Quotes from our mentoring event 'Coffee on the Kings Road' hosted by Nicky Shaw.

"Find someone you admire and learn everything you can from them"

Christopher Oram

"I had some long term goals but nothing concrete. The second job I got, the theatre burnt down, so you just have to go with the flow!" CO

"You can't make it happen you just have to make yourself available or open to wherever you career goes." CO

I figure the best thing about this job is you never know what you think you might want to do, and that's often the best way forward. Just be open to any opportunity." Colin Richmond

"I learnt so much being an assistant, the techniques as well as the politics of how to communicate with directors and producers." David Farley

"In the early days I did so many things for free till my mother said you have to know your own worth, and I decided to stop doing free work. So protect yourself, enjoy the work but also enjoy your life." Colin Richmond

"In terms of collaborators, it's about getting people to see it from your view, like wearing green in an all green scene, even if they actor doesn't like green. It might not be to their taste but it is to their advantage." Christopher Oram

"When I was younger I wanted to have all the solutions and appear confident and know what I'm talking about but now I feel a lot more relaxed. I let other people also come to me with solutions." David Farley

"Sometimes it's ok to say you need help and people generally want to help so best to be open." Nicky Shaw

"We are moving to a more unionised world after this pandemic which i think is a good thing. We work insanely hard in fringe venues and as assistants for years, and its feels like a long slog but you have to be able to enjoy it so it's worth it." Christopher Oram

"If you go from a big show to a small one you can kind of get suspicious that you're not doing enough, but it's part of the job" Colin Richmond

"In the last few years, since being in the design community and SBTD more, I've felt more connected and wish I'd done more of it earlier on." David Farley

(Ok, we're biased but )

"Costume supervisors can become your best friends. They are invaluable and if you treat them with respect they will stay with you for your career." Colin Richmond

"Costume gets a really bad deal, people think it's easy but really, you need a degree in psychology. It's all about having open conversations." Colin Richmond

"I always say that I'm a Set Designer that dresses characters. I really enjoy that process of collaborating with that costume supervisor and learning so much from them." David Farley

"I did various site specific shows, there were extra challenges like what if it's raining or too hot. It's about what choices can I make to make this easy to put up, impressive and accessible." David Farley