Performers Without Borders – Applications for 2015 Tours NOW OPEN! United Kingdom

We are now accepting applications for our 2015 tours and feel that your organisation and network of performers and teachers may be interested in the chance to join PWB. We would very much appreciate it if you could help us to spread the word and advertise this exciting opportunity in your training space, studios, or via email to any potentially interested parties and your network of contacts.

2015 will be our 7th annual year of tours and we will be looking for volunteers to take 3 teams to visit our 3 projects in Sierra Leone, India and Nicaragua.

You can find more details below and please feel free to email meem@performerswithoutborders.org.uk for any further information or if you have any questions, and if you could let me know that you are happy – or not- to advertise this post through your network, that would also be a great help.

Many Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you

Kind Regards,

Emily Ball

Call for volunteers

Overseas Performing Arts Practitioner

Location: India, Nicaragua or Sierra Leone

Duration: 2 – 4.5 months months (India 4.5 months, Nicaragua 3 months, Sierra Leone 2 months)

Dates: All start 3rd January 2015, exact dates TBC

Job Description

We are looking for experienced and adventurous volunteers who can perform and teach a range of skills to travel to either India, Nicaragua or Sierra Leone on a PWB tour. Volunteers will be spending up to a month at a time with various groups of disadvantaged children in one of these countries, teaching the children and performing in the local area for various organisations.

To Apply

All candidates must fill out an online application form for this role.

Apply here

About The Organisation

Performers Without Borders (PWB) is a volunteer run charity that believes in the transforming power of learning and performing the arts. We have been running tours of India annually since 2007, and ran our first tour of Nicaragua in 2013. For more information about PWB.

A PWB Tour

We give volunteers from around the world the opportunity to come together and work with groups of deprived young people in developing countries. We give these young people the chance to learn performance skills, and through this develop their own show to be performed at the end of the month visit.

We aim to build long lasting relationships with the organisations we work with and in the communities we work. We do this through regular visits and on-going work in these groups

A PWB tour consists of:

• a 1-2 week training camp in country to allow you to get acclimatised, put together a show, and finalise the curriculum you will be teaching.

• 1, 2 or 3 projects (depending on tour) with one of our key partners. These will last approximately one month for each project. These are organisations that work with vulnerable children and young people in the countries we work.

• Regular out-reach projects. These are performances and workshops that last just one or two days.

The tour of Sierra Leone is slightly different as you will be working closely with a group of local performers from our organisation PeWiBo (find our more about PeWiBo).

About The Opportunity

A single tour lasts months, but your commitment to PWB begins once you have been selected. We ask volunteers to be actively involved in fundraising and promoting PWB's work before and after the tour. As a volunteer you will be responsible for fundraising the cost of your tour, putting together a show with the rest of the volunteers and planning a teaching curriculum around your unique skills.

As a group you will also have further responsibilities whilst on tour. These include :

• Finding external groups and organising shows/workshops

• Documenting and reporting back on the tour thorough newsletters and videos

• Managing Budgets

• Buying and cooking your own food

• Managing transport logistics

• Supporting the development of your team mates

• Organising 'rest' days and activities

• E
nsuring the health and well-being of other team members

• Reviewing your daily / monthly activities

All accommodation on your tour will be organised centrally by PWB. Costs for meals, accommodation and transport will be covered by your initial contribution to PWB, but it will be up to you as a team to manage these budgets whilst on-tour, following the PWB guidelines.

The contribution you will required to make will be:

India 2015: £600
Nicaragua 2015: £800
Sierra Leone 2015: £450

This contribution is non refundable.

Selection Process

You must complete an application form which requires you to link to a supporting video. If we think you might have what it takes to tour with PWB we will invite you to a video call interview and contact your personal reference. We will then assess you against the other applicants and may invite you to join a tour. We aim to have the selection process completed by the middle of September.

Tour Dates

Tours begin on the 3rd January 2015, and last from early March until the middle of May (depending on tour).

About You

PWB candidates should demonstrate the following;

Essential

• A mid to high level of skill in one or more circus skill or performance art

• Experience teaching to mixed groups of children and young people

• Experience of creating and performing shows

Desirable

• Experience living/volunteering overseas

• Experience of working in a team/touring

• Experience of coordinating travel logistics