"Volunteer. We all started out that way"

Hometown
Originally from Farnham and now living in Tonbridge, via 12 years in Manchester, eight in Brighton and two in London

What do you do?
I’m the director of The World Famous which is a creative pyrotechnics company

How long have you been at it?
Eight years as director of The World Famous

What was your very first role in theatre?
Apart from lighting the school play when I was about 12, my first role was as an occasional photographer of shows. Then in 1996 or thereabouts, I started working as a freelance pyrotechnician and occasional lighting tech for Walk the Plank ; Emergency Exit Arts ; LeMaitre and others.

What have you done in theatre?
I worked freelance as a pyrotechnician for about seven years and then set up The World Famous with two others in 1999, and went full-time with the company in 2003. Work has varied from large-scale fireworks shows to special effects for indoor theatre, to outdoor visual theatre shows involving fireworks, music, big images and performance.

Have you got qualifications?
Irrelevant ones include a physics degree, a PGCE (school teaching qualification) and A-levels in sciences. Relevant ones are are a special effects explosive safety certificate, shotfirers certificate and in transport of hazardous goods (explosives).

What did you do before you worked in theatre?
I worked as a physics teacher for about six years, first in a school and then in various colleges

How did you start working in theatre?
* Got bored
* Quit my job
* Started working as a freelance photographer, didn’t make much money
* Volunteered on a firework show, enjoyed it
* At a party, met the director of Walk the Plank who offered me a job making low-voltage lighting system for a show, enjoyed it
* Started working for Walk the Plank as a freelance pyrotechnician, learned a lot quickly
* Started working for other companies as well
* Got a bit bored with the lack of creative control
* Set up my own company, with two other like-minded people, made fantastic shows

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I have never managed to see that far ahead in my life. I certainly enjoyed burning things though.

What do you do all day?
Nowadays it involves more deskwork than anything – running a company, writing show proposals, funding applications, managing budgets etc. But I do still spend some time designing shows, putting creative teams together, and rigging/ directing/ making shows.

What’s the best thing about your job?
The best bits are always the shows – exploring the creative possibilities of the medium. I love that I work outside for at least a part of my life, and that our work brings pleasure to a lot of people, sometimes moves them and perhaps makes people think.

And the worst?
Red tape and financial worries

What’s your dream job in theatre?
I think I’m probably doing it, though it would be good to have someone else to worry about the money and deal with the bureaucracy. And to get some decent budgets to play with.

Got any wise words for someone who wants to be where you are now?
Volunteer. We all started out that way. There is formal training available, but if you have an aptitude for the job, people will employ you and you’ll learn by doing it.