"I’d rather employ someone who gets on with the crew than someone with more experience who rubs everyone up the wrong way"

Hometown
Colchester in Essex

What do you do?
Freelance production technician/ lighting designer

How long have you been at it?
Twenty years this year

What was your very first role in theatre?
Stage hand on an amateur production. I was hooked!

What have you done in theatre?
I was technical manger at Colchester Arts Centre for over five years. I was responsible for electrical and stage repairs and maintenance, lighting and sound set-up, design and operation, stage management and general management/box office duties. I set up and ran the technical department at the venue and was responsible for training new staff. After two years I moved into teaching technical theatre courses for the centre’s summer school for children resulting, in the staging of a performance.

Since then, I’ve worked in lighting design and operation at Edinburgh Fringe Festival ; I designed the lighting for the Alien War Experience at the Trocadero Centre, London; worked as a production sound technician on West End shows including Grease, Cats, Copacabana, Fame, The Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast.

I also work in conferences and exhibitions and recently was the technical stage manager for the Lucasfilm Star Wars Celebration Europe convention at Excel, London and was responsible for live sound for the opening of the Department for International Development (DFID) London office by Kofi Annan.

Have you got qualifications?
No. I don’t think there were any when I started! But recently, I did some training in customer service and disability awareness and attended a one-to-one training session at Essex University on the Compulite Ovation lighting module.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to work in a recording studio, thinking that there would just be one in my local high street! This was closely followed by wanting to play in rock bands, which I did for a while. We never got to record in the local high street recording studio though.

What do you do all day?
I think the reason I love my job is that there isn’t a typical day. If I was stuck in a factory or an office doing the same thing every day it’d drive me nuts!

If I was doing rock and roll lighting, my work would involve: rigging & plugging up lights, colour & focus lights (sometimes as per band’s requirements, other times I have free artistic control), programming lighting control desk with what lights I need to come on when, operating lighting desk for show.

If it’s lighting design: attending meetings with director, attending rehearsals and meeting with costume and set designers, looking at the theatre plans and list of lights available (or specify my own if budget allows), drawing a lighting plan and marking script with cues when the lighting changes occur. I may run the show myself in which case I’ll program the lighting desk and run it for the shows, otherwise I’ll help the operator program it in technical rehearsals.

If I’m working at a local venue, eg a stand-up comedy club: assisting setting up stage area, setting up lighting for that area and focus and colour it as necessary, running the lighting desk for the show.

If I’m working with a touring theatre company: rigging lighting as per visiting companies plan (we sometimes get to pre-rig it if there’s enough time), colouring lights as per designers’ instructions, focusing and programming lighting desk.

If it’s West End sound: unloading equipment on truck(s) and moving cases to their specific areas, unpacking equipment and installing loudspeaker system, often liaising with the rigging department who will ‘fly’ any speakers that have to be at height, running in all cables for loudspeakers, headset communication and CCTV systems, positioning and plugging in amplifiers, usually in the wings or sub-stage, setting up sound desk equipment, often with show sound operator, positioning microphones on orchestra and plugging in as per sound designers’ requirements, positioning radio-mic antennas and cable to receivers. Installing loudspeakers in set if necessary.

What’s the best thing about your job?
Working with different people and on different events, solving problems and being a small part of a greater thing (the event)

And the worst?
Lack of forward planning that makes a job a lot harder than it should be. That and the lack of a social life outside of work.

What’s your dream job in theatre?
I suppose I’d like to design lighting for larger shows, but I’m happy where I am too

Got any wise words for someone who wants to be where you are now?
* Don’t do it for the money!
* Get involved on any level as early as possible: school plays, local theatres and amateur dramatic productions. Just learn the ropes and get a feel for the job.
* Also be a good person and a team-player. Generally I’d rather employ someone who gets on well with the crew than someone who may have more technical experience but rubs everyone up the wrong way.

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