A taste of working in the Creative Arts and Media sector...
Newham Borough Wide Course student in Creative & Media, Geoffrey MacCarthy (
St.Bonaventure’s), tells us about his work experience placement at Newham’s local arts centre, Stratford Circus.
MIXED FEELINGS
At first, coming to Stratford Circus gave me mixed feelings; I felt nervous because I knew that I would be out of my comfort zone (my school) and that I would be working with people I hadn’t met before. Although this had me a bit shaken, it made me more interested and enthusiastic because I wanted to experience, and try something new. Having the chance to work in Stratford Circus for 10 days helped me meet wonderful people and helped me to see what roles I would be interested in within the creative and media sector and also helped me experience the working world.
GETTING STUCK IN
Expecting the first task to be easy and straight forward; I was shocked at the level of belief that my supervisor had in me. My first task, was for me to phone primary schools and give them information about a show. This required me to keep calm and build on my communication skills. Other tasks included developing a pitch as a drama company, using creativity and imagination, as to why I would like to host a show at Stratford Circus, which was a challenge.
Engaging with the public is part of the great feeling of working at Stratford Circus. Doing jobs such as ushering at three different shows and observing the elderly ‘Leap of Faith’ dance class was great fun. These tasks test out your team working and communication skills and are a wonderful opportunity to see different activities and roles in Stratford Circus.
LEARNING THE ROPES
Learning the technical aspects to running an arts centre like Stratford Circus, was essential in my understanding of media industries. During work with the front of house staff, I was able to go beneath Circus 3, a drama studio, and see where things such as lighting are controlled. I got the chance to learn how seating in the pit area is broken down and where it is stored. Also, learning how to set up rooms for events helped me understand who is in charge of different areas of the stage and how areas are set up for different types of events.
As a whole, Stratford Circus was a great and new experience which helped me to see:
l The different job roles in media industries. l How media industries and large art centres are run. l How shows are set-up.
l The friendly hard working staff members who make Stratford circus what it is.
OUTSTANDING EXPERIENCE
My work placement at Stratford Circus was an outstanding experience. Every day there is a challenging piece of work to do. Every member of staff is friendly. It is a great learning experience and I suggest anyone who does work experience to get involved in your placement and ask questions, to get the most out of your time!
To find out more about work experience and other opportunities available to you, visit the Newham Education Business Partnership (NEBP) website
www.nebp.org.uk or speak to a careers adviser or your school head of year.
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Find out more about various careers and jobs at Next Step
www.directgov.uk/nextstep
Students on the Newham Borough-Wide Creative and Media course created this fantastic ‘London’s River’ mosaic which is on show at Stratford Circus.
The members of staff at Stratford Circus are kind, friendly and welcoming; always wanting to help others with any problems or enquiries.
www.stratford-circus.com
Work experience is practical and exciting. The hands on experience of work helps students to understand that this opportunity is realistic and gives a proper insight into what the working world is like.
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