The Cube is a volunteer-run cinema and arts venue that has been a Bristol landmark for the last 10 years. A look through their eye-catching monthly programmes will have you spoilt for choice be it sublimely intimate gigs, showings of good recent releases, art-house cinema, re-runs of classic films, themed cinema marathons, community events, documentaries put on by Bristol Indymedia, or performances from the Cube Orchestra. Suit Yourself goes behind the scenes to discover who some of these volunteers are and what they love about The Cube…

Ed Siebert aka Punksi
Event Manager, Promotions Manager, Bar Manager
How did you get involved with the Cube?
A number of friends were involved.
What do you like most about the Cube?
I have never encountered anywhere else quite like it. Everyone who works here is here because they WANT to be, not hired or feeling obliged.
What do you do here in Bristol?
By day I’m an admin manager at a sixth form college. By night, I run the production, technical and programming sides of various music festivals.

Polly Pocket
Programme Co-ordinator, Banker, Front of House Manager
How did you get involved with the Cube?
I thought the music programming was really exciting and signed up to volunteer.
What do you like most about the Cube?
It’s openness, which can be a mixed blessing, but anyone can get involved. The Cube is what its volunteers make it.
What do you do here in Bristol?
I now work at the BBC in the natural history unit radio department. When I started work at the Cube I was a student.

Richard Thomas
Video & Film Projectionist, Programme Distribution Coordinator, Bar Manager
How did you get involved with the Cube?
I spent two months in India and had been thinking what are some of the things I’d really miss in Bristol if they weren’t there when I came back - The Cube was one of them so that, plus curiosity about how the place operated (or managed to survive!).
What do you like most about the Cube?
That wonderful feeling to be had by pressing a button in the projection room and watching the red velvet curtains magically rolling back from the screen.
What do you do here in Bristol?
I’m a professional geek - working in a small company designing audio amplifier chips. Away from that I play the sax.

Elena Goodrum
Music Press Officer, DJ, Photographer, Bartender
How did you get involved with the Cube?
I was new to Bristol and thought it would be a great way of meeting people.
What do you like most about the Cube?
The building itself and the cinema, but mainly the laid-back atmosphere and the crazy, random conversations with strangers.
What do you do here in Bristol?
I’m a photographer and a community manager and consultant for online communities.

www.cubecinema.com

Elena Goodrum www.trillbilly.tumblr.com