April Johnston (MA Collaborative Theatre Production & Design)

Biography

Specialist Area: Stage Manager and Sound Designer

What's been your highlight during your time at Guildhall?

As someone who has predominantly trained as an all-round theatre practitioner, I have enjoyed being in an environment that has allowed me to be flexible in my roles. I am grateful for the chance to gain experience in multiple different roles I am passionate about, instead of specialising in one department. This means that I have walked away with a wider range of new skills and knowledge than if it had gone differently.

What's been your highlight in the industry?

I’ve been lucky enough to work with Olivier award winning sound designers Ben and Max Ringham on a R&D for Auricle. Recently, I have spent time shadowing the first sound technician at the Royal Shakespeare Company on War of the Roses, Sarah Berryman. As well as the stage manager on The National Theatre’s production of The Father and the Assassin, Shane Thom.

What other passions and projects have you enjoyed exploring during your time at Guildhall?

I have enjoyed being given the opportunity to explore the skills I wanted to develop in a safe space. Being trusted to take on the role of sound designer in projects without much knowledge on the specifics of the role beforehand. This meant I was able to gain a large amount of on-the-job experience which allowed me to further my knowledge and skills quickly. In realising my love for sound design, the facilities at Guildhall have enabled me to be able to return to playing the piano for the first time in five years. This is a passion I was able to reignite during my time at Guildhall.

What's something you've learned that you feel will help you when you graduate?

How essential being a good collaborator is. My undergraduate degree instilled in me early on the importance of being a well-rounded theatre practitioner and this was expanded on during the MA. Through working on projects that were all completely devised by the cohort you are thrown into being more flexible within your work and role within the company. It has made me realise just how much I love the role of the DSM and the unrealised potential for creativity within the role. So much so that I wrote my research project surrounding the hidden skills needed to be a DSM and to what extent do they have creativity within their role.

What area are you most interested in working in after you graduate?

I am firstly a stage manager, but my preferred role is the DSM. I would eventually love to be able to DSM large scale theatre in the West End. As someone who can score read, I would like to gain more experience working on musicals. However, I am very aware that the west end is not the be all and end all of theatre in the UK, I am interested in touring productions of all sizes as well. The thing I enjoy the most about my job is that even though every showing of the same production should be identical, no two days are the same as it relies heavily on being adaptable to surroundings and the everchanging variables within the day to day run of a production.

On the other hand, I am also currently looking for sound technician jobs as I believe that there is a never-ending plethora of things to learn within a sound department. I would like to follow my passion for learning into further developing my skills towards the technical side of a sound department. As much as the technical side is just as important to the role of sound designer as the soundscapes, I love how quickly you can change an audience’s experience and how they with sound. Especially as a good sound design is one you do not realise is happening around you until you emerge from it.