DESCRIPTION
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.
The Company Management team works as the key artist and staff services representatives, providing accommodations and services to 400+ SummerScape and Bard Music Festival visiting artists and seasonal staff, specifically in the realms of transportation, housing, and hospitality. The team strives to create a people-centered, hospitality-minded environment for all participants.
Area Company Managers report to the Programs and Festival Operations Manager and the Lead Company Manager and work closely with artists, production staff, project producers, administrative staff, and box office staff. They will supervise the Company Management Assistants and collaborate with the other Area Company Managers (including Housing, Hospitality, Spiegeltent, and Transportation Company Managers), as well as the company management for visiting artists.
From May 1 through June 14, this is a remote, seasonal, part-time, non-exempt position, paid hourly at a rate range of $25–28 per hour, commensurate with experience. Hours will be approximately 10 hours/week. Some site visits and in-person prep meetings prior to June 15 may be requested, availability permitting—transportation and lodging costs will be covered.
From June 15 through August 4, this is an on-site, seasonal, exempt position, with compensation ranging from $9,300–$10,500, commensurate with experience and availability. Hours will be approximately 40 hours/week. This position requires flexible work hours and evenings/days reflective of the dynamic schedule of a performing arts festival.
This position requires local residence from June 15 through August 4. Housing is provided as needed, beginning one day prior to the employment start date and ending at 10 am 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
Job Responsibilities:
Work with Opera Producer, Rehearsal Coordinator, and other area Company Managers to support the SummerScape 2026 opera artists and staff
Be on site for all opera studio and technical rehearsals, often in the room, and represent company management at opera production meetings and informal end-of-day check-ins.
Be proactive in anticipating opera company needs and ask clarifying questions during production meetings
Be responsible for specific opera company meal requests outside of regular catering, including coordination and/or picking meals up for personnel whose schedules require it
Support the hospitality team with the facilitation of catered meals for the opera company
Coordinate arrival and departure for principal singers and the creative team in coordination with the Opera Producer and Travel and Transportation Company Manager
As a point person for the opera company, manage the flow of information from the opera company and Opera Producer to the other area Company Managers to ensure housing, hospitality, and travel requests are received and responded to in a timely manner
Assist area company managers and coordinate with assistants for on-the-ground needs, e.g., setup for catering, driving artists, delivering requested items to housing, etc.
Update company management schedules and documentation with opera needs
Support the facilitation of special events for the opera company
Drive company vehicles for various opera-related purposes, as needed
Other responsibilities as assigned
General Company Management Responsibilities:
Become a Bard Certified Driver with the Campus Transportation Office
Drive company vehicles for various festival purposes as needed
Develop a company-centered, hospitality-minded, safe, and comfortable environment for all visiting artists and staff
Manage and track expenses
Support special programming events, including first rehearsals and opening nights
Create and distribute itineraries, welcome packets, and other resources
Contribute to the management of the department budget, including tracking and reconciling
Run the company management desk late evenings when on duty and other times as needed, including checking in guests on arrival
Work shifts as Manager on Duty, in which you are on site to serve as the point person for the department, support and supervise company management assistants, and address any matters that arise as a dispatcher for the department
Covering for other areas of company management, including housing, transportation, and general operations, when the specified manager is unavailable or on their day off
Assisting in the unpacking, packing, and inventory of supplies and amenities at the beginning and end of the festival season
Supervise company management assistants and other festival staff, ensuring job standards are being met
Collaborate with and manage team members with professionalism, kindness, and enthusiasm
Have a “no task is too small” mentality
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
EXPERIENCE
Professional experience in Opera, the performing arts, e.g., hospitality/company management, theater management, etc.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES
A welcoming demeanor and positive attitude are a must. Company Management team members are often the first people that visiting artists, personnel, and the public will meet while at the festival.
No two days will be the same; the ideal candidate will be flexible, collaborative, and possess a willingness to jump in to handle high-priority tasks with the team.
Excellent organization skills, communication skills, and superior attention to detail.
Must be able to work closely with other team members and be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment, and solving problems quickly.
Proficiency with Google Suite (Sheets, Docs, shared Drives).
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Work experience and/or studies in opera are highly encouraged.
Familiarity/experience with AirTable will be beneficial.
Valid driver’s license and van driving experience are a plus.
WORKING CONDITIONS
This position requires hours during some evenings/weekends, reflective of the dynamic schedule of a performing arts festival
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
[email protected].
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’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—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 “the greatest creation of dance theater so far this century” 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.
DURATION
Jun 15, 2026 -
Aug 4, 2026
SALARY
$9,300.00 – $10,500.00 per gig