To volunteer at Mouthwater Festival, simply fill out the form in the link below to express interest.  Upon confirmation, the Mouthwater team will contact you with more information about what will be expected of you during the festival!

VOLUNTEER

The Mouthwater Festival is seeking 3-5 Assistant Access Doulas to support the execution of our Fall 2024 Festival. 

The Mouthwater Festival will take place in Seattle with an artist incubator in late September 2024 and free or ticketed events at multiple venues from October 1-13, 2024. Mouthwater Festival will span Seattle, showcasing performance art, theater, dance, and music by disabled creatives. Disabled artists from all over the country will gather in town to share their work, develop their practice, and foster cross-disability solidarity and creativity. The festival’s values are anti-capitalist, anti-fascist, pro-black, disability justice-informed, afrofuturist, sex educated, and practical. 

Job Title: Assistant Access Doulas 

Location: Seattle, Washington 

Position Type: Part-Time 

Position Summary: 

The Assistant Access Doulas will support the Mouthwater Production team with various tasks to ensure the festival is accessible for a wide range of disabled artists and attendees. These roles will report to the Lead Access Doula. 

Essential Job Functions: 

As an Assistant Access Doula, you will work closely with our Access Doula team to support a group of community members in meeting their collective access needs. Your duties may include, but are not limited to: 

• Clearing and creating an appropriate environment for events ● Providing access to water, ice, masks, hand sanitizer, and Covid tests as needed Retrieving and carrying items for individuals
• Assisting with transportation needs
• Managing temperature and light settings to ensure comfort ● Handling microphone, speaker, and other event equipment ● Setting up chairs, blankets, or specific seating arrangements
• Ensuring appropriate space for mobility equipment ● Putting down and picking up mats as required
• Opening and closing doors to facilitate easy movement ● Offering assistance to individuals who need support ● Communicating concerns or updates about the community to leadership
• Liaising with access providers such as ASL interpreters, CART providers, etc
• Managing access technology to enhance inclusivity ● Flexibility to handle any other tasks that may arise during events

Qualifications and Requirements: 

• Passion for community engagement and inclusivity ● Strong organizational and multitasking abilities
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Empathy and a non-judgmental approach to supporting diverse community members
• Ability to adapt to various access needs and address them creatively
• Familiarity with access technology and equipment ● Experience in social media management 
• Must live in the Seattle area 
• Demonstrated understanding of various social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn) and trends. ● Strong awareness of best practices for accessible social media: including captions, image descriptions, audio description, etc ● Proficiency in creating engaging and appealing content, including writing captions, designing graphics, and editing photos or videos. 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. 
• Must be vaccinated against COVID unless you cannot due to access needs 

Pay: $250/month stipend; 5-15hrs month 

The Mouthwater Festival is seeking 5-10 Audio Describers to support the accessibility of our Fall 2024 Festival to blind and low vision audiences and artists. 

The Mouthwater Festival will take place in Seattle with an artist incubator in late September 2024 and free or ticketed events at multiple venues from October 1-13, 2024. Mouthwater Festival will span Seattle, showcasing performance art, theater, dance, and music by disabled creatives. Disabled artists will gather in town to share their work, develop their practice, and foster cross-disability solidarity and creativity. The festival’s values are anti-capitalist, anti-fascist, pro-black, disability justice-informed, afrofuturist, sex educated, and practical. 

Job Title: Audio Describer 

Location: Seattle Washington 

Position Type: Part-Time 

Position Summary: 

The audio describers will be responsible for working with artists to develop language about the artist’s work, attend training sessions and video meetings, attend to digital communications with trainers and artists, attending performances when applicable, describing performances in-person over microphone when applicable and recording a version of that description. This role will report to the festival access and curator teams and will interface with two to four artists to describe their works. 

Essential Job Functions: 

Training Session and Virtual Meetings 

• Attend 2-4 hours of audio describer training
• Meet and communicate with a maximum of 5 artists to develop shared language and

Creative Writing 

• Comfort with collaboratively writing or writing about other artist’s work
• Ability to describe visuals and create language that conveys mode and tone as much as visual specificity
• Independently write a script about each work that is needed to be described

Artist Interaction 

• Ability to work via email, video call and/or phone call with other creatives
• Comfort with centering and supporting the artistic vision of others
• Curiosity in dance/movement arts

Event Attendance 

• Available between 9/26 and 10/13 to attend in-person events to see performances that will later described
• Available between 9/26 and 10/13 to attend in-person events to describe performances live

Recording (during and after events) 

• Willing to have in-person description recorded during event ● Attend 1-3 recording session to make sure that description tracks work prior to digital festival

Public Speaking/Amplified Speaking 

• Comfort or willingness to learn how to speak into a recording and/or amplified microphone
• Experience with public speaking or livestreaming
• Skilled with enunciation regardless of accent

Qualifications and Requirements: 

• Previous experience in a similar role, especially in hosting events, MCing, poetry or other writing roles
• Good organizational skills
• Attention to detail
• Flexibility and ability to pivot
• Proactive communicator, comfortable starting conversations ● Problem solver and question asker in equal measure
• Must be vaccinated against COVID. If you cannot due to access needs, must be willing to wear a mask at in-person events 

Pay: $250/month stipend for ~10 hours/month of online meetings, administrative time and writing/planning hours. $25/hour for in-person events and for overflow hours of online work.