Drama Technician

Drama is highly valued at Westminster, and we wish to build on existing high standards in the quality of productions, in the results for GCSE and A Level Drama, and in the overall delivery of the subject.

The department currently consists of the Director of Drama, the Head of Academic Drama, a part-time Drama Teacher and a full-time Stage Manager.

There are typically 12 performance weeks in the academic year, and the Drama technician will be informed of these in advance. There is also the expectation that they will attend and provide support for all dress rehearsals, technical rehearsals and performances.

Drama is well catered for with a fully functioning theatre - the Millicent Fawcett Hall, and various other Westminster School spaces which can be repurposed for theatrical presentations.

The Drama department at Westminster produce a wide range of performances, including the biennial full-scale Musical, the annual Bilingual Play, the annual Student-Led Production, the Sixth Form Festival, the Elizabethan Festival, Shakespeare in the Garden, the Upper School Play and the Fifth Form Play.

The Drama Technician will report to and be line managed by the Director of Drama, but will work closely with all other members of the team to support and enhance the department and pupil experience.
Main Responsibilities

• Being responsible for all technical aspects of all productions at Westminster School.


• Liaising with designers and contractors who support Co-Curricular Drama in terms of set design, lighting, sound and seating.


• Ensuring that all creative teams, visiting companies, community members and pupils (across all spaces) feel supported, and always receive the highest level of technical support.


• Providing technical assistance and advice, particularly with respect to lighting and sound, to pupils and staff.


• Recruiting and training technical crews, comprised of pupils across all year groups, for each production.


• Liaising and supporting visiting practitioners and theatre companies who are engaged for workshops and productions.


• Supporting the Director of Drama and Head of Academic Drama with academic lessons, particularly regarding technical requests and delivering, as required, lighting/sound lessons/workshops to pupils.


• Purchasing new equipment and replacing failing equipment as needed, including managing the technical theatre and equipment maintenance budgets.


• Ensuring all electrical equipment is properly and safely maintained and stored.


• Setting and enforcing safe-use guidelines for equipment.


• Routinely performing preventative maintenance on equipment.


• Taking responsibility for Health and Safety back of house and on stage across all productions and events, ensuring annual health and safety inspections are kept up to date.


• Ensuring safety and legal compliance standards are maintained throughout all performance spaces, across all rehearsals, productions, events, and projects.


• Providing and maintaining a safe environment for performers and audiences.


• Collaborating with the Stage Manager to ensure that Risk Assessments are regularly carried out for the building and for every production and that all necessary alterations are implemented.


• Remaining up to date with all industry technical developments including the use of theatre software such as QLab and Resolume.


• Fostering and maintaining an excellent working relationship with the Stage Manager and to cover for the SM if required.


• Liaising with the works, grounds and security departments to ensure spaces are available, booked and properly staffed.


• Any other reasonable duties that arise to fulfil the objectives of the Drama Department.


Hours of work

20 hours per week, term-time only, which are as follows:

• Monday - 09:00 - 13:00


• Tuesday - 14:00 - 17:00


• Wednesday - 09:00 - 13:00


• Thursday - 14:00 - 17:00


• Friday - 09:00 - 15:00
  
  Westminster School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.
  
  Westminster School is a busy, purposeful and vibrant place to be and an excellent workplace. The community is made up of 750 pupils, 120 teaching staff and 108 support staff.


Westminster School is friendly and welcoming, and all newcomers quickly become part of the rhythm of life here.

There is a real sense of community here as, being a boarding school many members of staff and pupils live on site and the School's premises are very much treated as a home away from home. School life starts before breakfast and continues way beyond the working day; as a result, there is always a lively atmosphere in and around School and always someone to share a tea and biscuit with in the Common Room. Support staff as much as teaching staff are encouraged to embrace the School's day-to-day activities, whether that be attending an evening concert or a morning service in the Abbey.

At Westminster we will always select the best candidate for every position. We do know, however, that we can only truly choose the best person on every occasion if a broad and diverse pool of candidates see the job advertised and are encouraged to apply.

As such, we continue to work on how our job roles are encountered, and particularly welcome applications from groups who have traditionally been underrepresented here.

Westminster School is for everyone, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic. We hope you are encouraged to apply.

The School

Westminster School is a selective day and boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 and girls aged 16 to 18. There are approximately 360 boys in the Lower School (Years 9 to 11) and 400 boys and girls in the Upper School (Years 12 and 13). One quarter of the pupils board, and the School is structured and run as a boarding school, with an extended day and week and a strong House-based system of pastoral welfare, for boarding and day pupils alike.

Westminster is an ancient school, whose origins can be traced to a charity school established by the Benedictine monks of Westminster Abbey. Its continuous existence is certain from the early 14th century. Henry VIII personally ensured the School's survival by statute and Elizabeth I, who confirmed royal patronage in 1560, is celebrated as the School's foundress. Westminster is rare amongst long-established schools in remaining on its original site in the centre of London. Its proximity to Parliament and Westminster Abbey, and the use of the Abbey for its chapel, together with the stimulating diversity of the South Bank and West End, account in part for its special atmosphere and outlook.

The School is one of the foremost centres of academic excellence both in this country and internationally. Central to its academic ethos is the dialogue between teachers and their pupils, whether in the classroom or in tutorials, inspiring enjoyment of intellectual enquiry, debate and search for explanation and the development of skills of rational, independent thought well beyond any standard examination syllabus. The desired environment is happy, busy and purposeful; the pupils are intellectually, socially, ethically and politically engaged, with plenty of opportunities to develop initiatives and to articulate and defend their views, in line with the enduring values of the liberal tradition reflected in the School's Charter. That tradition is fully committed also to the nurture of each pupil's spiritual, moral, emotional and physical development and wellbeing - with a particular emphasis on drawing out individual talent wherever it lies - and to the
preparation of young people for fulfilled private and public lives beyond School.