In Conversation with BA Production Arts student, Artie Cook
In Conversation with BA Production Arts student, Artie Cook
Working across Stage Management and Costume, we caught up with Production Arts student Artie to talk through their experiences on moving to London from the South of England, what it is like to live in the City and how their recent Graduate Project allowed them to make costumes for a flying performer.
Why did you choose to study at Guildhall School? And why did you pick your degree pathway?
I found a love of stage management doing shows at my secondary school and sixth form, both on stage and behind the scenes. The managerial role sat nicely in my ability and my drama teacher introduced me to the concept of this as a degree, pointing me in Guildhall’s direction. I found a real passion when I took on the role of stage manager for the first time in year 10 doing the show Noises Off, which has become one of my favourite shows and one I hope to return to in a professional capacity in the future. Alongside this, I was beginning to work with a costume department for the first time and knew coming into Guildhall that this was something that I wanted to integrate into my studies. What really stood out to me about Guildhall on the Open Day was that I could adapt my journey throughout and tailor it to what I wanted to get out of it. This has stood out in my third year at the School - taking on both stage management roles and a costume supervisor role in the productions here.
Can you tell us what it is like studying in London? What are some highlights and benefits of living in the City? Do you have any tips for students thinking about moving here?
Studying in London as someone coming from a small town in the South of England was quite a juxtaposition and definitely took some adapting to. As many do, I lived in Sundial Court in my first year and had the benefit of being surrounded by others in their first year and also being extremely close to the School. This meant that I was able to get a year of learning my surroundings in London whilst also being able to bond with the people on my course and those on my pathway. This has extended through to my final year where I am now living in a house 30 minutes away from Guildhall, with four technical theatre students - this was something I could've never seen myself doing without the benefits of living in Sundial in my first year. I think that living in London has given me a confidence boost in both my personal life and my studies and allowed me to make industry contacts as the theatre connections here are incredible. I would suggest looking into Sundial Court for your first year at the School as it is accessible accommodation offering a great chance to socialise and be in a close proximity to the School, whilst also allowing you access to the whole of central London, just a tube journey away.
You have recently worked making costumes for a flying performance, can you tell us about the project?
Graduation projects are undertaken by all third year students and are six week slots to create whatever you want, learn new skills, or take on a show role. I knew I wanted to adapt costume into my project, so I decided to design and make some costumes from the show Ride the Cyclone. The character of Jane Doe wears two different pinafores unbeknownst to the audience; her normal school pinafore and one adapted to performer flying where she flies upside down and the skirt retains its structure and doesn’t fall down as she flies. I wanted to create both versions, and was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to fly my model in the trick dress to demonstrate it properly. I was given assistance from the costume tutors and also was able to receive help from a team of students working on automation to help me come into this new territory and programme some performer flying. I have successfully created both dresses and demonstrated the flying which was recorded for a later showcase, in which I also created a soundscape for the room with tracks from the show and an ambience to make my showcase immersive for all the audience.
What have you learnt from this experience so far?
I was learning all of these skills for the first time as I had never made a garment before, let alone something with enough structure to hold itself up. I learnt every step of this process for the first time, from sourcing fabric, to pattern making, to writing performer flying risk assessments, to scheduling flying sessions and running a technical rehearsal with a student team working with me. During this process I was also able to get in contact with the original costume designer for the off-Broadway production, which was a fantastic opportunity to talk about the original version of the dress. As this was all new skills for me, I was given lots of support from my supervisor, Rachel Young, and assistance from other costume tutors to learn these skills. I was able to make the second dress entirely independently which showed that I had indeed learnt a lot from the first part of my project.
What are you looking forward to next on your course?
During the first term of my final year, I undertook my graduation project as above, and also a Deputy Stage Manager role for a drama. Over the next term I will take on the role of Stage Manager for the first time, for our drama Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, followed by the play Comedy of Errors, by the Bard. I am very excited about this opportunity as I think that many skills from my graduation project will help me with this managerial role, particularly the scheduling side of my project.
Following that, in the final term I will spend the first four weeks in a professional work placement where I will head out into the industry in my chosen field. My final project at the School will be working as costume supervisor on Opera Makers, a compilation of scenes from new operas. I am excited to take on a Costume role at the School, particularly coming from a Stage Management background.
