I stand at my donation box, ready for an evening of jokes and enthusiastic theatre-goers. I am in a very strange mood today. This is the last time I will be doing this for ten months. All of the people here are hard-core. They love the work, and the love the people. And they love the city. Everyone is great, from fifteen-year-old Stephanie to Steel Aka Robert. what's better in late Summer than Shakespeare in the park?

After Tara has opened the gate to start letting people in there is already a crowd waiting to be let it. How great is that? The play stats at eight and we open at 6. People liek to bring their dinners and have a picnic. It's a wonderful thing. My mother and I went to watch the play on her birthday. I watched it three times. "DO you like it? As you like it? Do you like it? As you like it." I know all the words t the songs. Songs in Shakespeare? Sure, especially when it's set in the 50's

A few minues after the first group of patrons go in, Patrick shows up. He is one of the actors, and probably one of the most enthusiatic older men I have ever met. He loves the volunteers and really appriciates the work we do. He even made up a little song for us. We sing it for the last time tonight.

We are the merry volunteers

Volunteers

We've got a lot between our ears.

Between our ears!

We work in old High Park

We work from dawn til dark

'Cause we are the merry volunteers

Volunteers!

Most of the time I only ever sing when ther is nobody to hear me, but this is special. I'm proud of what I do here. Last year, the play only made 80% of what they haad hoped for. That's normal. People just don't go to live theatre anymore. This production is the only lay that most of them see all year. For may of the kids it will be their first time ever seeing a play. if all the volunteefrs were replaced with paid emplyees it wouldn't work. They would have to charge more and fewer people would come. It's a big loss to the company and the city if that happens.

As thrilling as it was to meet Woody Harrelson, I much prefer Jordan. He;s not the star of the play. He spends more time singing than talking. But so what? He always comes andhangs out at the gate until curtain call. We love all of the same movies, and he's the only ther person I have met who knows all the lines to "Labyrinth" There really is no point in treating actors and singers the way we do. Jordan is just a guy. And so is Woody Harrleson. Actors and singers are no different from the rest of us. That is what I learned as a volunteer.

Tonight it not a slow night. The weather is perfect, and the play is great. Still, we have to find ways to amuse ourselves. One of our favourite ways is to have donation box wars. Who can collect the most money, and who can get the most interesting items. I get excited after I get a fifty dollar bill and some American money. But the third box, which most patrons get to after they have their tickets, beats the front and middle box by a long shot. Someone pays with a British pound and a Eurodollar along with a Canadian 5. Another hs a plastic contator filled with coins and not a single loonie or toonie. It's hillarious. Tara lets me have the Euro and Jessica, who wored the third box, gets to keep the pound.

Leaving tonight is not easy. I almost want to stay and watch, but I have seen it three times, and the house is standingroom only. Before we close, Tara puts gold stars on our name tags, and even gives us a bunch of rub-on tatoos we give to the kids

What is really great is that on the way home more than half of us take the subway together several stops before I need to switch to a different line. We look like a really weird gang, six of us all wearing the same shirt. The conversation is animated and stimulating. I would not be surprized if other people are watching us. It doesn't really matter, though. we are all different, but we all fit together and have a common bond. I don't know if I really have that much between my ears, but I am a merry volunteer