Becky-Dee Trevenen was one of twenty lucky young South Australian's chosen to take part in the State Theatre Company's work experience program for 2010. Here, she tells Lowdown all about her week with STC, and how her experience in the arts industry has shaped her plans for the future.
For many year 12 students like me, the question of what to do after high school becomes rather significant, haunting us during the final months of study. We are instructed to “keep our options open”; however; with all of these choices, I find making a decision is difficult. This is made particularly tricky when you have a number of areas in which you are interested, without an opportunity to experience that particular working environment.
My dream career would be one in which I could combine my love of theatre, design, music and English which is why I am very interested in dramaturgy and directing. This propelled me to apply for State Theatre Company’s work experience program so I could have a glimpse into the life of a director in a professional company. Luckily, I was accepted, along with nineteen other students from all around South Australia.
On the first day we met in the Dunstan Playhouse foyer where Robyn Brookes, the Education Manager, introduced herself and led us to the education room. Before a tour of the festival centre, the students introduced themselves, their interests, and where they attended school. Making our way around the room, I discovered I was surrounded by other aspiring artists: performers, writers, directors, visual artists, designers, singers, dancers and even composers.
The State Theatre Company planned a very exciting program for us; jam-packed with intriguing workshops and discussions with members of staff. As explained to us by Adam Cook, these activities formed a “tasting plate” of company positions. Indeed, I not only saw into the roles of a director, but others, some virtually unknown to me. Consequently, I came to appreciate the complexities involved in running a theatre company.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the week was participating in workshops with Geordie Brookman, the Associate Director of the company. His productions have enabled me to become enormously excited and inspired by live theatre. In our first workshop we discussed Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Geordie’s vision for the upcoming State Theatre production. Throughout the week, he also led us through other discussions, exploring the role of the playwright, character portrayal and basic scene building.
The theme of Romeo and Juliet was extended during our next workshop with the Marketing, Development and Publicity staff. They discussed how they raise money, organise events and advertise for each production, drawing examples from previous State Theatre productions. I was very interested in the way they used creativity to fuel their ideas and grew to appreciate their important job to capture the public’s attention and source funding for every show. From there, we split up, with each group assigned the task of generating strategies to ‘sell’ a production of Romeo and Juliet. From this experience, my eyes were opened to a whole new area of arts administration.
Our acting workshop with Glenn Hayden from Urban Myth not only improved our skills as actors but helped us get to know the people in the work experience group even more. Glenn talked us through movement and concentration exercises, inviting us to express ourselves and think creatively as an ensemble. During this time, I felt that all the students grew closer as we began to trust one another through the interaction and analysis of our performances.
One of the events that I was particularly excited about was our opportunity to have a glimpse into a rehearsal of a professional show; The Price by Arthur Miller. The atmosphere was familiar to me, but it had an extra level of excitement as I was watching superb actors. After a quick discussion with the cast and crew, the work experience group left the rehearsal room in awe of the cast’s skills.
Although an avid performer, I am ashamed to admit my knowledge of technical terms and procedures is lacking which is why I appreciated the workshop run by production. As we discussed the lighting, aerial and sound systems in the Dunstan Playhouse, I felt very privileged to work in such a wonderful venue. It was also at this time that I realized how the different groups of the company saw the productions through different eyes.
Before visiting wardrobe, we were given time to sketch costume ideas for a production of Romeo and Juliet. Many students were very interested in design, so this particular activity was embraced with much enthusiasm. After the staff introduced themselves, their role and how they collaborate with designers and directors we revealed our own creations and explained what we wanted to highlight through the costume design.
We also met Morag Cook who designed the set for this year’s State Theatre education show: The Seven Stages of Grieving. In our workshop, we created a sculpture using anything that we wished, inspired by a word which described us. From an outsider’s perspective, we must have looked like an unusually large group of kindergarten children; sitting on the floor scrunching up scraps of coloured paper whilst wrestling with strips of sticky tape. However, we were completely absorbed in the process, an experience which I found to be an important part of my time with State Theatre Company. Morag’s set encompassed another area of our experience; this time in workshop. After seeing the set of The Price, which was currently being built, some crew members helped us piece together her set in the Space Theatre.
As our week drew to a close, I felt so much closer to the students I met and as I entered the Dunstan Playhouse foyer on the Friday morning it was wonderful to see everyone talking and laughing loudly; a stark contrast to our first day which was filled with smiles and silence. I feel extremely privileged to have been a part of such a well-organised, fun and informative program. Apart from meeting some like-minded people and leaving with some lasting friendships, I also left with a deeper sense of confidence to pursue a meaningful career where my passion lies; the performing arts.