The Black Rock City Box Office is devoted to providing a welcoming and friendly first point of contact with Burning Man while striving to be as efficient and accurate in issuing our participants their keys to the city. Being on the front lines of BRC, along with Gate, we are committed to maintaining a safe and supportive environment for Box Office crew and incoming participants alike.
What Is The Box Office?
For a lot of people, the Box Office is the first point of contact they have with Black Rock City and for many it’s their first contact with Burning Man ever. For this reason, we try and make their experience as smooth and pleasant as possible.
Inside our handcrafted Box Office buildings, we run a full-service Will Call operation. On each shift, you will find a small, diverse, friendly crew asking for photo identification, looking up names in our computer system, issuing tickets, and generally having a fantastic time helping participants as they arrive on the playa.
We are responsible for all of the tickets held at Will Call as well as those left for participant’s friends who are arriving later during the week. We get a high volume of people looking to pick up, drop off, and change the name on their tickets, and it all happens at the Box Office!
Sounds Like a Box Full of Fun! Tell Me More!
The Box Office is open 24 hours a day during the event. We have four 6-hour shifts a day that begin at 6am, 12pm, 6pm, and midnight. We ask all volunteers to commit to a minimum of 4 shifts each, one of which must be a midnight or 6am shift.
Due to the nature of this work, you’ll need to have a healthy relationship with computers as well as people. We will train you on how to use our computer system, but being comfortable with simple technology and basic problem solving is important. Our “search” process is a lot like looking up things on Google, so if you’re nervous, feel free to practice.
Participant Relations at its Best!
While the Box Office can be a relaxing place to volunteer and connect with others, sometimes you will be confronted with a line of people that goes seemingly to the horizon, made up of folks who have been in a vehicle for hours or days. Participants ask questions, present problems, and sometimes are unhappy. Patience is very helpful in the Box, and is even better when partnered with a quick judge of character, a level head, and problem solving skills. If problems arise, have no fear, you are not alone; there is an experienced Shift Lead in charge of each shift as well as other experienced crew members nearby who can help you. In the end, Box Office volunteers should be prepared to deal with any problems one might expect any Will Call Box Office to have.
Who Are These Box People?
We are a small, close-knit crew of mostly long-time volunteers coming from all over the world and spanning generations. Many of us camp together during the event at our family-friendly Box Camp where we have a nightly social hour, festive living room, relaxing deck, charming mayor, and a cozy burn barrel to gather around on cold nights.
If you’re interested in volunteering with the Box Office, please fill out the Volunteer Questionnaire in your Burner Profile. Be sure to indicate ‘Box Office’ as your preferred area of interest.
The Box Office Personnel Manager will receive notice of your application and will reach out to you if your skills are a good fit for the Box Office’s needs. This process may take a few weeks, so please be patient.