LSBU alumna Emily Denton discusses joining a theatre company
Hear from LSBU alumna Emily Denton on balancing acting work alongside backstage production.
Where are you from and what course did you choose to study?
I grew up in Northampton, which is quite quiet and I always wanted to go to a city to study and realised in sixth form that I wanted to go to London – like desperately, really desperately. I was on the ABA honours drama and applied theatre course, which was merged with another theatre course to get the best of both worlds.
I applied to a few places and then decided to go to my auditions and open days and decide there. I went to the audition for the course and really loved the lecturer and what they were talking about, and we got to do a work experience placement as well in second year, so that made me decide I was going to go here.
Learning from the best
Because it’s a small course, I had a consistent lecturer and we had quite a lot of freelancers like producers and directors come in, which was really interesting and means you get to network with these people – I know people on my course who have then gone on to work with them.
From work experience placement to a job
I did my placement at a theatre centre and got a job out of that placement, so I worked there for my entire third year while studying. They were very helpful, a small team and so lovely and really got me involved in everything. They offered me a job when I left uni but by then they had moved out of London; but it formed the basis of my CV and the placement gave me the opportunity to show why I should be hired and make a massive positive impression.
Next steps
I'm an administrator for a theatre company, which means I book travel, flights, and accommodation for musicians and singers around the world. I organise rehearsal venues, I do payroll, I do social media – I do a bit of everything, basically.
I didn’t just want to solely act – I knew I wanted to do backstage stuff, whether that was teaching, the technical stage and writing, or more planning. I’m a really organised person, which helps a lot with a theatre company. I want to be a producer, and for that you need the experience of budgeting and planning and running things, so this was a great next step for me.
As long as you've got the creativity and the passion for it, I think it works well either way. It’s all transferable, you can bring these skills into anything.
Going on tour
I'm sort of like an assistant tour manager; it's a bit like being a runner. I’ve been on a few now and it’s really exciting, it’s a good experience. We’re going to Asia in October, so I'm looking forward to that.
Berlin was great, and Versailles was amazing as we were performing in the in the Château de Versailles.
I enjoy the calm after the storm that was trying to organise it, and knowing that you're doing something that makes an impact. Everything I do on a day-to-day basis is helping someone else, whether that's booking a flight or booking a hotel, it's helping them to do what they're passionate about.
It's lovely when you're sat there in an audience watching it knowing you’re the one that's helped organise this and get everyone here.
Part of the LSBU family
I performed with some other LSBU Alumni at Wandsworth Fringe in June. We were rehearsing once a week, and because we have alumni passes the university let us use their theatre spaces that we originally rehearsed in for free – rehearsal spaces are so expensive and we were paying for the venue at Fringe as well, so it’s been a really massive help.
What advice do you have for LSBU students?
Throw yourself into everything: every opportunity, every show, every talk, everything a lecturer recommends to you, you should go. I didn't know what I wanted to do, I just wanted to be backstage, so I went to my lecturer and said I just wanted to try everything. How do I try everything?
I did a placement at the National Theatre and was stage crew for a while. My lecturer said go for it and see what you think of it. I also did an assistant stage manager placement at Regents Park Open Air Theatre and did 101 Dalmations.
Just get involved and go for it. Don't hold yourself back, you just need to talk to people.