PRODUCTION_RESIZED MICROSITE IMAGE_ MASTHEAD

MACBETH BLOG: WEEK 4.

In Week 4 we will hear from our Digital Archivist Philip about the work he does to preserve the history of Shakespeare’s Globe, and Rosie who manages the hundreds of Volunteer Stewards who are essential in the running of every performance here at The Globe.

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Volunteer Management
Being a Digital Archivist

VOLUNTEER STEWARDS

Did you know it takes over 60,000 hours of volunteer time a year to keep the Globe running?

Hi everyone, my name is Rosie and as Volunteer Manager I look after our team of 600 dedicated volunteer stewards.

I started working with volunteers when I realised I would be hard pushed to find such an enthusiastic, diverse and passionate group of people to call my team. I started my career by volunteering myself, and it really is a fantastic way to meet people, gain new skills and give back to your community.

Did you know it takes over 60,000 hours of volunteer time a year to keep the Globe running? These wonderful people are responsible for welcoming all of our visitors, checking their tickets, answering their questions and keeping them happy and safe, including everyone who comes to watch Playing Shakespeare!

The volunteer stewards will always be there in their red aprons, rain or shine, helping our audiences enjoy their visit, and in turn, the Volunteer Management Team will be creating their rotas, delivering show briefings and keeping the tea and biscuits stocks topped up.

A real challenge is that digital files are not immortal, and we have to take expensive steps to be sure we will still be able to access them in a hundred years’ time, whatever the changes in technology between now and then.

Telling you what the Digital Archivist does, here, is probably the easiest way of unpicking my job title. Since before the theatre was even completed, we have recorded performances and events on both audio and video. We capture Globe productions using three fixed cameras, including this year’s Playing Shakespeare. Dealing with recordings takes up a lot of my time, and the raw MOV files, in particular, add a lot of Terabytes to our growing digital archive. I also list and describe the new recordings in the catalogue.

However, I also maintain our access to all sorts of files in the digital archive (e.g. photographs and documents), and make some of them available to creatives, researchers and the general public. A real challenge is that digital files are not immortal, and we have to take expensive steps to be sure we will still be able to access them in a hundred years’ time, whatever the changes in technology between now and then.

Becoming an Archivist means studying for a postgraduate professional qualification. In order to get on the course you need experience, and I volunteered here, when I was first changing career. I had been a teacher and even brought students to Playing Shakespeare productions!

I have a disability, so supporting and documenting accessible performances is important to me. Having recorded the opening performance of Macbeth, I shared the recording with the BSL interpreter who is integrated into the show for several performances, and will also record one of them.