Fern George

Education

Equipment

My Equipment/Kit:

I can use:

About me

I am currently working as a Junior Producer for Theatrino; Italy's number one touring Theatre in Education Company. I was offered this position after completing a three month internship as a Production Assistant. As Junior Producer, I am required to employ strict organizational and management skills to complete projects concurrently. Some of my other responsibilities include monitoring of expenditures and financial targets, accommodation and travel arrangements, recruitment of company members, overseeing and assisting during rehearsal periods, preparing online marketing materials, creating promotional films, production budgeting, presenting progress reports to staff members maintaining company correspondence both online and via post and preparing costumes and set for performance deadlines. I am also adept at communicating on all levels; I liaise between all members of Theatrino's English and Italian offices, with the actors and tutors currently working for the company, teachers and children of all ages.
I have worked for various other companies in administrative roles. I have been employed by Newport City Council in their administration, finance and recruitment departments and have worked for Alcatel Networks Ltd as a receptionist and administrator. My duties have included tasks such as preparing mail outs, post, filing, cash handling, database organization and maintenance and dealing with customer queries. These positions involved me using products such as PowerPoint and Excel, and I am confident using all Microsoft Office packages. My work for these companies and organizations has taught me to pay great attention to detail, how to manage a busy and varied work load and has enabled me to use my initiative to achieve goals.
In my role as Junior Producer, I work alongside the Artistic Director to produce new performances, expanding upon the company's creative repertoire to keep it current and relevant. This involves being constantly aware of the Italian education system and continuous research on the arts in Italy. I am constantly looking for ways to improve and broaden the company's appeal in order to enhance audience development. For example, I recently wrote, designed, created supporting workshops and educational materials for teachers for a new interactive production, based on the popular musical-movie 'Hairspray'. This production was aimed at ages 16 and over, an age bracket not usually addressed by Theatrino performances; an essential aspect of my role in the company is to help create an innovative program to encourage audience learning and participation. I am responsible for upholding the company's profile and position in the Italian arts sector; I have toured Italy with various acting troupes, ensuring that productions and workshops run smoothly and effectively, observing where there is room for improvement and maintaining Theatrino's reputation for excellence. I have now successfully coordinated three tours throughout Italy, involving over forty actors.
I have experience working with young people, not only in my current job, but as a volunteer Director of the Savoy Youth Theatre, Monmouth. I taught a series of workshops for 13-18 year olds, focusing on imagination, confidence building, characterization and physical theatre.
I gained experience working in a busy ticketed theatre environment whilst employed as a Box Office Assistant for the Courtyard Theatre in Hereford. This position required me to utilize excellent customer service skills at all times, keep track of ticket sales and promotional allocations, always be up-to-date on all aspects of the theatre's events program, and be able to be flexible and proficient when working as team or solo.

During my time at Kent University, particularly whilst completing my MA, I worked on a number of projects as production or stage manager, producer and director, each role requiring a thorough, systematic and enthusiastic approach. I completed a project for the Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury, re-inventing their program to target the city's younger residents, focusing on new writing and building relationships with up-and-coming theatre companies. Managing this project involved negotiating and communicating with artists and the general public, audience research, creating an entirely new marketing strategy, delegating and motivating my team, assimilating lots of new information and applying it effectively. The re-invention enjoyed great success and positive feedback, and I hope it shall continue to do so. For my dissertation, I completed a hypothetical business plan and investors presentation for a touring revival of Andrew Lippa's 'The Wild Party'. This project required me to work under pressure to set deadlines, to develop a creative and original pitch whilst employing strict time management. I also gained valuable experience of grant writing and funding applications. I produced an original production at the Gulbenkian Theatre in Canterbury, entitled 'Ill Met by Moonlight'. As well as having a significant creative input to the production; my many managerial tasks included budget spreadsheets, weekly scheduling of rehearsals, conducting auditions and interviews, attracting audiences, recording minutes, maintaining production records and overseeing the production run. For each of the above projects, I have had to create informative websites, stimulating publicity materials and cost effective marketing campaigns.
I was also a member of various university societies involving events coordination. My positions on the committees of Kent Dance Society and Kent LGBT have required the arranging of transport, hiring of equipment, creation of publicity materials, advertising and volunteer management for multiple society campaigns and events. For example, the annual Kent Dance Showcase, a blood donation campaign, and awareness rallies; 'IDAHO, International Day Against Homophobia'. Projects such as these have made me an excellent communicator, a proactive individual and have taught me how to use customer care in order to create a positive public profile.

Additional skills:
Good communication skills, both written and oral.
Effective time management, able to prioritise and meet deadlines.
Excellent research and organisational skills.
Speak German and Italian at an intermediate level.
A self-motivated, imaginative and committed individual. Able to communicate effectively at all levels with a positive and professional attitude. An efficient, conscientious and enthusiastic employee.


Referees:
Romina Tappi
Artistic Director
A.C.L.E Theatrino,
Via Roma 54 - 18038,
Sanremo (IM),
Italy.

Tel: (039) removed
Email: removed
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John Banks
Box Office Manager
The Courtyard,
Herefordshire's Centre for the Arts,
Edgar Street,
Hereford,
HR4 9JR

Tel: removed
Email: removed

Skills

Job Titles	Producer, Production Assistant (PA), Stage Manager, Production Manager, Production Coordinator, Marketing / PR, Sales, General Staff
Years in industry	less than a year
Work Permits	EU