Cambridge Arts Theatre

That's it! Slap a custard pie in my face and call me Twankey. I am hooked! 

My name is Emily Bowen, and I’m a 16 year old student from Cambridge who has now completed a week’s work experience at Cambridge Arts Theatre. For me, the attraction was in discovering how a regional theatre works – particularly backstage working with the lights and sound! I can now honestly say I have a better insight of how the industry works, from programming the shows to when they are performed on the stage. Here’s a quick look at what I’ve been up to this week:

It's time for the second in our A Day in the Life of... blog series, and we've jumped from the Box Office counter to our Maynard Bar as we chat with our Deputy Theatre Manager Isabel Tucker Brown.

Our Front of House department are responsible for our customers having the best possible experience when they visit the theatre to watch a show. From your pre-show cocktail, interval ice-cream to simply taking your seat in the auditorium, our hardworking FOH team are responsible for each performance running smoothly and everyone in the building. 

Welcome to our A Day in the Life of... blog series. Each post will focus on a different member of the Cambridge Arts Theatre team, who will hopefully give you a sense of working life at the Arts Theatre and a glimpse at what goes on before - and after - the curtain goes up! First up is Box Office...

The third and final of our A Day in the Life of... pantomime edition blog posts is with our Technical Assistant Harry Chell! Harry's main role for our pantomime is a flyman (he operates the numerous set pieces that need to be flown in and out of the stage by pulling ropes attached to each bar!). Each bar can hold up to a tonne of weight - so no mean feat! 

We've picked Harry's brain about panto-world, here's what he had to say... 

Describe your pantomime role in three words?

The second in our A Day in the Life of... blog series is with our pantomime Director Phil Clark! Phil has over 40 years of experience as a professional director and writer, and Aladdin marks his directorial debut at Cambridge Arts Theatre. We chatted with Phil to find out his typical working day in theatreland...

This week we sat down with our pantomime script-writer Al Morley, and picked his brain about all things panto in the first of our A Day in the Life of... blog series! Aladdin is Al's fifth pantomime script, and having worked as a permanent member of Arts Theatre staff for twelve years, it's safe to say he knows his stuff...

Describe your pantomime role in three words?

Hi. My name is Eddie, a 16 year old student and I have completed a week’s Work Experience at Cambridge Arts Theatre. I travelled all the way from Gloucestershire for the week, as I struggled to find a placement at a local theatre that offered such an extensive program. I wanted to experience behind-the-scenes of a theatre to gain a better insight into the industry, and that was certainly what I got! Here’s a brief overview of my week…