August 10.
- Students are with us from June 28 – August 7 (6 weeks).
- Staff orientation (June 19–28) and strike (August 8–10) are mandatory and paid.
- Staff without First Aid & CPR should arrive on June 16 to receive free training on June 17-18.
- International staff arrive on June 13 -14 and leave on August 10 -11.
- Some staff can have their contracts extended to include June 13/14 to June 19. Ask during interviews.
- Location for Residential: In residence at Christchurch Boarding School in Saluda, VA.
- Food and lodging are included in all contracts for residential staff. There is a staff dormitory, yet many staff (including all Resident Assistants) will have rooms in the student dorm. Staff do not share rooms with campers.
- Our staff will live together in community for all 7 or 8 weeks. Days off can be spent off-campus.
- Day Camp: Our Studio in Tysons Corner Center. Staff for Day Camps is full.
- Location for Day Camp: Our Studio in Tysons Corner Center.
- Safety: You are required to have the COVID-19 vaccine (including a booster), the Measles vaccine, and a background check.
- You will get a COVID test before arriving for orientation.
- We are following recommendations from the American Camp Association and the Virginia Department of Health to determine our safety practices for the summer.
- Staff training: Community First Aid, Safe Boundaries for students and staff (taught by a LSW – including appropriate language and touch, comprehensive mandated reporter laws, risk management, and social media), Leave No Trace outdoor ethics, and teaching strategies. Plus, we’ll cover pitching tents, fire building, learning styles, low ropes, and ensemble building/training.
- Internships: Artistic Director Jeanne E. Harrison, MA, MFA, has worked at universities and can supervise or liaise with your university for college credit.
- Traveling Players Ensemble, Inc. does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, or disability in admissions to programs or in the administration of its employment policies. We comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and make all reasonable accommodations.
To apply for any position, please:
- Email personalized cover letter for this position and resume to jeharrison@travelingplayers.org
- Fill out this form.
- If applying for a Costume Shop or Scene/Props Shop position, please include your portfolio with your cover letter.
Summer Positions
Head of Scene, Props & Puppet Shop
Creates props, puppets, and painted backdrops for our 4 summer productions, while managing the shop with one assistant, and training a small crew of high school students, our Technical Theatre Apprentices, to assist you by teaching basic to advanced technical skills. The production schedule is very tight. The Shop Head often designs two of the plays. Design fees are in addition to the base salary. Base salary: $450-$650/week plus room and board for 7-8 weeks.
An ideal candidate will have the following skills and characteristics:
- Have or be pursuing a MFA, or professional scenic experience
- Delights in mentoring and teaching teens
- Committed to being a role model, an educator, and a team player
- Strong painting, construction, and safety skills
- Experience successfully managing a crew – delegating, expanding skills, scheduling, and meeting multiple production deadlines
- Maintain a joyful, educational, and stress-free shop environment
- Excited by functioning in Maker’s Space to build (3-D printer, power tools, hand tools, painting drops outside in a breezeway), not a professional space)
- Bonus points for experience designing/building puppets
To apply, please submit your portfolio in addition to your cover letter and resume. Thanks!
Assistant Head of Scene, Props & Puppet Shop
Assists the Head of Scene Shop to create props, puppets, and painted backdrops for our 4 summer productions and trains a small crew of high school students, our Technical Theatre Apprentices, to assist you by teaching basic to advanced technical skills. The production schedule is very tight. The Assistant Head often designs one or two of the plays. Design fees are in addition to the base salary. Base salary: $350-$500/week plus room and board for 7-8 weeks.
An ideal candidate will have the following skills and characteristics:
- Have or be pursuing a BA or BFA
- Delights in mentoring and teaching teens
- Committed to being a role model, an educator, and a team player
- Strong painting, construction, and safety skills
- Experience successfully managing a crew – delegating, expanding skills, scheduling, and meeting multiple production deadlines
- Maintain a joyful, educational, and stress-free shop environment
- Excited by functioning in Maker’s Space to build (3-D printer, power tools, hand tools, painting drops outside in a breezeway), not a professional space)
- Bonus points for experience designing/building puppets
To apply, please submit your portfolio in addition to your cover letter and resume. Thanks!
Year-Round Positions
No full-time positions are available currently
Please consider our summer positions. Thanks!
Ready to bring Traveling Players to your community?
Contact us to discuss how we can customize a program for your group’s unique needs and goals.