The Old Truronian School Tech Team

Lilly Menear CO17

Can you tell us what your job title and describe your role in this years’ production of Les Mis?

My job title is Technical Resources Assistant but it also covers management of the Burrell Theatre. On Les Mis I was ‘tech swing’ which basically means I was running around helping the team with whatever they needed help with. I worked with Swen Kearey CO02 (TS Technical Resources Manager) and Sam Kemp CO19 on the build from the start, getting all the drapes hung and all the seating out and getting the building ready. When it came to the actual production it was general background support, helping everyone.

The project is not really over for us now. Dismantling the set, and deciding what to keep or not takes time, the last couple days I have been putting together archive footage. People think the project starts when the tech rehearsals start and the production finishes but actually its three months before and things like 48 hours after the last show went down we had to break down the staging for an exam! We also have to get the space at the Burrell back for public hire. It will be over and then once all of that is finished I go back to my standard day job which is booking the programming for the Burrell Theatre. The next project for us is the Christmas concert alongside supporting end of year assemblies. There’s always the next show and because school productions are done to such a high standard, on every project people want bigger and better than last time. The team here have already started discussions on the next Edinburgh Fringe project, and the next junior play by the students will be A Midsummer Night’s Dream, we also have GCSE exams at the moment.

What are the best parts about your role generally, why do you enjoy your work?

I think if you didn’t enjoy it you couldn’t do it because it is such hard work. You have to take pride in what you’re doing, rather than thinking about not sleeping for three weeks. This job is really a learning experience for me. I am here to rinse as much knowledge as I can from Swen CO02 and the rest of the school and department. To me what’s keeping me going is how much I am learning on each project.

Could you tell us about your career journey before landing your current role?

I finished about a year ago at Lancaster and stayed in Manchester for a year working before getting the job here.

What was it like getting a job at the school you went to?

I never considered working here as a student. It wasn’t the school as a whole that brought me back but it was the relationship with Swen and Ben Oldfield and the whole Drama department as a whole that brought me back. Beyond the experience I could gain from the team here, it was the quality of work that the drama department put out. My mum is Sandra who does the scenic painting and is involved in production design so I already had an ongoing dynamic and relationship after leaving. Because I was only here for Sixth Form, I think I had a different experience to someone who might have been at the school since Prep. Before I got this job, I had spent more time away than the amount of time I was actually here so I think that distance meant I didn’t find working here that odd.

After leaving TS initially, did you study further at uni/college?

I studied Theatre and Performance up at Lancaster University after leaving Truro School – my university got hit hard pretty bad by Covid which really affected my university experience. We had about 6 months where we just didn’t know what to do. But then we were lucky that with a creative arts subject, the university was quick to adapt to what we could do.  My lecturers were really good at pushing us to use the situation as flexibly as possible. It was the best of a terrible situation. I came out of uni with less practical experience as a result, so being here helps fill gaps.

Did you enjoy your time as a student at TS?

Yeah, I got very lucky with my year group – we all got on. I had a really strong group of mates here and things like through studying Art – we really made the art room our own. I dived into Theatre head first which was really nice. So yes, it was very much to do with the people I knew and what subjects I was doing, but I didn’t really engage with the rest of the School.

Are you still friendly and in touch with any other friends you met at School?

Yeah the group of mates I had in Sixth Form! They are definitely people who are going to be in my life, and we’ll always be there for each other. That group consist of Gabriel Vyvyan CO17, Luke Richardson CO17, Guy Batten CO17, Olly Stewart CO17, James Stevenson CO16, Maisie Vincent CO20, Izzy Wilkinson CO18 of course. Maisie actually started at Manchester whilst I was living there, and we became really great mates during that time.

Is there anything you’re looking forward to in the future? 

The next thing I am looking forward to at School is Harry Baker who we have booked in to come perform. He is the world’s youngest poetry slam competition winner. I once won a poetry competition here in Truro reciting one of his poems. I am a huge fan! Outside of School in February/March 2023 I will be going out to Adelaide to work tech at the Fringe there. I was working at Edinburgh Fringe this summer and it was suggested we should go out to Adelaide Fringe. I applied to some venues and managed to get employment with a big company there. I’m really excited.