For my work experience I aimed to gain knowledge with a theatre production company; luckily NI Opera took me under their wing. The experience this role is vital to my progression through this industry as I have had little experience in the production process side of theatre.
Throughout this blog I will apply Gibb’s Reflective Cycle (1988) (See Figure 1.); the reason for my use of this model is that “The relationship between theory and practical applications has been at the top of the education and training agenda for a decade or so.” (Footnote 1), therefore, for me to gain experience, learn and gain skills within my position I will need to regularly use this model to reflect on my work.
Fortunately, I was able to secure a place with NI Opera and their new Chief Executive and Artistic Director Cameron Menzies. The process of acquiring a position with such a prestigious company was rather simple; all that was required of me was to attend an interview in their office near the University.
I was the only one that had applied to join their team; therefore, I was the only one at the interview. However, Cameron Menzies and his team were adamant that proceedings were kept professional to ensure that I was a hard worker and that I could be trusted in their company.
As for the questions themselves, they were straightforward, and I was able to answer them with confidence.
Questions that were asked:
Why us?
Tell us a bit about yourself
What could you contribute to the process and production of our shows?
What experience do you have in the industry?
What area would you be more focused on, Musical Theatre or Opera?
After the questioning stage of the interview, Cameron and Clíona (The General Manager) were happy to offer me a position on the spot.
This allowed for a promising and encouraging start to the module.
Work Placement Begins
After various calls from Clíona with regards to the number of hours are required for me to work, when I will complete these hours and what productions are coming up; I was thrown into the deep end with their production of La Bohème.
La Bohème
The NI Opera’s production of La Bohème (20th September 2021) was an incredible experience. My role within this production was Front of House and initially, I was anxious about the tasks that needed to be carried out. This was the first time I had been in this role with such a prestigious company; therefore, I was on edge making sure everything went ok.
Overall, the night went extremely well with the audience members enjoying their seats, the atmosphere, and the show itself; they also made sure to thank the staff for helping everyone to their seats and ensuring that they had a comfortable experience.
Having time to reflect on my role that night, there are a few things that I would have done differently; for example, I would have memorised the names that were preplaced on seats before any audience members had arrived. This would have saved us time as there were only two of us and we began running behind on getting people to their seats. Another issue that arose was that of the Press; I would have ensured that I knew exactly who was coming and what company they represented as this would have made it easier for Julia the Marketing and Development Manager.
The experience was excellent and as this was my first experience working with such a prestigious company, I am so delighted that it went so well for myself and the team
With this experience under my belt, I will be more prepared for the future productions and roles that they will assign to me.
Research/Working from Home
Unfortunately, NI Opera had to move out of their office, therefore I was forced to work from home; this meant my main role was that of a researcher.
My first task was collating a document on feedback from their recent production of La Bohème. This task included gathering feedback and responses from their Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter, and creating a document to showcase these responses, having them all in one place. This was quite an exciting task as I got to scour their social media platforms to find all these different and encouraging responses to their production
Feedback for La Bohème
As I submitted the document to Clíona she responded with:
This was very encouraging to hear and made me even more excited for my next task which was to research what impact the arts have on people’s lives within Northern Ireland.
My second research task was to investigate the impact that the arts have on people’s lives within Northern Ireland.
This task initially was quite a daunting task; two questions immediately appeared in my head, where was I going to get this information from and how?
As the task developed and I became more confident researching into this topic I began to see exactly why people confide in the arts for so many things in their lives; for example, many people discuss how the arts have an integral role in the well-being of society.
Reflecting upon this task allows me to realise that it wasn’t as daunting as I had expected it to be, instead, the task was rather simple with the toughest part sourcing the information and data.
The Next Step
Unfortunately, NI Opera left me in the dark for a while after my last task, however, after recently replying to my emails, I am beginning to get excited for their upcoming productions which I will be a part of.
Upcoming events include:
A Christmas concert
A musical production after Christmas
I look forward to getting some rehearsal and production experience with NI Opera after Christmas
Bibliography:
Gibbs, Graham. Learning By Doing (Oxford: Oxford Brookes University, 2013)
