City of Westminster College Level 3 Performing & Production Arts students recently attended a workshop at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) – the UK’s oldest specialist drama school. The students had the opportunity to learn about the various stages of the production and the development of a show. They got a broad overview of the different backstage roles involved in staging a production. The students got to put their maths skills into practice as they marked out rehearsal spaces to scale – working in teams to measure, multiply and use angles to mark out complex shapes.

Students said the following of the workshop:

"This workshop showed me where I could use my Maths skills in the performing arts industry."

"I enjoyed the workshop because I saw more opportunities for myself other than performing on stage. Stage management feels like something I could be quite good at"

"I want to be an actor, but it was useful to learn how a rehearsal room is measured up to scale. When I encounter this in the future, I'll know how it was done. Backstage jobs are very important to the industry."

Inspired by the workshop, several students have been offered the opportunity to develop these skills further with the college’s involvement in the upcoming National Theatre Connections festival, taking place later this year. The students are getting hands on experience in designing, creating, and managing costumes, props and sets for the performance.