Today we interviewed our lighting designer and SM, Ellen Butterworth-Evans.
Q: So Ell, how have you found working in Keswick?
ELL: It's wonderful, really lovely. As someone who works regularly in Birmingham and London, Keswick is just really beautiful. It's nice to be somewhere rural - it's great coming out of the theatre and seeing the lake and all the fells rather than a Starbucks.
Q: Where did your creative interests start?
ELL: I'm from a family of am-drammers so I grew up painting sets with my mum and being up lighting rigs and fixing stuff and realised you could get paid for it and do it for a living. So then I went to performing arts college and did a technical theatre course and then to LIPA in Liverpool and specialised in lighting and that's how I've got into what I do now.
Q: What's been your favourite show so far?
ELL: One of the most fun shows I've been on was working as a follow spot on Spitting Image and doing the tech for that... it was a very chaotic show. It had over a hundred puppets and lots of technical LX elements which I had to help fix and problem solve so there was a lot to do and I had a lot of fun doing it.
Q: And how have you found working on Ophelia?
ELL: It's been really enjoyable to do an R&D again. It's a long time since I worked on an R&D creatively, mostly due to the pandemic, so it's nice to be creative again, in a space with wonderful people.
Q: You studied at LIPA, do you have any words of advice for current students - perhaps great advice that you were given yourself?
ELL: The best piece of advice I was given was to remember that it's a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time and networking is important.
Q: In terms of watching theatre, was there a production that's really stood out to you, that made you really excited about being a creative?
ELL: Probably A Monster Calls at the Old Vic. It really moved me and reignited my love for creative work and our industry. It was a beautiful piece in every aspect - set, lighting, acting and movement. It was just so cohesive and stunning, and it just made me so proud of what we do as creatives.
You can catch Ophelia in Manchester on the 12th August, 7.30pm at 53Two. Tickets PWYC: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ophelia-rd-performance-tickets-688465387507?aff=oddtdtcreator