OVERVIEW
This summer (June-August 2026), Bard SummerScape returns with a vibrant season of dance, theater, opera, music, and the beloved Spiegeltent. Presented by the Fisher Center at Bard, this celebrated multi-arts festival takes place in person on Bard's idyllic 1,000-acre campus, featuring performances in the stunning Frank Gehry-designed performing arts center.
Orchestra Stagehands are part of the Stage Management team in the Production Department and support the planning, preparation, and physical implementation of all rehearsals and concerts for the Bard Music Festival. They report to the Orchestra Production Manager, and work closely with the Associate Orchestra Production Manager, Orchestra Stage Managers, Assistant Orchestra Stage Managers, and other Production team members.
While prior theatrical experience is helpful, we are accepting applications from entry-level candidates, including current and/or recently graduated students who are eager team players and are willing to receive training on specific tasks related to being a stagehand.
This is a seasonal position from July 21 through August 18, non-exempt, paid hourly at a rate range of $16-18 per hour, depending on experience. Hours will average 35-40 hours/week, with the potential for overtime.
This position requires local residence during the dates listed above. Housing is provided as needed, beginning one day prior to the employment start date and ending at 10am on the day after the employment end date, and includes a single bedroom and shared amenities. Employees will have access to three (3) meals per weekday and two (2) meals per weekend day on campus during the residency period. Should campus dining agreements or options change from the time of the agreement, an equivalent per diem will be provided.
Please note that room and board arrangements may differ for current Bard College students.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Maintain a safe, healthy, and inclusive workplace at all times
Assist in the installation of stage plots, orchestra chairs and stands, risers, and other equipment
Assist in the moving of equipment and instrument deliveries across campus
Assist the Stage Manager in technical rehearsals
Run crew for orchestra rehearsals, technical rehearsals, and performances
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
EXPERIENCE
A passion for the arts; some theatrical experience necessary+mdash;either scholastic, community, semi-professional, or professional
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES
Ability to work in an organized, self-directed, and detailed manner
Ability to prioritize tasks in a fast-paced, continually changing environment
Ability to communicate clearly and effectively
Ability to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as determined by the production schedule
Ability to climb stairs and ladders
Ability to push, pull, hang, reach, lean, and balance
Ability to move and lift up to 50 lbs.
Ability to sit or stand for extended periods
Ability to remain calm during high-pressure backstage situations
Successful candidates possess strong communication skills and keen attention to detail, are collaborative and self-motivated, and bring a positive, can-do attitude
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Ability to read music
Knowledge of operatic and classical music production
Theatrical run crew or stage management experience
WORKING CONDITIONS
Frequently works in environments with theatrical and atmospheric elements including but not limited to haze, strobes, dim lights, loud sounds, dry ice, and more
May work in outdoor conditions or event tent conditions with limited temperature control
May often be asked to travel between multiple performance and rehearsal locations on campus in a single day, traveling by vehicle or foot. May be asked to travel to off-campus performance and rehearsal venues by vehicle.
Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
TO APPLY
https://airtable.com/appR57NFMXrS8Q9Cx/pagRLoPBnfrBxm5E1/form
Applications for this position will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
For any access-related requests, questions, or issues with the application form, please contact us via email.
Bard College is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from those who contribute to our diversity. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, mental or physical disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, familial status, veteran status, or genetic information. Bard is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for all individuals in employment practices, services, programs, and activities.
LOCATION
Bard's beautiful 1,000-acre campus is situated on the east bank of the Hudson River in Annandale-on Hudson, New York. Community life is defined by numerous cultural and recreational opportunities in the surrounding historic Hudson River Valley and by proximity to New York City. Nearby towns and villages include Rhinebeck, Tivoli, and Red Hook, New York.
ABOUT THE FISHER CENTER
The Fisher Center is a premier professional performing arts center and a hub for research and education that demonstrates Bard College+rsquo;s commitment to the performing arts as a cultural and educational necessity. To support artists, students, and audiences in the examination of artistic ideas, the Fisher Center develops, produces, and presents performing arts across disciplines through new productions and context-rich programs that challenge and inspire.
Home is the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, designed by Frank Gehry and located on the campus of Bard College in New York's Hudson Valley. This world-class theater building will be complemented by a new studio building designed by Maya Lin, scheduled to open in 2026. More than 200 events and 50,000 visitors are hosted at the Fisher Center each year, and over 300 professional artists are employed annually. As a powerful catalyst of art-making regionally, nationally, and worldwide, the Fisher Center produces 8 to 10 major new works in various disciplines every year. The Fisher Center offers outstanding programs to many communities, including the students and faculty of Bard College, and audiences in the Hudson Valley, New York City, across the country, and around the world. Building on a 165-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow's thought leaders.
The Fisher Center was born from the Bard Music Festival, founded in 1990, which, for the first 13 years of its existence, occupied several spaces on campus, including a large tent. Each summer, the Music Festival focuses on the life, work, and influences of one composer, promoting new ways of understanding and presenting the history of music to a contemporary audience. When the Fisher Center and its two theaters opened in 2003, the summer festival expanded to include a fully staged opera, as well as theater and dance performances. The highly acclaimed opera program brings unjustly neglected works to the stage in major productions+mdash;often making their US debuts.
Through Fisher Center LAB, the Center's acclaimed residency and commissioning program, artists are provided with custom-made support toward their innovative projects and their work has been seen in over 100 communities around the world. Resident choreographer Pam Tanowitz's 2018 Four Quartets was recognized as +ldquo;the greatest creation of dance theater so far this century+rdquo; by The New York Times. In 2019, the Fisher Center won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical for Daniel Fish's production of Oklahoma!, which began life in 2007 as an undergraduate production at Bard and was produced professionally by the Fisher Center in 2015 before transferring to New York City. Illinoise, a 2023 Fisher Center world premiere from artists Sufjan Stevens, Justin Peck, and Jackie Sibblies Drury, was recognized with a Tony Award for Best Choreography following its tour and transfer to Broadway.
The Fisher Center is home to several of Bard's academic programs in the performing arts. Year-round, it hosts performances by the undergraduate Dance Program and Theater and Performance Program; the US-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music; The Orchestra Now (TŌN), a Bard graduate program that is training the next generation of classical-music ambassadors; and students at the Bard Conservatory, the first (and so far only) conservatory to require all its students to pursue a bachelor of arts degree in a field other than music in addition to their specialized music studies. As a hybrid institution, the Fisher Center brings together professional and academic art-making of the highest caliber, where student and professional artists work side by side, learning from each other and informing one another's practices.
ABOUT BARD COLLEGE
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. With the addition of the Montgomery Place estate, Bard's campus consists of nearly 1,000 park-like acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with majors in nearly 40 academic programs, graduate degrees in 11 programs, nine early colleges, and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 165-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to liberal education. The undergraduate program at our main campus in upstate New York has a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow's thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.
