“Billeting a young actor? In my home? For the summer? I’m not so sure!”

Billet hosting with Theatre on the Ridge is an enriching and unique way to support professional summer theatre in our community. Instead of making a financial contribution, our billet hosts open their homes and donate space and hospitality to one of our emerging professional actors, and simultaneously open themselves to a very personally rewarding experience.

“I am so happy that I was convinced to do just that. I have actually volunteered again to provide a home-stay for another actor from Theatre on the Ridge.”

What’s a billet host?

Each year, many performers in our summer company come from away to become members of our community while they prepare and perform in Scugog. The goal of our billeting program is to match local residents with our theatre artists to provide the performers with suitable housing for up to 9 weeks from mid June to the end of August. As our theatre festival grows, so does our need to find “homes” for the talent that makes the festival possible.

Who is an ideal billet host?

Anyone with a spare room, empty-nesters, theatre lovers, anyone wanting to contribute to the vibrant performing arts and cultural scene in Scugog.
Ideal billet homes are located within reasonable proximity to Scugog Shores Museum at 16210 Island Rd. Homes downtown and farther out in the community and those relatively convenient for potential carpooling provide perfect accommodation, as many of our performers do not have access to personal transportation.

What does a billet host provide?

The minimum that billet hosts are asked to provide is a clean, private bedroom for the performer, and access to a clean kitchen and clean bathroom.
* Interest in a shorter time frame may still be welcome if hosts cannot provide a room for the full 11 weeks

Do the performers pay rent?

No, but our summer company members are advised that their hosts may request a $50.00 per week living expense to cover utilities costs. Performers are responsible for their own food needs.

As a registered charity, Theatre on the Ridge is also able to provide billet hosts with a charitable receipt for their hosting contribution upon request, to a maximum value of $2,500.00.

How to become a billet host?

If you are interested in becoming a billet host, please contact Carey at info@theatre3x60.ca to discuss this opportunity in more depth. Once you have made the choice to join our billet host program, we will send you a simple questionnaire that will help us provide the best match for you and your home.

What our billet hosts have discovered when they open their homes.

“This was an additional way for me to support the arts in our town. Most of all, I knew from my own experience and with my own children, that young people trying to make it in any arts field need lots of support in many ways. It’s rewarding to see them working so hard and laughing so much.”

“I learned about this theatre company. I saw real talent on stage and their collective joy of entertaining and I learned about the richness of the live theatre activities in Port Perry. We are SO lucky.”

“Our initial motivation was really just to help a young person and to support local theatre.  We were surprised to discover how much the experience enriched our lives.”

“Having a young person in the house was very rewarding.  We received much more than we “gave”.”

What our billet hosts have said about their houseguests.

“I knew that they would bring an enthusiasm and skill to our local theatre scene”

“All of the young actors I met through the experience were, to a person, delightful. They were eager, had working, respectful and quiet!”

“They also inspired me to see every play, because I wanted to see them all, especially my billet-actor, on stage.”

“The actor was quite independent and could have had minimal impact on our daily lives.  But, we found that we enjoyed having him around and regularly encouraged him to have meals with us or sit and chat.”

And our billet hosts would do it again!

“We look forward to repeating the experience this year.”

“When asked if I would billet again, I said “of course”!”