Getting involved in community theatre is an incredibly rewarding undertaking, and I suggest it to everyone who isn't sure what they want to do, has free time on their hands and doesn't mind churning out a bit of work to to produce a beautiful piece of art.
When going into theatre, you can either become and actor, or a "techie." Now, I don't know anything about acting, as I have never acted myself, and won't pretend to as I'd simply end up misleading you. As far as technical theatre goes, it is often over looked and understaffed, which is unfortunate because just like actors, you can't make a good show, much less a show a all without a technical crew. There are a plethora of breeds of tech workers in the realm of theatre, community or otherwise, enough that at least one if not more would undoubtabley suit the interest of just about anybody of any interest and any skill level. Here I will detail these "breeds" and variety of technical jobs.
First off is Stage Hands. Stage hands are what are generally referred to as "run crew." They run the shows, simply put. Stage hands include jobs like mopping and sweeping before house opens, running spot light, Flying scenery in and out on a fly line system, opperating machinery, or even running a sound or lighting console, etc. This, simply put, means that anyone who can push a broom, lift a box, push a "GO" button or pull a rope can succesfully run a show.
Because a stage hand is a RUN of show worker, they will often double as carpenters during Pre-production (building/designing/setting up the show) A carpenter is exactly what you think it is. It is someone who cuts wood, welds, builds sets and does the general scenic construction for the play. Carpenters work with a very wide variety of tools, including but nowhere near limited to table saws, radial arm saws, band saws, chop saws, steel shop saws, tiger saws, power drill, circular saws, drill presses, various welders (arc/MIG), pneumatic staple guns etc etc et al. If you like working with your hands and with wood and/or steel, and love to build, being a theatrical carpenter may just be right up your alley.
Next is costume crew. Costume crew is responsible for the design and construction of all clothing worn by the actors at any given point (unless they directly use it, then it's a prop). Costume crew is an unfortunatley overlooked part of technical theatre, because it is actually just as important and difficult to design as lighting, scenic, sound, projection or whatever else. A costume designer has to incorporate a very visual art in to their design, and make sure it works cohesivley with the play, especially with lighting, since the two go hand in hand to a suprising extent. The costume crew is typically responsible for taking the design and pictures/sketches and building the costumes and mainting them. In addition, costume crews generally have run of crew positions including keeping all costumes backstage preset the way they are supposed to be, changing the actors as fast as possible (sometimes at a blinding speed) and accounting for EVERY article of clothing after each show, and washing them. Thi field doesn't seem ineresting to many people at first, not as glamerous as the rest maybe, but once you try it, you realize it may be even more fun!
Moving on is the props crew. A props designer is responsible for finding every prop neccessary for the play as well as those not neccessary needed, and finding the correct items that match their "vision" of what the props in the play should look like and that they work for what they need to work for. Though there is less "creation" with prop design, finding the perfect item for that particular scene is an art all in itself. Like the rest of the positions, prop crew has run crew members as well, who preset props for actors, set props before each show starts, and accounts for all the props after the show.
Next is the Lighting Department. A lighting crew is generally made up of a designer, and assistant designer, a master electrician, general crew and a board opperator. A designer and assistant designer will spend time before pre production designing the show. this includes going through a script and getting phsyical looks in their heads, and then putting it on paper by creating lighting plots (typically with a CAD program such as vector works), a list of necessary colors and gobos and other special needs instruments such as twin spins, etc, and an instrument hookup schedule for the master electrician to take to his crew so that they can hang and focus the assigned plot. The master electrician will take charge of the crew during pre production and make sure that the rep plot given to him is properly hung and plugged into the correct dimmers/chanels for later programming. The general crew will hang all of the lights and give the proper lights their proper gel (colors put in front of a light to, well...color it) and gobos (thin metal plates with designs etched into them), and then focus them all properly to each scene. Once all of this is done properly and lighting is ready to run for the show, a lighting board opperator will program the board as directed by the lighting designer (static and intelligent/moving lights) and will run each show once it opens by pressing a cue buton when the proper and corresponding cues are called by the stage manager, and shuts down at the end of the night and makes sure all lights that need to be out are out. The only other lighting run of show positions are on deck electricians back stage ready to fix and lighting problems on the fly, and moving spot light operators (generally only used in musicals)
A scenic designer is directly tied to the carpenters (they are his scenic crew). A scenic designer is responsible for designing a set on the stage the fits properly and serves ever need as dictated by the script and blocking. A scenic designer is responsible for making scale drafting in several perspectives and models that accurate and to scale so that his carpenters can build and costruct his set. The only run of show positions for scenic are general necesity jobs, such as machine opperators, moving large set pieces (i.e. rotating house in Noises Off!) or flyline opperators (flying scenery in and out). and may be responsible for pre show set up such as mopping and sweeping the stage.
The Sound Department is next. A Sound Crew can be very very diverse show to show, so I will only giuve the short and skinny of it. A Sound Designer will "design" the show before pre production by going through a script and based on his vision, making a list of all of the sound effects, music, speaker placement, neccessary equipment etc. Next, he is responsible for making these thing shappen with his sound crew, such as using editing programs to create and modify sound effects/music, placing speakers and creating a working hookup so that everything runs properly and sounds good. A sound designer's job is incredibley difficult because of the immense level of technical engineering and complexity involved with sound systems, as they are so involved and so apt to be less than perfect on a whim. A Sound designer may also be responsible for working with wireless microphones such as laveliers depending on the show. A Sound Designer may work in preproduction with a co-designer, an engineer, a musical director if the show is a musical etc. Also, once all cues are built and systems up, a designer is responsible for programming the computer with a program such as SFX to run the show with a simple go button, or or if its a simple show, setting up a CD player to play sounds from. During the run of show, there is a sound board opperator who run the board, SFX/CD player, and rides the faders in there are wireless microhphones involved. In some cases there may even be a wireless mic runner backstage incase problems arise.
There is also a projection crew more and more often with more modern shows, but its a very new field, and not much is known widely in this field yet.
The final tech position is the stage manager. The stage manager only comes into play once a show is about to open. They are responsible for keeping everyone together, and making sure that huge disputes don't occur, which do occur suprisingly frequently anyway. A good stage manager will take care of these and end these quickly. A stage manager also deals with boths actors and tech and makes sure they all show up and sign in on time each day for rehersals and performances, and is the BOSS over all other positions come time for the show to open. They direct (if neccessary) who does what and when to prepare for the show to start, and once the show starts, the stage manager will call every single cue (lighting/sound/scenic/projection etc) on time and make sure every cue runs properly and at the proper time. A stage manager has the most responsibility on his or her shoulders once opening night comes, and for this reason is considered the highest technical position available in theatre.
These are all of the technical positions available to anyone wanting to be involved with community theatre. Some take more experience to others, but ANYONE can get a job who wants one, and if you aren't qualified for the position you initially want, come in at a lower work level with a good attitude and desire to learn and get better. No one expects you to know everything coming in, and everyone is generally willing to teach you anything you want to know. With a good attitude and great work ethic, you could become a designer or stage manager very quickly. Theatre is a fantastic venue of work, especially for thos ewith an artistic flair, and I greatly encourage anyone who even thinks they want to be apart of theatre to join a community theatre near you in your spare time and do a few shows and see how it feels. It's always a great experience and may open a whole new way for you to see theatre and be involved with it.