During my time at Contact, I’ve had the opportunity to work in several departments; Creative Development, Finance, Programming, Marketing and Development/ Fundraising. Amid this, I was able to learn multiple new skills as well as progress in my opinions. I chose this as my work experience due to aspiring to work in the entertainment industry and wanting to understand the processes of the production. Admittedly, I was rather nervous on my first day and was slightly disappointed by the amount of written work we would be completing over the 2 weeks. However, after a few days, I found intrigue in areas I once found boring. I found working with the Contact to be fun and informative.
Creative Development:
Whilst there, we completed multiple different tasks, these include the tasks of a Theatre Producer;
. Drafting emails
. Catering, putting together menus for performers and artists
. Panels, researching speakers for panel discussions
. Green Champions, considering the energy used in rehearsals and workshops
. Pricing, tickets, venues, items, merchandise
The vast variety of task during the given time allowed me to experience aspects of independence of professional jobs. While I personally didn’t enjoy certain aspects of this, I gained an understanding of the importance of this department.
Finance:
Midst there, I learned how to do invoices. Many may view this as a vital skill due to not being taught this in secondary education, similarly the access granted to websites/ apps (e.g. Sage Accounts) was rather informing due to lack of opportunity to do this at school. I was quite surprised that I enjoyed my time in this department due to lack of both skill and enjoyment of maths.
Front of House and Marketing:
During my time in the Programing and Marketing office, I was granted the opportunity to work with Front of House. I laminated seat reservations, notices etc for Vogue Ball (Queer Contact)-I also helped prepare for a meeting. Due to preferring organized environments, I quite enjoyed this (this was an important job due to helping guests avoid reserved seats). I completed e-flyers and infographics, I enjoyed this due to having a lot of creative control, as well as thinking about social media and target audiences.
Overall Opinions:
Overall, being able to work in this environment was really informative. Knowing and witnessing how much work goes into a production is an amazing thing to see. I’d recommend completing your own work experience at Contact due to the amount of jobs and opportunities available in the 2 weeks.