City of Westminster College participated in a unique careers workshop at London’s Piccadilly Theatre, as part of its Colleges Week activities.

Designed to highlight theatre and performance opportunities in support and technical roles, Offstage Choices was a one-day workshop for schoolchildren. It was organised by the National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills – of which the College is a Founder College – and led by Ambassador Theatre Group.

Some 30 local schoolchildren, aged from 13 years took part in workshops, which showcased areas including lighting, stage management, front-of-house and marketing. The students were shown the ropes by the production crew for the hit West End show Grease.

One of the highlights of the day was a ‘Dragons’ Den’ exercise where students had the chance to pitch a commercial musical theatre idea to leading producer Richard Hardwick. Among the many inspired ideas was a musical about the stormy relationship between Jordan and Peter Andre!

After these hands-on opportunities, students participated in a Q&A session with the College’s Deputy Director of Faculty for Culture Media and Sport Lyndon Sly and Ambassador Theatre Group’s Head of Creative Learning Julia Potts.

Lyndon Sly says: “This was a great opportunity for students to go backstage at a major London theatre and see all the exciting career opportunities available. Here at the College we are privileged to have not only excellent facilities and training, but close proximity to the theatres of the West End. I’m proud to say that many of our students go on to have successful careers in key technical and support roles.

“As a Founder College of the National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills, we are working hard to strengthen links between training providers and creative employers – ensuring we continue to provide the very best training and supply career-ready employees for these industries.”

Wednesday, November 11, 2009