Apprentices land dream theatre roles in Birmingham

Laura Gilbert and Tegan Payne are on 18-month long apprenticeships which is seeing them work as tech swings on the theatre’s current pantomime Peter Pan, which stars Birmingham TV star Alison Hammond.

They secured the roles after completing a three month Creative Venue Technician Bootcamp training course at Solihull College & University Centre.

The bootcamps, funded by West Midlands Combined Authority, were co-designed with the Hippodrome to give young people the skills they need to embark on careers in the creative industries.

And their work been recognised and praised by Alison and co-star Matt Slack, as well as West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker.

Tegan, aged 20, said: “I’m a tech swing, which basically means I’ve been shadowing the technical departments and getting to know what they do in the show.

“If they go off sick, I am sick cover which I have been doing on this show. I can’t quite believe to be honest.

“At the beginning of the run I was shadowing Jack who does the pyro and I was like ‘there is no way I would be allowed to do this’ but I have been and its blown my mind. It has been really good fun.

“I’ve always loved theatre. I was originally looking to get into costume and make up but I saw the bootcamp so I applied and got on to that. We did a lot about sound, lighting and stage management.

“The stars are part of the team. Backstage everyone is just working together to put a show on.

“There are so many things I can be doing. This apprenticeship is 18 months so I’ll see where it takes me. I coudn’t ask for a better starting point.”

And 25-year-old Laura said: “I’ve always had an interest in live events so working with Alison and the cast of Peter Pan has been an incredibly fun experience.

“As one of the tech swings on the panto, I’ve been able to learn from the Hippodrome technicians across all departments, including electrics, stage and scenery movements.

“The bootcamp prepared me for my apprenticeship by developing my technical skills in a range of areas, as well as allowing me to network with industry professionals.

“This gave me the confidence to progress in my career by taking up the

apprenticeship opportunity at the Hippodrome.

“I’ve been able to combine my love of creativity into a technical role and I can’t wait to see what the apprenticeship brings next.”

Mr Parker said: “The bootcamps are aligned to the needs of sectors and businesses.

“So in this case, the relationship the college has with the Hippodrome was key to both designing the course so it met the needs of the theatre but also key to ensuring in this case the two young apprentices on the course at Solihull College had opportunities here.

“They’re doing fantastically well and learning lots. Also, they are part of an important team. Productions such as this are a team effort and everyone has an important role but beyond that they’re really enjoying it.

“I just want to make sure we invest as much as we can in young people giving them access to the skills they need that will get them really well paid jobs across sectors that are so important to our regional economy.”