CEIAG Visit

05 Feb CEIAG Visit

Redditch Palace Theatre

In February, we visited the Palace Theatre in Redditch as part of the CEIAG programme. Most of us on the trip love drama  and we were pleased to find out that there are many careers to consider that connect to the theatre.

We learned that creative types might enjoy roles such as directing, playwriting or theatre design, while practical people are needed for jobs such as lighting technician, marketing, management or stage crew member. We also learnt that good people skills are needed in most roles, but particularly if you’re helping audience members day in, day out as part of the front-of-house team. We were told that showbusiness is just that – a business, which requires producers and marketing staff to make sure that tickets sell.

We got some sound advice. Apparently, theatre careers are extremely popular, so they’re very competitive to get into and not particularly well paid. The man that showed us around also said that once we’re in, quite a lot of the jobs involve working freelance – that is, working for different employers on different shows, rather than having a permanent job, so we would need to carry on competing for work even once we’ve established a career. We thought it might be useful to get a work experience placement there or volunteer to getting involved as much as possible be it back stage or front of house.