As both a Theatre Designer and Outreach Officer you need creativity, determination and an open mind
What is your job?
I’m the Outreach & Diversity Support Officer at Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance.
What does your job involve?
I will always be a designer, but now I'm an Outreach Officer too and fortunately the two work well together. I use my skills as a designer to run workshops and organise summer schools. I'm also trained as an Arts Award Adviser. I'm currently managing the student ambassador scheme and have devised ‘Q’, a programme of technical theatre workshops aimed at schools and FE colleges. Overall I work to improve access to higher education for those from all backgrounds, inform young people about the creative industries and maintain equal opportunities.
How did you get to this point in your career?
The recession hit in the September I graduated. From my degree ending in June 2008 I was essentially unemployed until I took the decision in the November to freelance. Fortunately I was already volunteering for a local Amateur Dramatics group designing a show, and was also asked to design the Rose Bruford College stand for the UCAS 'Design your Future' fair. Following this I embarked on outreach work for the college, representing them at UCAS fairs and also visiting various schools to promote the design course. During this time my current role as Outreach & Diversity Support Officer was advertised, I applied and was successful!
What training did you do and where?
In year 12 a teacher at my grammar school told me I would never get into a top art school, just about get a B at 'A' level and couldn’t imagine how I got an A* at GCSE… well I returned to my former comprehensive after just 6 weeks never to follow a dream career in the Arts, but later started a degree in International Relations. Obviously I never completed that degree and at the age of 20 I went back to a local further education college where I proved that grammar school teacher wrong and gained a distinction for my foundation diploma in art and design. I was also offered an unconditional place on the Theatre Design Course at Rose Bruford College.
Which piece of work are you most proud of?
Since being an Outreach Officer, this has to be the Performance Icons summer school. I organised the running of the summer school, managed the student ambassadors and finally co-ordinated the evening reception and exhibition for the performance night on behalf of Rose Bruford College. We were able to get 10 students excited about technical theatre and they all did a fantastic job designing/making the set and costumes.
However as a designer – I created a six-roomed installation rather like a mirror maze, where each room interpreted the word asylum. As the audience member experienced the space they also listened to a sound – one of the six sound-scapes related to one of the six rooms. As a result the audience member’s experience changed depending upon the sound and essentially they created their own narrative.
What do you need to succeed in your industry?
As both a Theatre Designer and Outreach Officer you need creativity, determination and an open mind.
Who’s your work hero / heroine?
My work hero has to be theatre designer Ralph Koltai.
What inspired you to do this type of work?
I guess in many respects I fell into outreach and yet it captures every educational experience I have ever had and allows me to utilise what I have learnt from these experiences. I'm from a working class background and the first generation in my family to go to university. In later years I haven’t had the easiest time in education and had to persevere with the help of a supportive family. I can be creative and sociological – my two favourite ways of thinking! Now I can help those who think that HE isn’t for them, that they aren’t good enough – I can inspire them!
To be a theatre designer, I am fascinated by space and the interaction of people within it, a fascination that transpires into all areas of spatial design. The idea that the interaction between person and space can create a performance intrigues me – as a result characters and people inspire me as well as sounds and words. Through design I aim to capture experiences – human experience and memories being a facet of our consumer culture. And while I was able to explore all of the above through my Foundation Diploma the true urge for set design in particular came at 14 watching the Brit Awards when I thought… 'Someone must design and make that set – that’s what I want to do!'.
What do your family and friends think of the work you do?
They are proud of me no matter what I do. I have always been motivated by my family to succeed and now I can do the same for others – encourage them to believe in themselves. I know at times they are concerned I will lose my skills as a designer, but this is something I keep working on in my spare time and will continue to use in my career.
What are your tips for anyone wanting to do your job?
Get involved with outreach work while you are at college – student ambassador schemes are often a good way in. Work with local communities and young people as much as possible.
Creative inspirations
Spectacle
A book written by David Rockwell looking at all the major events around the world such as the tomato festival in Spain… events that encapsulate communities and could actually never be designed.
Alexander McQueen
Inventive, passionate and elegant art.
Tom Groves – Tutor
The first person who told me that my art can go as big as it wants, encouraging me to think big and go for it!
Tomoko Takahashi
The first artist I found who let you interact with her work and the space.
Space
You can do anything you want with it, it is my blank canvas and the possibilities are endless. What’s more, it holds so many forms!
Life
Everything I see inspires me – life makes me think and spurs me on to create.
Interactive experiences
Experience underpins my work generally from the interaction of spectator and space; I like to see how others can wow me!
Nan
She had a tough life and suffered from mental illness most of her life. I was very close to my Nan and observed a lot of her illness. She was the key to my final major project during my foundation diploma.
Ralph Koltai
Karl Marx
A lot of my art installation work surrounds our consumer society and the idea of false consciousness.
If you would like advice on creative careers and courses, contact a Creative Way Careers Adviser - either Matt Ball on m.ball@uel.ac.uk / 07889 001764 or Sarah Comerford on s.comerford@uel.ac.uk / 07515 051509.
