Recently second year Production Arts student, Poppy Slater, enjoyed a two week placement in the lighting department at the Olivier Theatre, the largest of the three National Theatres.
After completing the placement, we spoke to Poppy to find out more about her experience:
How did you secure your placement?
I knew that I wanted to do some sort of placement, so that I could gain an insight into the industry that I thought I wanted to go into after college, seeing the reality of the job and whether I could manage the demands.
After the placement experience my love for lighting and stage management has grown so much, making me more determined to make that my future. It’s like the lighting manager said to me “it’s not the end, its only just begun”.
What did you do whilst on placement?
I was with The Olivier’s lighting department for two weeks. For the first week, I helped with the pre-preparations for their show Ballet Shoes while the team carried out the production turnaround following Bacchae.
For this I helped rigg, cable, address and insert gobos inside. I also went up to the fly floor and lifted huge lights up which were attached with rope. This took a lot of gut for me, as it was one of the things which I originally feared, but I wanted to conquer my fear and by the end of the week I was constantly going up there to complete tasks.
In the second week it was tech rehearsals, where I observed the experts at work. They gave me a headset so I could hear what they were saying and how they go about doing things. In that week they were so kind and invited me to their dress rehearsal, which was amazing to watch the whole performance and each technical element come together as one.
What are you hoping to do after college?
After college I am hoping to get an apprenticeship in technical theatre, or a similar job in the backstage lighting and stage management departments.
How have you enjoyed the Production Arts course?
This course has a big focus on designing and creating the set, costumes, and props, which is not my strongest skill. I cannot draw for the life of me and do struggle with detail.
However, the skills that I have developed has been brilliant. I have seen so much progress in the work that I have produced, and I am proud of what I’ve been able to achieve. Lighting and stage management is what I am most interested in, but it is so important to understand each department of theatre and how they work alongside each other.
Being able to learn about this side to theatre production, alongside continuing to develop my skills and interest in lighting and stage management, has been a great opportunity and made me much stronger overall.
What would you say to someone thinking of doing your course?
It’s a great course, with brilliant tutors and a really nice place to learn. Of course it is going to get hard, and you are going to face lots of challenges along the way, but if you really want to be in the theatre industry then you’ve got to push past these challenges anyway. I know that all the hard work that I’m putting in at the moment will be worth it.
I’d also say to try and get as many opportunities and meet as many people as you can. These last two weeks have been such a good experience, and I’m so thankful that I got to go. Never say no to an opportunity as the experience is what is going to help you when getting a job in the future.
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Interested in finding out more information about our Production Arts course? Click here to read more about it!
