A day with theatre makers

Half Moon’s Careers in Theatre project has been running for over 20 years. It is a day-long practical programme for GCSE Drama students, which demonstrates the range of careers available in the performing arts and provides the young people with information about the various routes into the industry.

Between 17 and 24 October this year, more than 200 young people came to Half Moon over five days to experience Careers in Theatre. Each day around 50 students, usually from two or three schools, come to Half Moon Theatre in Limehouse to spend the day with experienced theatre-makers. They create a play in a day, taking on roles in lighting, sound, set design, acting and stage management.

One teacher told us: “The experience of collaborating within and across disciplines is so inspiring and valuable for students to understand. It ignites their imaginations to think beyond their school drama to a place inside a professional industry.”

Each day starts with professional actors reading a script extract, usually something in development at Half Moon that may go on to be a full production. By 4.30pm (just seven hours after they arrived), the whole piece is put together and performed to one another and the rest of the team at Half Moon.

Participants always leave the theatre with a true sense of achievement, as can be seen from their feedback:

“I enjoyed learning new skills, speaking to new people, as it’s something I would never do. I also enjoyed running the lighting desk!”

“Today I wanted to get experience from theatre, make music and get an insight into the professional landscape, I achieved this by experiencing making professional sound, and insight by talking to the professionals.”

“It was amazing that we didn’t all know each other at the start of the day but that we created something that we were proud of and happy to share in front of others.”

I feel really proud of my contributions. It was nice to be listened to and treated like a professional.

“When I was told I would be designing a set for a piece of theatre, I never imagined the process would be so fun and creative. I have a new respect for the amount of thought that goes into what we see on stage. Set design is cool.”

Stephen Beeny is the Communications Manager at Half Moon