Twitter Volunteers at A.C.T.

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By Rose Oser

Last Friday I met my new best friends, a group of Twitter employees who signed up to volunteer at A.C.T. Their visit was part of “Friday for Good,” a Twitter-wide effort to give back to the community. According to one Tweep (their word, not mine), nearly 50 percent of Twitter employees participate, with volunteers at about a hundred different community sites worldwide.

Twitter Staff Software Engineer Nick Morgan
volunteers to paint A.C.T.'s rehearsal studios.
Photo by Rose Oser.  

This fine group of Tweeps had their own reasons for volunteering at A.C.T. Some like the arts, some have enjoyed A.C.T. shows, and some were hoping that volunteering at a theater would be less strenuous than raking leaves. We spent a few hours painting the rehearsal studios above A.C.T.’s administrative offices at 30 Grant Avenue and sewing at The Costume Shop.

When I greeted the group of Tweeps at the rehearsal studios, I was only planning on being there a few moments. But given that it was a Friday and I’m easily distracted, I thought it best to paint the rooms with them, rather than going back to work. The rooms were previously an off-white color, but we had the unique thrill of painting them “almond tree”—similar to off-white, but more positive. On-white, you could say. Sonia, one of my favorite Tweeps, asked for more colors and was ready to get creative. Unfortunately we had to stick with almond tree this time, but next year perhaps we can paint a mural.

After a quick tour of our offices and a rundown of next season’s A.C.T. productions, these friendly Tweeps invited me over to their place for lunch. We hopped in an Uber, passed by the new Strand Theater (lots of oohs and ahs), and then I checked into the building to start my first day of work at my new job. Just kidding, I love A.C.T. But holy twit, their office is amazing.

Rather than going into detail about the crab cakes, I will say that Twitter seems to be doing as much great community work as A.C.T. Katya is involved with Girls Who Code (a mentorship program for high school girls interested in computer science) and keeps in touch with people she has met through the program. All the Tweeps seemed genuinely excited about Neighbor Nest, a community center enabling low-income people to access technology, education, and training.

Twitter volunteers visit A.C.T. Photo by Rose Oser. 

While we ate our feast in the cafeteria, these tricky Tweeps suggested that I set up a Twitter account. I resisted at first, but the combination of camaraderie, ammonia from the painting, and Friday for Good spirit won me over. I am proud to say that I now have a Twitter account (and almost as many followers as Katya’s cat). Thanks to all the Tweeps who helped out—hope to see you at The Last Five Years this week!

Rose Oser writes grants for A.C.T. and also writes other words for things.

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