After studying Art and Design, Textile Art and Theatre Design at A
Level, to me the logical choice of a degree was to follow down the theatrical
path, as it is a vocational pathway compared to something like Fine Art or
Textiles. The course offered at AUCB shone out against the others because of its
reputation and the direct career pathways. I also chose the course because it
offered both a construction and design syllabus - something the likes of
Wimbledon or London College of Fashion could not. It seemed that I had to have
completely made up my mind between design and construction, but I hadn’t; I
wanted to have both of the skills behind me. I was offered a place at AUCB and
I was delighted.
I arrived at university worried that my peers would outshine me and I
would be struggling my way through. The first challenge of Fundamental Studies
was pattern drafting - something that honestly I would still struggle with! I
enjoyed learning the construction techniques - I have always had a natural aptitude
for sewing and my results showed this; receiving a 2:1. Fundamental Design was
also enjoyable, I enjoyed the creativity behind it but I feel I struggled with
it a little bit more than Construction - I’m not sure why. I still received a
high 2:1 so I had nothing to worry about.
My first real struggle of first year was Visual Narrative; Design. The
play we were given to design (The Glass Menagerie; Williams, T) was
possibly the most uninteresting and uninspiring play I have ever read. Even now
with the benefit of hindsight I still don’t know how I would design it
differently. I struggled with finding inspiration and concepts for the
characters and the set but I was happy with the end result. During this time I
lost my way a bit, doubting myself and my abilities. I received a telling off
from Claire Collins after I submitted my work as I did not attached fabric
samples to my designs, reducing what would have been a 1st to a
pass. It was disappointing but I honestly thought my work was not good enough to
pass!
The last unit was Visual Narrative; Construction, making costumes from
Claire Collins’ designs which I was looking forward to. The interpreting
process was interesting, and I found myself being able to use my textile skills
in recreating the design of the 16th Century sleeved bodice. I
really pushed myself with this project, working long hours at university and
making sure it was completed. I think I had the most unreliable actress who
would never show up for fittings. In the end my costume was one of the ones
featured in the final show on a different actress, which I was glad about! I
got a good mark for this costume, a high 2:1.
It was then time to decide on a pathway. On one hand I enjoyed
construction and it was where I got the better marks, but on the other I still
felt the need to be creative and choose design. I finally chose construction;
feeling that the skills I would learn would be more beneficial to me in the
industry.
After two weeks of construction I made the switch back to Design,
especially as I’d been gate crashing their workshops. I was confident with my
decision and enjoyed Defining Practise; learning how to use Sketch Up,
Illustrator and further our Photoshop skills. I enjoyed life drawing, having
not done it since the previous year. I felt unchallenged by DP, but enjoyed
learning new skills.
The Concepts in Context unit was the lowest grade I had received on a
unit whilst at AUCB. The text itself; Candide, was a very enjoyable text
to design for, and working with a Director was a great opportunity to help
bounce ideas off with. The problem was that Gareth would encourage us to run
with wild ideas, but I constantly worked towards the budget and always thinking
what would actually be marketable as a light opera. In the end this meant that
the result was a bit lacking in focus in respects to a “context”. I was
disappointed with my result of 58%. After I spoke through my work with Adele,
and my feedback was amended to be more constructive I was happier, but still
disappointed that my hard work had not paid off.
I decided for Self Directed Project that I would avoid design and I
opted for something else I wanted to try; Supervising. I applied to be a
supervisor for the first year’s Construction unit. I had never supervised
before, and I realised what a good opportunity it was going to be, working with
Frances Tempest to realise her designs with the level 4 students.
Camilla, the other supervisor, and I struggled with the workload,
especially as we were unsure what we were supposed to be doing. When we
realised our strengths within each other we were more efficient; Camilla
focussed on the making side whilst I concentrated on the budgeting, monetary
and organisational side. We pulled ourselves together and the photo shoot and
the filming were great successes. I was proud of our achievements and received
a lot of praise from Frances and Gareth alike.
It was hard work and whilst Camilla says she will never supervise again,
I found the experience invaluable and have since often found myself drawing on
that experience with other projects, especially in regards to organising other
people.
I scraped a 2:1 for my second year, but only just - 61%. I feel it was
fair, and I think the low marks made me determined to do better in my third and
final year. Shortly after finishing second year I completed a short placement
at the National Theatre with the Digital Drawing and Design Office that Bunny
had set me up with. It was here that I first experienced the world of AutoCAD
and digital technical drawings. In these four days I learned the basics of
AutoCAD and did a few “simple” tasks for the other draughtsman in the office.
It was this placement that set the ball rolling for my level 6 choices.
I felt that pursuing the technical drawing side of theatre production I
would make me a lot more employable as a Design Assistant. Between Will,
Rebecca and myself we created a role for Specialist Practice - a role that had
never before been done. I was to be the “Technical Supervisor”, drawing up each
of the three productions to be put on during the Autumn Term and also building
the sets. This was the term in which I felt I really got the most out of
university - especially with the help of visiting Set Builder Richard McCabe. I
increased my knowledge of technical drawing and construction techniques and
realised that this is what I was good at.
Working on In Extremis was hard work, but great fun at the same
time; a huge learning curve with such an imaginative and work-heavy set design
by Rhiannon Price. It was a challenging ground plan to draught with all the
different components to the set but I am proud of my drawings and Richard and I
built from them effectively. The set build was the first time I have ever done
anything of that nature and I really enjoyed it. After In Extremis was The
Soldier’s Tale, which was technically simpler to build but more challenging
to draw up because of the shape of the false proscenium arch.
I really loved Specialist Practice. I threw myself into my work and
really enjoyed what I was learning. I felt like I had a place in the
productions and gained a lot of valuable experience. For EMP I felt I needed to
continue this role as there was more experience I could gain from working with
Richard on the AUCB productions.
My Extended Major Project changed many times over the course of the past
6 months; instead of two equally sized projects I have taken on several smaller
projects. Firstly, I was the set builder for Mother Courage and her Children;
I chose not do the technical drawings for this due to time constraints. I
produced the technical drawings for Road and organised purchasing and
materials. I also assistant Richard with building the set.
During the summer the CAD Pad is due to be refurbished and I created a
CAD layout of the computer suite to re-design it to improve its practicality.
After this short project I completed a five week work placement at SetSquare
Staging. This was important to my studies to see how my education translates to
industry. Several short units meant I always felt challenged and excited by
what I was doing.
Drawing up Road was the hardest challenge, especially as the
designer was so unsure of the details about her design. The segments of the
suspended road were fairly straightforward to draw but creating the plans and
elevations was the difficult thing because of the way it was designed. I sought
advice from Will, and was able to produce drawings to the best of my ability
that were, according to John, still not good enough. Even during the build for Road,
I asked Richard to check over the drawings and he told me they were fine, and
we could confidently build from them. Then John came along and completely
pulled them apart, even though he wasn’t working from them. Even during the get
in John was consistently dismissing me even though it was I who knew the
answers to the questions he was asking, preferring to hear the answers from a
man.
The set looked fantastic. It looked exactly like the model box and I was
extremely proud of the work I had done. I was present at the tech week until it
became apparent that I really wasn’t needed.
The last section of my EMP was going out on placement to a commercial
set building company; SetSquare Staging. I spent five weeks moving around
departments working on a variety of different projects. I had a really good
time working there, even though the project managers and draughts men were so
busy that they didn’t have much time to take me through anything. I used the
skills I already have and made myself useful to the draughts men and the
carpenters.
Organising my PPP unit was great fun, I got really into the designing of
my “logo”; hand drawing something I felt was synonymous with my style, my
interests, my personality and what inspires me as a designer. I decided to have
two different kinds of business card; one saying “Theatre Designer” and some
without a job title but pictorial examples of my work. I think my logo works
really nicely on my business cards, and ties in nicely with having it on my CV
and also my Portfolio cover page.
My CV is very plain, with little information on it other than my
previous experience. I chose to divide my experiences up into “AUCB
Productions” and “Employment History”, because when I tried having them merged
together it didn’t make much sense and almost brought down the importance of
some of my job roles. On the advice of Michael Vale I didn’t segregate the
roles I was paid for and the roles I wasn’t because I still feel that the
experience gained says more than whether or not remuneration incurred.
I had my mock interview with Claire Collins on 3rd May where
I had to present my portfolio. I was incredibly nervous, but glad I had Claire
to present to. After going through my work I was offered the proverbial
vacancy! Claire was impressed with my presentation, as were my peers. The
things I needed to change were; putting the designers’ names in on
collaborations, remembering to work towards a double page layout and her main
criticism was that my portfolio, although well-presented and well laid out,
lacked “balls”. I needed to tie in the branding of my logo more into the
presentation of my portfolio, possibly using a punchier font along the “circus”
theme.
In despite of my mock interview going well I am still nervous about
leaving university as I still don’t know what area I want to do. I’m more tied
to the theatre, which is why I put ‘Theatre Designer’ on my business cards, but
I’m still open to working in any field that is offered to me. I don’t feel I am
skilled enough to work as a draughtsman unless I find a company that is willing
to train me in all aspects; drawing, building etc.
I entered university wanting to be a dressmaker and I feel I am leaving
university a different person; someone who is ready to take on any challenge and
to work hard until it is completed to the best of my ability. I feel I am a
well skilled and well-rounded individual ready to take on the world.
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