Why Join Backstage? A Freshers Experience

If you’re coming to Leeds in September, you might be starting to think about what you’re going to do alongside all that studying, but that can be a bit scary. Starting university is a daunting time for everybody, from possibly moving to a new city or even a new country, to making friends and settling into university life. Joining a society is the best way to meet new people, but with so many to choose from, its difficult to know which one is for you.

“I think the great thing about this society is that there is something for everyone and so much to do. If you’re creative or tech savvy you can take on a design role. If you’re good at organising (and bossing people around) you can be a production or house manager. If you’re wanting to learn more about tech things, you can be a Lighting Assistant or Sound Engineer, and if you want to take a less active role, front of house is fun too.”

Here at Backstage, even if you know nothing about technical theatre, there’s always plenty you can get stuck in to. The great thing about our society is that you can get involved with anything at all, from set design, painting and construction, to rigging and operating lighting and sound, to stage management and so much more. There really is something for everybody, and you don’t need any experience to join the fun. Between the Give-It-A-Go, training sessions and learning on the job from designers, you’ll become a pro in no time! Don’t worry though, you can take it completely at your own pace, so if you’re really busy with university or other societies, you can just work on one or two shows (or if you want to learn and progress really quickly, you can work on more!)

“Everyone in the society is really welcoming and so easy to get on with. Joining the society gave me a chance to learn so many things I didn’t even know I was interested in.”

Backstage society offers so many opportunities to learn a lot of new skills that you may not have even thought you would be good at. It’s a really fun and friendly place and is a great way to get to know people, as we work with so many other societies throughout the year. Plus, there’s so many other fun opportunities outside the society once you know your stuff-from Fruity to Edinburgh Fringe and big music festivals. Working on a show with so many people and seeing it all come together really is one of the most rewarding things, so you should definitely come and see what all the fuss is about:

Come and See Us: We’ll be at Freshers Fairs in the University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University and Leeds College of Music!

Give-It-A-Go: Saturday 13th October, 2018; 4pm in Riley Smith Theatre, Leeds University Union

Posted on 16th August 2018