Bees, Badges and Bunny Ears

26 May 2016

The Watermill Summer Fair looms and Jan, my wife, now a Bee Keeper, will be there – on the Bee Keepers stall with lots for children to do including making their own badges.

I’ve been asked to write a few words about the Andrew Lloyd Webber Trainee which is a one year (paid) appointment at The Watermill Theatre, starting in September. However, my concentration is broken by the background grumblings of “how stupid” and other what I can only assume are Bee Keeper’s sayings.

The Watermill is once again, looking for a Trainee Production/Stage Management Assistant and I’m trying to think how to describe the sort of person we are looking for – the description is not going very well.

Eventually the request of “Lawrence come and sort this out will you” stops my writing – Jan is trying to assemble a button badge maker she has just bought from the Internet with Chinese instructions.

My wife is far more intellectual than I and much better qualified but has not spent her life with the daily and random challenges I meet as a Production Manager.

So I stop and go help her with her challenge at the same time she helps with mine.

This is a bit like describing the sort of person we are looking for. You don’t have to be academic or want to go to university. You just need an enquiring mind and to have that random collection of skills that means you don’t want to be tied down doing just one thing – but also willing to try anything and I mean that….

This week Lee, our current Trainee has set up rehearsal rooms, made props and has spent a day shopping in London with Amanda our costume supervisor. He was also a rabbit for a morning – yes, our next show is Watership Down!  Lee was asked to stand in by our movement coach as a routine had to be worked out with the right number of people.

So if you fancy not only gaining great technical skills – and the possibility of playing the odd furry animal – then why not apply to become our next Trainee Production/Stage Management Assistant?

If you love all sorts of technical stuff, love breaking things and putting them back together again, love art and drawing or are keen on design and technology then this could be for you. This is not a gap year fill in –  but aimed at those who want to just do stuff – practical or physical or technical and creative –  hey you might even become a badge maker at the Summer Fair

For further information please email: csm@watermill.org.uk or call Kerrie on 01635 570925 or you can download an application form by going to our website: https://www.watermill.org.uk/work_for_us

Lawrence T Doyle
Production Manager