Donna in Hollywoodland

Brokeback Mountain with Cast

Sometimes I run into people who wonder why I want to "work" at a movie theatre for "free". It seems there are people who feel that volunteer work for any non-profit is beneath them, and don't want to give of their time to any worthwhile organization.
Yeah, I've heard comments like that before.

Well, nights like tonight are one of the great evenings where yes, I do give of my time and "work" - but I have such an amazing evening that it is totally worth it. I end up feeling that I got more back, then I put out.
And it makes all my volunteer efforts so worth it.

At the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, they were having a screening of Brokeback Mountain with the cast doing a Question and Answer afterwards.

And as to be expected, the evening completely sold out. There wasn't a single seat left in the theatre - and that was weeks before the actually event. I heard people were actually scalping tickets on the internet. Which considering this is a non-profit organization, I think is absolutely awful.

I arrived about an hour and a half before the show time.
First big thing that happened - the ticketing computer crashed. I don't know all the details of what happened with that.
But as a volunteer, my first assignment was to help hand write tickets while the staff tried to fix the computer.
So I stood at the concession stand with the other volunteers writing up tickets so that they had something to give to the patrons.

Then, the Concesion Stand discovered they had run out of salt. They needed someone to run over to Wild Oats Markets and pick up a few containers of salt for them. So I took the cash they gave me and made my way through the long line of people waiting out in front of the theatre - to dash to the grocery store for Salt.

Then my actually assignment for the evening was to ask people to sign-up for the mailing list when they come into the theatre.
Once the patrons came into the theatre, they were all rushing trying to get a good seat in the theatre. People don't really want to stop when its a sold out show like this. So basically, I handed them a current theatre calendar and if they were interested in the mailing list, I gave them the form to take back to their seats and fill out later.
The thing I like about this assignment, is that I get to talk to a large majority of the theatre patrons who come into the theatre. Its almost like I get to introduce myself to everyone. Some people like to stop and chat, others are in a rush.
But I really do like to connect with the patrons like this. It makes it a really fun evening.

The movie was about to get started.
We had been told in advance that since it was Sold-Out, that the volunteers would not be able to sit in the theatre and watch the show. There would be no seats.
I had brought a book, and was planning to go to a coffee shop and read - then come back to the theatre at the end for the Q&A and watch just that.

Well, it turns out there was a large section of seats that were Reserved for people associated with the film - VIPs, Studio People, oh, I don't know. And they weren't there. They didn't show.
As the movie got started, we were told "If you want to go in and watch the film, there are plenty of seats."
So we got to go in, have our free popcorn and soda and watch the movie.
This was the second time that I had seen Brokeback Mountain.

Then, all the Actors in the movie arrived for the Question and Answer after the movie. Heath Ledger , Michelle Williams , Jake Gyllenhaal were all there.
Ang Lee was stuck in New York due to the snow storm.

And I got to watch the panel Question and Answer.
It was a really interesting evening to hear them talk about making this movie.

What a fun night !!! I had wonderful time. Yes, I volunteered and "worked" - but I got to see a completely sold-out event, with Oscar Nominated stars.
I had a wonderful time !