By Arne Sjostedt
In a unique opportunity for Canberra’s future theatre technicians to gain real-world industry experience, the Canberra Theatre Centre and CIT recently launched the second round of their Certificate III in Live Production and Services.
With investment from the ACT Government, local Minister for the Arts and Cultural Events Gordon Ramsey said that the course will provide high-quality affordable entrance into professional work in this aspect of the theatre industry.
Providing a hands-on approach to live production services, Minister Ramsey said that the course is a way of being able to develop the creative industries and build the skills of people who are then able to work in a range Canberra’s theatre and other cultural venues.
Celebrating the graduation of the first nine people to have completed the training, Minister Ramsey together with the Canberra Theatre reached out for expressions of interest from people who would like to form part of the next group of students to go through the program.
“It is important for us to build these skills. What we’ve seen is a really significant growth in the people coming to theatre,” Minister Ramsey said. What this has done is create a gap in the skills needed to fill the production roles that are developed through this course.
“As we’ve developed this course, we are now building that capacity for people in the ACT to be able support our growing theatre and creative industries, to be able to support the ongoing work that happens in schools and in educational settings, and also to be able to support a range of venues that need these skills,’ he said.
Adam Salter, a local actor and teacher at Gungahlin College, is one of the nine theatre professionals to have graduated from the first round of the course. Reflecting on his experience, Salter said that the experience and knowledge he gained has helped his teaching practice and introduced him to important industry contacts.
“As a professional learning and networking opportunity it really gave me a lot of great chances to see the backstage experience here at one of the venues in the ACT, and communicate with a variety of staff here at Canberra Theatre Centre, who are all very skilled in their various areas,” he said.
Taking approximately one year of part-time study, as a part of the course, Salter had the opportunity to work on a number of backstage bump-ins for productions, and says that the things he learned about communication, about the allocation of roles, and the required technical understanding to perform them has been important experience he has been able to take back to the school environment.
The course also provides students with valuable soft skills, like the ability to work as a team and communicate effectively while working under pressure. “It helps the way people can problem-solve,” Minister Ramsey said. “It helps the way that people are able to think outside the box, in terms of other skills as well. So, it’s not only for our theatre, for our creative industries, for our range of different venues, it is also for our people’s personal development.”
Students are invited to register their interest now. For details visit cit.edu.au.