Work Experience At The Bolton Octagon

I have just finished my work experience here at the octagon and it has been such an incredible experience. I have learnt so much about the workplace and theatre. In this blog I will take you through my 5 days at the Octagon!

Day 1- So I was very nervous for my work experience but as soon as Alex came down to meet me and started chatting away about musicals, I was fine. I also met Yaris who is also doing work experience here. Alex introduced us to all the staff members who were all very friendly. I had a look through my work experience booklet that had a schedule of the week in. I was so excited for all the meetings and activities he had organised. After the induction it was lunch time. After lunch we went to the Bolton Museum to write a review about it and think about if a play could be staged here and if so what it would be. It was such a cool experience working in the office whilst overhearing casting choices, new production choices and design choices!

Day 2- After rushing of the train to Bolton I arrived at the Wellsprings offices. I finished off my Review and had a very interesting meeting with Rachel to talk about marketing and social media. She set us a task to create a post for their new musical “Seagulls” on all different platforms targeted at different audiences. We also attended a marketing meeting about the plans for the week and the events to help build awareness. After lunch we headed to the market place shopping centre to work at the Box Office and Café. I have always wanted to work in a box office because I like browsing around ticket websites so being on the other side of it was really fun. I had an hour in the Box Office and an hour in the Café. I really liked interacting with the customers and learning how a Café works.

Day 3- I had a meeting with the production administrator Liv about the different job roles in theatre and this was very informative. I learnt about the milestones of a production from the idea to the Press night. Then I was asked to create a props list for “Seagulls”. The props list is very in depth and takes quite a long time. In the afternoon I worked through the booklet.

Day 4- We started off the day with a chat with Keith who does all the financing. I didn’t realise how complex his job was because there are huge bills in the theatre and there are loads of different elements to it. Without Keith’s role nothing would happen. We then went to the Bolton museum again to brainstorm more about a production for the different groups at the octagon. After this we had a meeting with the facilitator Joe about how our ideas could happen.

Day 5- It is the last day of work experience and I am very sad to leave. Today I wrote some scripts up to help Joe. After this I started work on my Skill share for my Bronze Arts Award. I am presenting what I have learnt this week for it. After lunch it was Rachel’s(Marketing) leaving party and everyone had pasties and a tray bake. This was a nice way to end the week. I have had such an amazing experience at the Octagon and it has given me a huge insight into what the industry is like. Alex and everyone who I met was so welcoming and nice and the whole office had a really nice atmosphere. If you ever have change to do work experience at the Bolton Octagon I would highly recommend it. It is the friendliest theatre environment I have been in.

Thanks for reading! Have you been to a theatre for work experience? Feel free to comment below or message me on Instagram @unofficicaltheatre

Eugene