Hayden Gurney (Theatre Technology)

Biography

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

My highlight during my time at Guildhall has definitely been working on the Opera ‘Beginnings: New and Early Opera’ where I was working as the Technical Assistant. During this time, I got to work with an external freelancer who is currently working on the West End. He taught me so much about stage technology, such as counterweight flying and rigging. As seen below, we rigged a mother truss on chain hoists at an angle across the stage and auditorium, which allowed for some imaginative rigging ideas to fly scenery through the truss structure. 

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

A great project I became involved in was Guildhall’s CoLABorate project. In this instance, Guildhall’s musicians, composers, actors, PACE and Production Arts students collaborated on the musical ‘Between’ which was created by fellow students. On this huge project, my role was the Production Manager. My role involved organising, scheduling and budgeting a 15-piece orchestra, 2 actors and 24 Production Arts students in Guildhall’s largest performance venue, Silk Street Theatre. This project taught me about perseverance and determination to keep going when things get tough - especially with the Coronavirus restrictions at that time! I also learnt from this project that being kind and level-headed always goes a long way.

Visit Hayden's LinkedIn page

Examples of Work