Download St Paul`s Girls` School Theatre Manager Required from January

St Paul’s Girls’ School
Theatre Manager
Required from January 2016
Salary circa £30,000
The School
St Paul’s Girls’ School is one of the country’s leading independent secondary
day schools for girls aged 11-18 and is a lively academic community with
excellent facilities for all subjects. There are approximately 740 pupils with a
thriving sixth form. Entry to the school is by competitive exam, held in
January, and there is heavy demand for each place. Public exam results are
consistently outstanding and about half of all students every year move on
to Oxford and Cambridge. Increasing numbers also go on to higher education
at Ivy League colleges in the United States. Aspirations and achievements in
many areas go well beyond what one would normally expect from a school,
making St Paul’s a very exciting and stimulating place in which to work.
Full details of the school, including our curriculum and public exam results,
are available on our website at http://www.spgs.org
The Department
Although the academic drama department is relatively 'young' at St Paul's
Girls' School with the first Director of Drama being appointed in 2007, it has
rapidly expanded with a second full-time teacher joining in 2008 and a third
member of the department in 2009. The department expanded again in 2012
with the appointment of a full-time theatre manager. The department now
comprises of three full time teachers, one part time teacher, the theatre
manager, six LAMDA teachers and a department administrator. In the last
five years both GCSE and A Level Theatre Studies have been introduced to
the school, with our fourth A2 group being examined this summer.
Facilities
The department benefits from the professional and recently modernised 168
seat Celia Johnson Theatre as well as a new smaller and more intimate drama
studio. Staff and students are able to make regular and imaginative use of
both spaces, whilst the theatre and costume workshops also present exciting
opportunities for girls to extend their understanding of the possibilities of
theatre. Promenade performances and other events have also been staged in
the historic great hall which offers yet another atmospheric venue for live
theatre.
Curriculum
The introduction of Drama and Theatre Studies has been met with great
enthusiasm, with two School Directed Course groups at year 10 and 11 and
growing demand at AS and A2. Our recent results have been outstanding
with 96% A/A* at GCSE and 100% A* at A2. From Year 7 to Year 9, girls have
a double drama lesson once a week as part of their timetable. The KS3
curriculum moves from the origins of theatre to contemporary practice over
the three years to give girls an overview of how theatre has developed and
changed over the centuries and to give the girls an understanding of the
different functions of theatre – beyond pure entertainment. Each year group
will study one practitioner, one genre and one full play text. Study at KS3
includes: Greek Theatre, Devising,
by Oscar
Wilde,
by Arthur Miller,
by Caryl Churchill, the
practitioners Bertolt Brecht and Augusto Boal, and contemporary theatre
companies including Frantic Assembly and DV8 physical theatre.
September 2013 marked a significant development for the drama
department with the launch of the new School Directed Course in Drama and
Theatre Studies at KS4, in cohesion with the other arts subjects at St Paul's
Girls' School. Whilst the School Directed Course retains some features of the
old GCSE, its content provides students with a far greater breadth of
knowledge of theatre and drama than is provided by existing providers,
including the study of three substantial theatrical practitioners and four
significant play texts.
Co-curricular
Beyond the curriculum there is a long standing tradition of regular, high
quality dramatic work at the school. Recent productions have included
classical works such as
and
,
contemporary texts including Complicité's
and Martin Crimp's
as well as large scale musicals:
and
which have involved large casts and ambitious staging. With at
least fifteen productions taking place each year, some directed by staff and
many by students, we hope to ensure that all girls will have an opportunity
to take to the stage at least once during their time at the school. Many girls
see drama as central to their school lives and go on to make the theatre their
career: actresses Natasha Richardson and Rachel Weisz are Old Paulinas, as is
the director Thea Sharrock, who returned to St Paul's to workshop a
production of
. Many girls also develop an interest in the
technical sides of theatre and we aim to ensure that all those girls wishing to
develop directorial skills are encouraged and trained to do so.
The co-curricular programme is extensive; we produce between 15 and 20
productions a year, with a focus on both wide participation and the
development of individual talents. At Key Stage 3 a number of activities are
available to all and we have found that over 50% of the year group participate
in Year 7 Drama Club and the production created through it. Many of the
girls then continue to take part in Year 8 Drama Club and, this year 50% of
Year 9 took part in our Directors' Forum project. All girls are also able to
audition for the school play or musical which takes place in the autumn
term.
In addition to inclusive activities we also run a number of projects designed
to develop particular skills. These include: Costume Club, Technical Theatre
Club, the Commedia dell' Arte troupe and we participate in the National
Theatre’s New Views programme. Throughout the school, girls are
encouraged to apply to direct studio performances; recent productions have
included
and a devised production
inspired by Virginia Woolf's
and the work of Peter Brook. The
Colet play, traditionally directed and produced entirely by girls in the Year
12, takes place during the spring term.
LAMDA lessons are also delivered at lunch and after school by peripatetic
LAMDA teachers and the number of those who take part is expanding on an
annual basis; lessons are available to girls from Year 8 and above.
In addition to the extra-curricular opportunities provided in house, we also
run 'Theatre Society', arranging visits to a wide variety of theatrical events
(both performances and workshops), participating in projects run by the
National and Lyric theatre, aiming to ensure that girls are constantly being
exposed to new ideas which they can then apply to their own creative work.
The Post
The Theatre Manager’s role will be full time and will require a flexible
working structure to accommodate the peaks and troughs of performance
schedules.
A key feature of the role is the design and construction of the sets for
productions. We aim to produce shows of a professional standard. Recent
set designs have included a full scale shipping yard, a double decker bus and
a flooded tube station.
The Theatre Manager will work with the AV Manager and Music Technician in
supporting the technical aspects of all performance spaces in the school and
ensuring full cover for school events which require technical support.
The broad areas of responsibility will include:
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Constructing sets and sourcing and constructing props as required
Creating and managing show budgets and liaising with other members
of staff and freelancers regarding expenditure.
Managing the scenery, costumes, properties store and theatre
workshop
Operating, maintaining and developing the lighting and sound
equipment, training students in the use of these where appropriate
Managing the technical side of all productions including supervising
students
Managing the internal bookings of drama spaces and providing
technical support to other departments that may use the theatre
Guiding and advising students in the technical elements of their GCSE
and A level courses
Responsibility for maintaining health and safety standards
Ensure photographic records and video where appropriate is taken of
productions
Producing and providing technical support for trips to the Edinburgh
Festival and other external productions
Overseeing the use of the Theatre by external organisations
Ensure that appropriate publicity and front of house provision is in
place for productions
Being an active member of the drama department, working with staff
and students to open up the possibilities of theatre in performance
and liaising as necessary with other staff – music, ICT, caretaking,
maintenance, house keeping and catering as required
Working with the AV and Music Technical staff to ensure full technical
support for school events
This role description may be reviewed from time to time in consultation
with the role holder.
Candidate Profile
The successful candidate is likely to have the following qualifications,
knowledge and experience:
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Education to degree level, preferably in stage management or technical
theatre
Experience of working in professional theatre
Experience of working with students
The ability to design and construct sets
The ability to design and rig lighting
Experience of managing a budget
Experience of Qlab, Protools, ETC lighting desks
Excellent IT skills
Good administrative and organizational ability
The appetite to bring new ideas/skills to the department and school
The ability to work effectively in a team
The willingness to work weekends and evenings when required
The ambition to create highly imaginative, professional sets
The ability to stay calm under pressure
Energy, commitment, imagination and a sense of humour
Terms of employment
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This role is full time, 40 hours a week.
Considerable flexibility is required and, in particular, the successful
candidate will be expected to work on technical and performance
evenings
The successful candidate will also be expected to work for occasional
external performances, LAMDA examinations and other events at
weekends.
Salary will be according to experience and qualifications. Candidates
should state their current salary when applying
Annual leave, 25 days a year plus public holidays
Contributory pension scheme
Free lunches, tea and coffee
Free use of the school’s sports facilities
Application and interview procedures
Please submit applications using the form provided. In addition to a
covering letter addressed to the human resources office, we ask candidates
to provide a full curriculum vitae with details of qualifications and
experience, and the names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail
addresses of two professional referees, one of whom should be your most
recent employer.
Applications should be e-mailed to [email protected] by the closing date of
Monday 23 November 2015, noon.
We will acknowledge all applications and if you do not receive an
acknowledgement it is advised that you e-mail or telephone to confirm that
your application has been received. Candidates who have not heard further
from us within two weeks of the closing date may assume that the post has
been filled.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and overseas police checks
St Paul’s is a “registered body” under the Police Act 1997 because
employment here involves access to children under the age of 18. This post
will require an enhanced DBS check from the Disclosure and Barring Service
(formerly Criminal Records Bureau) before we can confirm an offer of
employment. Unless you are a member of the DBS Update Service you will
need to apply for a new disclosure, even if you already hold one. Former
members of staff who are not on the Update Service who re-join us also
require fresh disclosures unless less than three months have passed between
their leaving and their re-employment date. If you have lived or worked
abroad you will also need to provide appropriate paperwork, such as a police
certificate of good conduct, from the countries you have lived in.
Safeguarding guidelines
The post-holder’s responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the welfare
of children and young persons for whom s/he is responsible, or with whom
s/he comes into contact, will be to adhere to and ensure compliance with our
child protection policy statement at all times. If, in the course of carrying out
the duties of the post, the post-holder becomes aware of any actual or
potential risks to the safety or welfare of children at St Paul’s, s/he must
report any concerns to our safeguarding designated teacher or to the High
Mistress.
Closing date: Monday 23 November 2015
Interviews: Friday 27 November 2015
Contact details:
Mrs Francesca Ryder-Smith
Human Resources Department
St Paul’s Girls’ School
Brook Green
London W6 7BS
Tel: 020 7605 4875
[email protected]
www.spgs.org