Key stage 4 pupils had the opportunity to visit the Mayflower to discover how the theater works and all the careers within it. There were so many aspects to how the place is run to make sure everything runs smoothly. We were introduced to the stage, sound, ropes and lighting. The crew who showed us their world of work. The pupils engaged in conversation asking questions about the types of work that is involved and got the chance to work on stations experimenting with sound and using keypads to set what lighting to use, colour mixing, position lights to do spotlights and so much more.
The second half of the careers event was all about the advertising and marketing for shows. The pupils got the opportunity to choose a social media platform to have a go at using the techniques that Mayflower team use to get the target audience in to buy tickets for productions that come to tour for short periods of times. We found out that the prices will vary between musicals and shows depending on the popularity and reviews from previous tours around the country. Ideas as a group came together to think of how we would promote the show ‘Everyone's talking about Jamie’
The other fact that the pupils were surprised about were that the Mayflower Marketing team will have the productions and advertising ready laid out the year before the dates. This happens because the whole team have to promote and gain attraction way before the date of the shows start.
The next work shop was in regards to different types of filming shots. The pupils had a go at reading a script and depicting what types of shot would be done. These different types of shots create effects to create affects to make the filming more exciting or to make. Alfie and Jaiden created storyboards for the scripts given.
The whole experience was excellent and the crew we spoke to were very welcoming and let us know how much this type of work can be very uplifting and a great place to learn the ropes.
