EVE D ALTON Technical Manager, Drama Studio London

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1 EVE D ALTON Technical Manager, Drama Studio London Eve once had 530 people sing Happy Birthday to her! I m currently working as the Technical Manager of a theatre school in London as well as working freelance when the right opportunity and project come along. At the theatre school, I m responsible for the day-to-day operation of a studio theatre, radio recording studio and TV studio, as well as maintaining our stock of props, set and furniture and working long hours into the night for the students graduation productions. As a freelancer I ve worked on everything from dance and theatre to comedy and cabaret as production manager, lighting designer and sound engineer. I enjoy my job for four different reasons: I get to meet some of the most interesting groups of people, I don t have to wear a suit, every day is different, presenting new challenges and, finally, when everything you ve worked hard to achieve comes together, going without a hitch, it makes all of that time and effort visibly worth it. You don t get that in any other job as far as I m concerned! The downside would have to be the long hours during holiday seasons like Christmas. When everyone s out having fun you re the one most likely providing it at the events they go to see. But that s when you really see teamwork at its best and most playful. Last year I was working on a variety night called Nine Lessons and Carols for Godless People for science geeks and fans of comedy. It was the second week in and I was clearly showing my tiredness when I asked the host, Robin Ince, to extend his chat to the audience on an offstage microphone while I had a long set change for an orchestra. He decided it was the perfect time to tell the audience it was my birthday (it was not!) and that they should all sing Happy Birthday to me! I died of embarrassment as 530 people sang at me but on the upside, I got a free drink from each of the acts, and some of the audience, after the show!

2 Katherine williams Lighting Designer Katharine says you tend to work with your heart rather than your head. Katharine Williams is a lighting designer working in drama, dance and physical theatre, with some opera, music and circus projects. She works in the UK and internationally, and her designs have been seen in China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, Mexico, Ireland, Holland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Armenia, Romania, Russia and the Czech Republic. Katharine says, I grew up by the sea in Yorkshire, on the edge of the moors, and the changing light and sunlight that we get in that part of the world still influence my designs today. I have spent time devising with physical theatre companies and this led naturally into working in dance theatre. From there, the move towards working with musicians seemed to be a very simple step for me. It is the most dynamic way of playing a lighting rig that I know of and is a very different kind of storytelling with light than in narrative theatre: you tend to work with your heart rather than your head. And it s hugely exciting. I came to the National on work experience from my drama school in 2000, and I ve got happy memories of those two weeks: doing the colour calls for a show; finding out about Vari-Lites for the first time; enjoying being part of a team; the wonderful view of London from the roof of the Olivier; and feeling very grown up being trusted to choose the gobos for the lighting designer in the Cottesloe. I am delighted to hear about the new Technical Apprentices programme. I hope it will give opportunities to the new technical theatre generation to enjoy the hard work and tremendous enjoyment that this industry gives us. For me, it has been about chances to travel, to work with so many different people, on projects I really care about and most importantly, to really enjoy my work each day. No two days are ever the same and there is always a new challenge to rise to.

3 rajha shakiry Set and Costume Designer Rajha thinks that collaboration is the key to working in theatre Rajha Shakiry is a set and costume designer. She was born in Iraq and educated in England. After an honours degree in Mathematics and five years working in marketing, she re-trained in theatre design, graduating from Wimbledon School of Art in Since then, Rajha has worked as a freelance theatre designer, with extensive experience in small-scale, middlescale and national and international touring productions. She has recently completed MA in scenography at Central School of Speech and Drama. Rajha has designed and collaborated on numerous devised and text based projects, physical theatre, musical theatre and opera, working with companies including Spare Tyre, Talawa, Eastern Angles and Cardboard Citizens. She has also recently performed as a member of the Skills Ensemble in Philip Glass Satyagraha (with Improbable at English National Opera, London Coliseum and Metropolitan Opera, New York). Rajha says, Apart from the required design tools, I have gained various skills and experiences through a variety of projects, from prop- and costume-making, film and editing to puppetry and now performance. Collaborating with a diversity of people is another key aspect which makes producing theatre such an exciting field to work in.

4 sarah louise mccolgan Freelance Lighting Technician Sarah (right) at her RADA graduation with fellow graduate, set and costume designer, Eleanor Field. I graduated from the RADA Technical Theatre and Stage Management foundation degree in July 2011 and have started working as a freelance lighting technician. I m employed as a casual technician for several theatres, working in opera, dance and theatre. I also take on some small lighting designs with fringe companies, which are usually on a profit-share basis. I really like the variety of work I get to see from working in several very different venues. I knew nothing about opera before I did a six-week work placement at the English National Opera as part of my training at RADA, and now I am working on lighting designs with a fringe opera company called Open Door Opera. Theatre and plays are where my love for the stage started but I like working in lots of different forms of stage entertainment now as I am always learning something new. Going from very large venues to very small venues, and from opera to dance to theatre is a great way of creating a knowledge base for me as I start out in my career. It will help me decide later down the road what area I would like to settle in. Lighting is my passion and I m trying to build my career so I can one day be a professional lighting designer. As twee as it sounds, I love working in theatre because I want to be involved in making amazing, beautiful productions that people will remember. Sometimes the work can be a nightmare, and then a miracle happens and it all turns out alright in the end. I love the fact that the people who work in theatre all pull together to make sure a show keeps going regardless of whatever else is happening backstage or sometimes on the stage! Theatre keeps you on your toes and nothing worth doing is ever easy.

5 christina smith Lighting Board Programmer Christina at the Lighting Desk in the London Coliseum I have been working in the entertainment industry for almost 10 years. I started out working for my university s theatre, then got a job with a small local theatre company and have just worked my way up from there. Over the past decade I have worked on comedy shows, been a nightclub Light Jockey, worked on theatre and dance, and currently I am a lighting programmer for English National Opera at the London Coliseum. This involves working with lighting designers during our production week to see that their creative vision makes it onto the stage. I m lucky enough to have worked with some amazingly talented people over the years. To anyone trying to break into the industry, my best advice would be to just get out there and do it. Offer your services to anyone that will take you it s a great way to learn and you will be amazed at how often in this industry work experience can lead to paid work. Just keep at it. It s often said that the person doesn t choose theatre, theatre chooses the person. And once it has you in its grasp it will not let you go! I won t deny, it s a tough industry to work in: the hours are long and you work to the job, not the clock; but the pay-off is huge. You meet incredible people and there is no feeling like everything coming together on an opening night, where weeks of work and stress allow a packed auditorium an hour of pure joy.

6 anthony newton Production Manager, the Bush Anthony has been everything from an usher to an event planner I did my school work experience placement in a professional theatre and have never looked back. I had other career ideas before then but I found theatre so rewarding and fun that I realised I would never enjoy anything else as much. Twelve years later I am the production manager of the Bush Theatre in London and love the experience and challenges that I face on an almost daily basis. After my work experience I volunteered at a theatre, learning on the job. I got other bits of experience by doing youth theatre, amateur shows and as part of the National Student Drama Festival technical crew, before I eventually went to drama school to study technical theatre. As it happens, I was offered full-time work before my course finished. I was lucky that my college understood that being paid to do the job I was training to do made more sense than learning how to do it in a classroom. I was still able to graduate. I used to think I wanted to be a lighting designer but have worked as an usher, hire manager, in stage management, festivals, event planning and all sorts of other capacities on my route to where I am today. It s all been great experience and every new project taught me a new set of skills. In this way, you are forever learning and developing, and sharing and passing on knowledge. Anyone can arrive at the door of a theatre and find a job in the building that suits their talents and interests: as an actor, marketing officer, literary manager, restaurant chef, designer, technician. Once you are through that door, your interests may change, but I guarantee you won t want to leave.