Want to work in Theatre but don't know where to start? This post is for you.
Like any project (including this blog) one of the hardest things to do is to start.
Trying to get work in the Theatre industry is no different. I remember feeling overwhelmed with how to go about "breaking" into an industry I knew very little about. For those not in the Theatre world it can feel like a private club, kept behind closed doors. My aim in this blog is to try and support others wanting to work in Theatre. I will talk in-depth about working in costume, writing a CV, gaining experience, networking, contacting organisations and much much more.
How to start?
My advice for anyone wanting to work in costume is to grab a pen and paper and write down what it is you actually like about costume and what elements of it you enjoy the most. For example, do you want to design or make the costumes? Do you see yourself working backstage on productions or maybe in pre-production doing the fittings? Maybe its the organisation you enjoy or the research?
This is going to useful for 2 reasons:
1) It will help you work out what roles within costume will suit you the best. (I will be writing a seperate post all about the different roles within a Wardrobe Department.)
2) It will indicate what area of Theatre you may want to work in. Theatre is a far broader industry then people may think. A few examples are: TIE (theatre in educaion), Fringe, West End, touring and regional.
Once you have a better understanding of what you want to do and in what kind of organisation it will be far easier to start searching for work, approaching companies and applying for jobs. In addition your applications and CV can be tailored towards that employment and therefore will stand out. It is very obvious to employers if they are getting a broad CV that is being sent out to anyone and everyone.
It will also allow you to start focusing on what experience you need to improve your skills for those specific jobs. Research those jobs and make sure you have the requirements needed. Its never too early to do this.
Hopefully this small task will be the first step towards your dream job.
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