We sat down with Elliot Theobalds, an alumni of our Production Arts programme, to find out all about his time in the group, his experiences and opportunities at Mayflower, and what his plans are now.
Tell us about what sparked your interest in production
My Dad was a DJ and when I was younger, I used to follow in his footsteps by DJing at my school leavers’ party and some local church events. It was great fun and led me on to working backstage on school productions helping with sound in Year 8. I have always been fascinated with how things work and behind the scenes of theatre and events. I have been to a lot of theatre shows and cinema screenings, but often find my gaze drifting towards the lights, projector or sound equipment.
How did you explore your interest through education?
Before leaving school, I went to two taster days at City College where they run a Production Arts course. I knew this was the pathway for me and knowing that there was a course that aligned with my passion inspired and motivated me to complete my GCSEs. The course ran for two years and allowed me to obtain a Level 3 extended diploma qualification in production.
You have been a known face to Mayflower for some time and your passion for production and the arts is infectious, tell us about how you started working with us
Through Instagram, I had heard that Mayflower was looking for young people to help with the behind-the-scenes technical work required to stage their 2022 Summer Youth Production, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. There I did a number of backstage roles and it was so exciting to work in the South’s largest theatre on such a large-scale production. As such, I came back to work on the Christmas Youth Production of Alice in Wonderland at MAST Mayflower Studios and the 2023 Christmas Youth Production of A Christmas Carol where I was employed as work experience for the duration. This gave me the opportunity to explore my love of sound, lighting and stage management and to use the knowledge I had learned at college and apply it to real-life scenarios.
Since then, I am now a casual technician at MAST Mayflower Studios and am working on this year’s Summer Youth Production of Bugsy Malone at Mayflower Theatre.
You are also a participant of our Production Arts workshop course at Mayflower. How have you found that?
It’s fantastic! It has really helped to develop my knowledge and has exposed to me to some very unique opportunities. At the beginning of the course, we were given time to get to know each other and I have made friends that I am sure I will continue to see throughout my career in various roles. After that, we were invited to workshops with industry professionals who told us about their careers and the tips they had to succeed in the industry. The technical teams at both Mayflower venues showed us first hand how to operate some of the production elements including how to patch radio microphones, how to mix sound and lighting and how to be a good stage manager.
We’ve been given real projects to work on too including the Youth Theatre’s ‘A Chorus Line’ and NT Connections. On these, I got to work with the composer directly to understand their aspirations for the show and help make them a reality through the positioning of speakers, sound mixing of reverbs and levels, and preparing sound effects to make sure the production was heard just as the composer had intended.
What are your career aspirations and goals?
I have been really fortunate to take part in workshops, courses and opportunities with some West End shows including & Juliet, which is my favourite musical, and Moulin Rouge. I was also one of the 11 shortlisted out of 300 applications for Disney Theatrical Group’s apprenticeship scheme, which whilst I didn’t get it, I’m still very proud of, and I know that all my extracurricular work helped me to get that far.
In future, I really want to work on professional theatre productions; in the West End, touring the UK and internationally. I love to travel and see different locations so doing my passion of production whilst getting to see new places really excites me.
What advice would you give to anyone else, like you, who has a keen interest in production, sound, lighting, design or stage management?
I would definitely advise anyone locally in Southampton to take a look at the opportunities that Mayflower provides for young people to get involved with theatre and the arts – there are so many. But beyond that, I would say ‘don’t be afraid’! I have been quite relentless in emailing various organisations looking for opportunities, and whilst I’m not always successful, the fact that I have put myself out there has seen me get some really exciting opportunities I would not otherwise have benefited from.
There is a shortage of technical staff in the theatre industry at the moment, so now is a really good time to embark on your career if you’ve ever considered it.
