"He came to the Secombe Theatre in Sutton and worked the lights on our Christmas show with the Action Replay Drama Group. Bloomin’ Arts had provided him with great training and he was now ready to step into the practical world and start developing a working career path in lighting design. Which is where SAVVY Theatre Company came in.
"Over the next few years we continued to give Dan opportunities to develop his skills and work with industry professionals. I remember our transfer to the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2013 (Dan’s first production with us for the National Theatre’s Connections Festival). I know the team there and they were (and are) brilliant at encouraging Dan to be his best.
"I remember saying to them that Dan needed prompting in order to respond to calls (when a stage manager calls a show, they wear headphones and give ‘standby’ calls – a lighting operator, also wearing headphones, must respond with a ‘standing by’). Up until then, Dan often needed a second prompt in order to respond. He doesn’t anymore. In fact, he often lets ME know that I’ve forgotten to respond or even give the standby call in the first place!
"One thing I am very conscious of avoiding at SAVVY is tokenism. Dan wants to be a lighting designer. He puts in the work, he comes to rehearsals and he works with us in a variety of professional environments. He has a different learning style but that in no way affects his ability to do the job.
Dan can run the lighting desk for a show. He now needs training in order to learn to programme the desk.
Dan can put a lighting design cue sheet together, he now needs training in order to fully understand the specific lighting options available at the theatre.
"I am not a lighting designer, I’m a director. My design aspirations go as far as ‘light us so you can see us’ – to which Dan often despairs at! We have launched this crowdfunding campaign in order to progress Dan’s training and stop his despairing at me!
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You can find more about SAVVY Theatre Company at SAVVY