Jobs Within the Performing Arts Industry

There are many different jobs available in the performing arts industry, such as: 

(Key: Bold = roles I am interested in, Italic = role linked to my career development plan) 

• Stage actor 
• Voice actor 
• Screen actor 
• Writer 
• Actor-musician 
• Sound engineer 
• Comedian/clown 
• Radio host 
• Director
• Producer
• Casting director 
• Background actor 
• Circus performer 
• Drama therapist 
• Stage manager 
• Choreographer 
• Foley artist 
• Composer 
• Community arts worker 
• Editor 
• Makeup artist 
• Costume designer 
• Lighting director 
• Stage hand 
• Orchestra musician 
• Talent scout 
• Session musician 
• Stunt double 
• Set designer 

A role that I would like to progress into is voice acting. I like voice acting as I believe it enables me to channel my creativity better than other forms of acting. 

I spoke to some of my classmates that want to go into voice acting, and discussed why we wanted to choose that as a career path. One of my classmates said that they enjoyed acting, but liked voice acting as it was less physically demanding than other forms of acting. 

Ways into the role include doing voice over work for plays or commercials, which could lead to larger roles in the industry

Name:

Hazel Holder

Current position:

Voice/dialect coach

How did they get into the role?

First experience was in "The Life and Times of comrade Fiasco" at the Gate Theatre in Notting Hill, then worked at the National Theatre on "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom". 

Worked in different genres 

Training/qualifications:

Masters of Voice Studies course. Trained by Barbara Houseman who inspired them. 

Previous career?

Performer for 20 years previously, then singing captain in "Death of the King's Horseman" 

Any significant advice: 

Get over your own judgment of your voice to be able to coach other people. Learn how your "instrument" works and persevere. 

Name:

Krupa Pattani 

Current position:

Screen actor 

How did they get into the role? 

Contacted London casting directors, then got an audition for "Citizen Khan" which opened a lot of doors for them in TV and film. 

Previous career?

Worked in theatre and television 

Any significant advice:

Be specific about your goals. Contact people and share your work, show an interest in theirs. Write to people and tell them you would like to work with them. 

The more you know yourself, the more power you have over your career. Stay trained in acting techniques and keep staying motivated. Share successes with people and celebrate theirs. Find a community. 

Stay in character when onset, and channel your humanity into your role. Imagine how they would react to things. Be aware of the camera and work with it to share your performance with it. Take direction in a professional way, even if you don't agree with it. 

Name: 

Mike Poon 

Current position: 

Sound technician at the Gielgud Theatre 

How did they get into the role? 

He first got into theatre when he was 18 and began worked front of house, and met the head of sound which eventually led to him asking for a job. He has worked on "War Horse" and "Lazarus: the David Bowie Musical". He has been on tour both nationally and internationally. 

Training/qualifications: 

Studied in London but unspecified qualifications

Previous career? 

Unspecified but was originally going to go into a more "normal" job such as finance due to pressure from family members. 

Any significant advice: 

Although sound design is seen as a technical role it is not purely technical - there is a lot of creativity involved. 

"Work hard and buy nice things and pay your rent and actually have a career"

Be enthusiastic, really listen and pay attention and don't take criticism too hard. 

If your school or area offers work experience opportunities, take them. Write to sound designers of shows you have seen and enjoyed. 

Name: 

Khadija Raza 

Current position: 

Theatre designer 

How did they get into the role? 

One of the four winners of the Linbury Prize, a competition for design, and later won the Stage Debut Award for Best Designer 

Designed the Hijabi Monologues at the Bush Theatre, Mixtape for the Royal Exchange Theatre (Manchester), Spun for the Arcola Theatre and Loki and Cassidy for the Almeida Theatre 

Often assists other designers doing model making, research or technical drawings 

Training/qualifications: 

Studied biology, chemistry, English literature and fine art at A-level 

Foundation course in Art & Design at The Working Man's College in Camden 

BA in Theatre Design at Central School of Speech and Drama  

Previous career? 

Originally applied to do a cours +e in Radiography 

Any significant advice:

Find the right people/projects to work with. 

If interested in backstage work + theatre design, go to an event called Theatrecraft, an event about all of the roles in backstage theatre and what they consist of. You will also be able to talk to lots of people who do those jobs for a living. 

Go to open days for universities. Go and see theatre as much as you can.