It is my experience that people in volunteer performance situations almost always wait to secure necessary equipment, and there is often a mad scramble at the last second to put together something that is passable at best and non-functioning at worst. Obviously I have no idea who else is working on the production so this isn't a personal judgment against him/her/them, but I wanted to encourage you to remind the producer/director early and often that you need a real PA and a kit the sooner the better. They should at least have a guarantee (from whomever is supplying/donating the gear) that they will be getting specific equipment by a certain date. Just my $0.02.- Sarah