Drama GCSE Students' Work Experience at National Theatre

On the 10th June Anna B. and Lara P. two of our Drama GCSE students were provided with an incredible opportunity with a work experience placement at The National Theatre. This is their review of their exciting experience.

We were both required to fill in an application form, before being called for an interview over the phone. The next week, we received an email with the news that we had been accepted, and we were very grateful for this rare yet insightful opportunity.

Every morning we travelled to the South Bank, where the National Theatre is located, and were introduced to staff within the industry who had planned a busy week consisting of a series of highly interactive workshops alongside other students from across London.

Throughout the week, we learnt about the many professions within the theatre industry, and what make all the shows happen successfully. Every detail and every work department (e.g. lighting and sound, costume design, producers, set design, directors, make-up artists and so forth) was distinctly admirable because sometimes you forget all the work that goes on every day for months in order to make one show happen.                                                                                                                 

During these focused workshops, we learnt the challenges of completing work in a matter of days and how staff manage that; we also learnt about producers’ important decisions of budgets, how to control light and sounds for effect as well as how designers initially brainstorm their ideas for a certain production. 

These workshops gave us a better insight as to where our interests lie within the industry, as well as what we would need to study or gain from experiences in order to reach these selected career choices.

The best part of the experience was meeting many other people with the same interests – we all got on really well and it helped to make the week better. Additionally, staff were very helpful and had provided us with the opportunity to talk to industry professionals and ask them questions so that they could inspire and guide us into the choices we would need to make in order to get a career within the competitive industry.