Personal Essay: A Career In Theatre

The curtain rises, the house lights go down, the audience hums with excitement and I am never more proud as I see months of hard work, late nights and hours reconfiguring ancient equipment coming together. These challenges could be seen to some as a downside to pursuing a career in theatre, but for me, conquering these challenges makes the job extremely satisfying and my dream career.I became intrigued in theatre production as I love working out how things are done behind the scenes, the first time I really thought about pursuing backstage work was whilst watching Cirque Du soliel at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The hustle of the crew and backstage atmosphere could be seen from my seat and I became fixated on what was going on out of sight underneath the polished productions that I witnessed in the West End.

Over four years I have developed skills and enthusiasm in many aspects of theatre, the roles I have found most satisfying have been, Stage Management, Sound Engineer and Lighting Crew. All these roles have required dedication and a high level of focus, which I am

perfectly suited to. I like to take a lead in situations that allow me to get a task completed to an extremely high standard on time. For example in most projects I have worked on I offer to take on more responsibility such as Stage Manager. Another great quality I have is the ability to sit back and follow in part of a production team; I have shown this during larger productions when I feel I am able to learn more. These attributes are essential in creating an effective sense of teamwork in the production process.As my experience and dedication to my past theatre work shows, I have a keen attitude for theatrical production and live events. I have a vast array of experience from small-scale school productions to larger professional musicals and bands, this variety of jobs shows how I am able to comfortably adapt to any task that I face. Some of my most notable jobs would be working on sound for “The Kinks” when they visited Eastbourne, Britain’s Got Talent Audition.

Having volunteered in a local theatre that had been stood derelict for a number of years I was able to have an input in getting it into a fully working theatre attracting all kinds of productions and audiences. However it did come with its challenges; the equipment and facilities were limited so I spent a lot of my time coming up with creative compromises to many issues. This shows how I am able to work around issues in a safe but creative manner and therefore suits me to.My passion for theatre production has seen me attend all types of workshops and events, most recently I have visited the National Theatre to take part in a Lighting Design master class, it was an inspiring trip and has spurred me on even more to reach my goal of becoming a professional in the theatre industry. Also I was shortlisted for the Royal Opera House Set Design challenge for the opera; Madame Butterfly.

Outside of theatre I spend a lot of my time playing golf or cycling.

Both of these activities require me and allow me to constantly improve, something that I will strive to do in my theatre career, allowing me to fulfil my ultimate goal: to become a qualified stage manager.Having looked at the best way to get into theatre for some years I feel my suitability for a production course is tailored to the requirements, as it has been my goal through the last years of school and into college. The subjects I study at college reflect my goal to explore theatre production further; currently I am studying Production Arts which includes a wide range of topics from Stage Management to Scenic Arts, I find this subject greatly rewarding and enjoyable. Also I am studying TV and Film Production, it has so far given me a great insight into other areas of production which I am extremely keen to explore

further.