Costume & set designer
Corina Bona
25
Corina Bona, 25, has designed costume and sets for stage plays, tours and a children's TV pilot. She has a postgrad degree in theatre design and her first job was set designer for a circus company.
"The industry is all about who you know, so start getting to know people at a young age"
Hometown
Bristol, but I’m originally from Argentina
What do you do?
Self-employed costume and set designer
How long have you been at it?
Three years
What was your very first role in theatre?
A set designer at the Harbourside Festival for Cirque Bijou, a Bristol-based circus company
So what else have you done in theatre?
I have done about 20 freelance jobs over the past three years, mainly for stage plays, but also for some theatre-in-education tours and a children’s TV pilot
Between my first and post-graduate degrees, I did a six-month apprenticeship at the Royal Opera House in Geneva, spending a month each in the carpentry, marketing, wardrobe, wigs and shoes, stage management and prop-making departments.
Have you got qualifications?
Postgraduate degree in theatre design, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
A first degree in cultural media studies and drama, University of the West of England
What did you do before you worked in theatre?
Just a bit of temping work
How did you start working in theatre?
I was interested in theatre from when I first moved to England as a child. I got involved in Stagecoach stage school and in high school productions.
At university I did a degree in drama but leaned towards design and backstage work. A friend who was a leading technician pointed me towards the theatre design course at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
A performer
What do you do all day?
I sit down with a director to break down the script and discuss ideas. I then do research, such as into the period a play is set, and get together images that inspire me from reading the script.
Then I sit down with the production team to discuss budgets and what sort of design we could achieve.
I put together a 1:25 model of the stage set and costume drawings. I then put everything together for the set and make sure the actors are comfortable in their costumes. I’m involved until the opening night and then I leave.
What’s the best thing about your job?
Seeing the concept become a reality
And the worst?
The pay
What’s your dream job in theatre?
An artistic director
Got any wise words for someone who wants to be where you are now?
Get involved at a starting level, maybe getting a job as an assistant stage manager in a youth theatre.
The industry is all about who you know, so start getting to know people at a young age.
