Wed 10 April 2019
INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME WITH UNIVERSITY OF YORK IS PROVING A REAL SUCCESS IN DISCOVERING NEW TALENT
In early 2017, Trafalgar Entertainment launched an internship programme with The Department of Theatre, Film and Television at the University of York with the aim to help develop emerging theatre talent enter the industry. This is a longstanding goal of Dame Rosemary Squire and Sir Howard Panter – they established a similar internship at ATG alongside Greg Dyke, who was the Chancellor of the University at that time and now sits on our board.
The University hosts a unique Undergraduate BA Theatre course which encapsulates three strands of Theatre practices; Writing, Directing and Performance with opportunities to develop practical backstage and production based experiences not only in theatre but also within Film and Television. Trafalgar Entertainment are excited to announce the increased salary of the internship to London Living Wage. This is a major sign for the industry that entry level jobs need to be better paid to allow applicants from all backgrounds the same opportunities.
The current internship programme constitutes two six month paid placements based at Trafalgar Entertainment’s Strand office situated in the heart of the West End, with placements starting in July and January. Interestingly, the team at Trafalgar Entertainment is already made up of five York graduates, four of whom have come from the Theatre: Writing, Directing and Performance course and have had internships with either ATG or Trafalgar Entertainment.
Elizabeth Sturt, a graduate of the Theatre course, who did her internship when York partnered with ATG, set up the current scheme and currently works as the Development and Programming Coordinator, alongside Tom Giles who also studied the same course and completed his internship with ATG is our Finance Analyst. Will Grace, our Production Assistant, studied Politics at York but had an active engagement within the theatre societies that the University offers; and Amelia Schiller is one of our success stories from the current scheme who now works in the role of Office Coordinator for the company, managing our internship programme and work experience placements. Speaking of her internship experience, Amelia says, “It allowed me to develop and gain transferable skills that I feel have held me in an excellent position for future opportunities within the industry. I would recommend working at Trafalgar Entertainment to anyone interested in Theatre and the Arts.”
This internship has a 100% success rate with all past interns currently successfully working within the industry. These include Sekee Karim, Nicola Moss and Maisie Pearson.
Sekee Karim is currently working at the Manchester Exchange in the role of Children and Young People Coordinator. She said, “The internship has exceeded my expectations. It is more than just making tea and coffee – right from the first day I was given real tasks to do which is great because I feel like I am making contributions to the company and I am learning so much. I was told on my first day ‘no question is a stupid question’ and feeling comfortable to ask as many questions as I want has definitely helped me to understand more about the industry.”
Nicola Moss is currently working as a Production Assistant for Nick Grace Management on their upcoming US show Apollo 11. Nicola said, “My internship with Trafalgar Entertainment was amazing at giving me the foundations for a career in theatre producing. Mentored by a really fantastic (not being bribed to say this!) production team I gained all sorts of skills from budget management to press night party planning! Plus, you’re greeting everyone who enters the office and sometimes get to have a quick chat with a famous face – ticked a few off the bucket list during my six month internship.”
Maisie Pearson is about to start a role as Development and Communications Assistant at York Theatre Royal. She said, “I started my internship at Trafalgar Entertainment hoping to learn more about commercial theatre. But I am leaving with vastly more. I am leaving the internship with a job in theatre development, which I believe is a result of my time here at Trafalgar Entertainment. I can’t speak highly enough of the experience you attain during this internship.”
Applications are currently open for the next two internships and we are looking forward to reading through the applicants to find the next possible producing talent from the University.