How will technical theatre training change post-pandemic?

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Wimbledon College of Arts’ virtual theatre design course. Photo: Jonny Back/UAL

Although training during the pandemic has created challenges for teachers and students everywhere, this has been particularly true in technical theatre training, where, from costume to construction, hands-on work is often crucial.

Over the past year, drama school and university technical departments have channelled the same creativity and resourcefulness that might normally be deployed into realising even the wildest script and directorial visions into solutions that have not only enabled learning to continue through lockdown, but will continue to enhance the training experience in future.

When the first lockdown was announced, Guildhall School of Music and Drama had a number of events in pre-production.

“The immediate reaction was overwhelmingly: ‘What can we do to still realise these productions?’ ” says Andy Taylor, head of theatre technology and programme leader for the Video Design for Live Performance course. “Existing plans to integrate and embed previsualisation and virtual-reality technologies more deeply into our technical curriculums were brought forward.”

This led to a virtual opera double bill in June 2020, combining the filming and recording of singers and orchestral instrumentalists at home with the more innovative realisation of the proposed set, and blocking in a virtual, three-dimensional scan of Guildhall’s Silk Street theatre.

‘The virtual realisation of our production included aspects of the filming as it would appear if projected on to various aspects of the virtual set’ – Andy Taylor, Guildhall School of Music and Drama

“This used fully costumed and mobile human avatars to represent the performers on stage and was supported by our live-events team,” he explains. “Two versions of the production were created – the filmed version and the virtual realisation, which included aspects of the filming as it would appear if projected on to various aspects of the virtual set. From a music perspective, a full orchestral recording with a full opera cast was realised by each individual musician recording themselves in their own home (watching a pre-recorded conductor track). The score was then pieced together by production arts students. That was a significant achievement by all involved.”

Mountview’s technical students also rose to the lockdown challenge, according to head of production arts training Geraint Pughe. “We delivered virtual productions online, based on videos of a past production, allowing our stage management students to block a show, create a prompt copy, prop the show and then cue it in real time. Lighting students worked to create a lighting design and cue stack while sound students created a design and QLab workspace, both operated in real time to the video of the show. Students also took on production lighting and sound roles to cost and organise the kit.”

Some areas of technical training have adapted better to remote working than others. St Mary’s University head of drama Mark Griffin notes that costume was one of the more difficult areas to translate to the virtual world.

“It was impossible to carry out fittings and adjustments with the same degree of professional intent,” he says. “We found ways, but everything took longer and required some compromises. I very much hope we’ll be able to return to normal service in this important area next year.”

He says: “One-on-one tutorials have arguably worked better online than in person. They can be more focused and concise, which benefits both the student and the tutor. This means that at peak times of projects, there is the opportunity to connect quickly and more frequently in the digital realm, sometimes several times a day. This can be harder on campus when moving between different teaching and performance spaces.”

Recorded technical demonstrations have been an invaluable resource according to Kevin Freeman, Costume for Theatre and Screen course leader at Wimbledon College of Arts, University of the Arts London. He says: “They can be watched at the students’ leisure and save the technicians and tutors time, as they don’t have to repeat demonstrations. These can be supported (when not in lockdown) by face-to-face checks on quality and progress.”

RADA’s director of technical training Mel Purves adds: “Some of the interdepartmental project work we have explored over the past few weeks will be keeping their digital footprints. We’ve run a really successful collaboration between video, costume and design teams, which we’ll definitely be developing in the future.”

‘One-on-one tutorials have worked better online than in person’ – Peter Rice, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

Nicola Stammers, director of theatre arts programmes at Middlesex University, reports that the faculty has launched graduate microsites as another by-product of increasing online delivery. “This offers each of our graduates an online portfolio where they can showcase their work to industry professionals and employers,” she says.

“The pandemic has created a world in which touch is related to contamination and yet theatre is all about the senses,” says Lucy Algar, Theatre Design course leader at Wimbledon. “We have found that students not being able to visit locations or specific venues and see live theatre can affect their capacity to engage with basic knowledge about performance spaces – what a ‘fly bar’ is, for example. In response, we are developing new projects such as a collaboration with Edify, which should enable us to create VR theatre location visits in future.”

Despite ongoing industry uncertainties, the consensus from technical training departments is that the future for graduates remains bright.

“It’s a really exciting time to look at a technical degree,” says Griffin at St Mary’s. “For artists, lockdown brought lots of new possibilities, including a democratisation of the means of production. Developing skills that combine an advanced understanding of digital and technical capability while encouraging the confidence and imagination needed to pioneer new aesthetic designs will open up future opportunities. Technicians will be like great jazz musicians – fully cognisant of the forms and able to subvert them for emphasis and impact.”

For further details see course websites: Guildhall, Mountview, St Mary’s University, Central, Wimbledon College of Arts, RADA, Middlesex University