Careers in the arts resource

Introduction

Getting a job in theatre can seem like a ridiculously impossible dream. There may be nobody to ask advice from, and no obvious starting point from which to gather information. If you don’t know someone who works in theatre – how do you start to find out about what you should do? However, getting work in theatre can be easier than it first seems; you just need to have a bit of background information and be very determined. There is in fact a vast range of jobs available, many of them very secure. No matter what your skills, there is in all probability a job that you could do and enjoy in the theatre - whether you are interested in performing, administrating, marketing, fundraising, accounting, writing, carpentry, clothes-making, designing (as a costume or set-designer), journalism, audience-development, singing, playing an instrument, composing, translating, producing, hairdressing, teaching or being a photographer.

With the help of Media Lab, we have put together an online resource that goes some way to answering these questions. Media Lab is a project led by the Young Vic Young People’s Council, for young people by young people. Through digital media, Media Lab explore and record what the opportunities are for young people at the Young Vic and within the creative industries. This resource cannot provide a foolproof way of getting a job in theatre, but hopefully, it will help people to find out where they can go to get their questions answered.

If you have the passion (and passion is needed in the face of long hours and, by and large, a modest salary), then there is a role for you. Theatre is about the most inclusive and communal environment that you can work in.