Stanley Olden (Theatre Technology)

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

I'm particularly keen to pursue a career as a lighting programmer in theatre, I really enjoy the process of tech, seeing the show develop, making heart-stopping moments and tweaking them to perfection, then going on into previews and seeing people's reactions and molding the show into a finished product has always been of great joy to me.

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

I enjoyed venturing out into programming Video, working with another software that essentially does the same as any other lighting controller (Sends out different packets of data to light emitting machines based on cues in the software) but being designed for a totally different workflow was very interesting, it provided me with an extra dimension of thought regarding how I program and the workflow of a theatre lighting programmer. I practically enjoyed their thought-out methods to referencing files and the much more visual layout, particularly of the timeline, keyframes and even patching within D3.

What's been your highlight in the industry?

Being able to go and work in the west end has been a great experience and a highlight of this was being able to program Dick Whittington at the Pheonix Theatre last Christmas with a fellow student designing, watching thousands of people see the show over Christmas and seeing our hard work pay off was so rewarding.