Creative Choices

As part of Discover! Creative Careers Week, a special event saw 130 state secondary school students from across London descend on the National Theatre to learn more about the skills, imagination and creativity that go into backstage theatre careers.

Kicking off the day with a Q&A in the Dorfman theatre, students were able to ask the professional theatre creatives anything they liked. With many questions focussing on money, the team of set designers, costume makers and sound technicians were able to reassure students that a career in the theatre was a financially reliable one and not just an unrealistic dream.

The workshops on offer were a fantastic mix of the practical and demonstrational, taking in virtual reality, stage management and make-up, among other disciplines. Sound design, which was a particular highlight of the day, saw students experiment with and learn how to operate a sound board. Leading the workshop was head of sound and video Dom Bilkey, who was a natural at engaging the students, demystifying the seemingly complicated ideas of inputs and outputs, amplifiers and speakers via the SMASH acronym.

Equally engaging was make-up, hair and wigs which detailed the intricate process of preparing hair and make-up for stage, culminating in the students making their own blood bags. The realistic yet innovative design of the prosthetics presented showed the students how imagination and creativity are crucial in succeeding in backstage careers, prompting them to return to their Design & Technology and Art lessons with a new lease of life.

When it came to set design, while the team presented their work in real detail, and the model boxes exercise was excellent– allowing students to explore their creativity and learn by doing – I felt like some of the language used by the professional designers was lost on the students. Words such as ‘in the round’ or ‘thrust’ are not terms that would necessarily be understood by students from priority schools, who might not have weekly Drama lessons let alone a qualified Drama teacher. While this is a minor detail it is important that students never feel intellectually excluded.

Overall the workshops were excellent and provided students with hands-on experience of life behind the curtain, showing them that the future of theatre is theirs.