CASUAL - Internship

The University 

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Across the University we have a vast variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, that is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally.  We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University.

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Hild Bede & City Theatre Tech., Internship

The College of St Hild & St Bede has a long tradition of support for and success in the performing arts. Hild Bede Theatre (HBT) is one of the largest and most successful student theatre companies in the University. We have a Music Society and Dance Society, a non-audition choir as well as an outstanding Chapel Choir. The College is also home to the oldest student cinema in Durham, Bede Film Society..

This collaboration with Durham City Theatre is unique and offers an incredible opportunity. The Theatre is 75 years old, it stages full-scale, professional theatre. It is strongly community-oriented and respected part of the Durham City Arts landscape. It has been a very important engagement point for Durham University students, both as performers and as a venue in which to see and enjoy theatrical performance. Hild Bede has developed this exciting internship role with the Theatre. The role will continue to support the College’s traditions in performing arts, and also, we hope, complement a project we are developing around partnering on Film Society and screenings.

 The internship aims to provide City Theatre with a keen, able student willing to learn about and support productions, and the student who secures the role with the opportunity to develop their theatre tech., skills and experience.

The internship funded and overseen by College and attached to the Durham City Theatre here the successful student will benefit from the experience and expertise of Simon Wilson, The Head of Lighting and Sound.

The internship will appeal to a keen, able student with an enthusiasm for and some experience of theatre with a special interest and commitment to the technical aspects of supporting productions – sound, lighting and associated maintenance. The details of the tasks and duties associated with the internship have been developed with Simon Wilson, and can be found below.

Commitment and remuneration

The role will require a commitment of 2 hours per week to meetings in the weeks when there are no shows (see below). And, in Show Weeks (runs open on Sunday and run to the following Saturday) a commitment on weekdays between 7-10pm (3 hours) and also to two matinees at the weekend between 2 and 5.30pm (3.5 hours)

For the academic year 2025-2026, we propose to establish the internship to run from the 5^th May to the end of the run of ‘Girl on a Train’ which takes place between 28th June – 4th July 2026.

The total period of employment will be 9 weeks and therefore amount to 46 hours. Payment will be at the rate of £13.45 per hour.

And, for this year, as we seek to establish this opportunity for future years, we are offering, in addition to the salary, the successful candidate a bursary award of £500 subject to a satisfactory completion of the internship and commitment to give feedback to both the Theatre and College that can be used to develop the internship and advertise it future.

Role & Person Specification

The below role descriptor seeks to capture the main requirements of the role consistently, providing a summary of the key duties of the flexible role to help in setting expectations for applicants, flexible workers and line managers. They are not intended to cover all duties which may be required.

Technical Support

- Assist with setting up and striking (dismantling) lighting rigs and sound equipment

- Help with cable management, coiling, and equipment maintenance

- Learn to focus and gel lights under supervision

- Assist with sound checks and microphone placement

- Help maintain equipment inventory and storage organization

Pre-Production

- Help research lighting/sound effects for productions

- Assist with creating equipment lists and technical plots

- Help prepare gel frames and gobos

- Organize and label cables, microphones, and other equipment

During Performances

- Assist with pre-show equipment checks

- Help with quick changeovers between scenes if needed

- Provide backup support for running boards (sound or lighting desk)

- Assist with any technical emergencies

Administrative Tasks

- Help update equipment logs and maintenance records

- Assist with budget tracking for technical supplies

- Help create training documentation for other volunteers

Responsibilities

We also expect a successful applicant to be able,  under instruction and following appropriate training, to:

- Work alongside the team to contribute to the delivery of specific project(s)

- Develop experience and skills from working in a real-world work environment

- Contribute specific skills (i.e. technical, research, subject specific knowledge) to the work of the department

- Plan and prioritise own work, adhering to agreed deliverables and timeframes and referring any issues with workload or timeframes to colleagues.

To Apply

Applicants are invited up until 5pm on 17^th April

We expect to hold interviews for applicants who make the shortlist on 28^th April

Applicants are asked to submit:

A CV;

And, a covering letter in which you spell out the experience that  you bring, your skills relevant to the role and also what would make you the best person to be the first to have this amazing opportunity. Alongside referring to the role and person specification, you also need to address, with examples,  the responsibilities of the role. You can do this in the letter or create a matrix showing how you address or meet these requirements.