Octavia Penes

Education

Equipment

My Equipment/Kit:

I can use:

About me

I have a passion for music and trained as a violinist, working in the Bucharest Opera Orchestra before
transferring to my current career as a Stage Manager. I have excellent score reading capabilities and
a wide working knowledge of Opera and Ballet, as well as the experience of working in a large opera
house team in my home country, Romania.

Since coming to the UK six years ago I have worked with a wide range of different companies from
those which are more traditionally structured like Opera Holland Park, Grange Park Opera and
Longborough, to working on the Fringe and on tour with much smaller and more mobile teams like
Charles Court Opera and at the King’s Head Theatre.

I feel that my experience with these small teams has really enabled to gain a large amount of
experience in all aspects of the opera producing spectrum. It is frequent in the smaller outfits that
one’s duties go beyond the traditional stage management duties. I have found myself scene painting,
helping put together sound plots, learning the choreography for the cast and various other jobs. This
has allowed me to get a good sense of all the roles involved in making theatre work, which in turn
means I can communicate and support these other roles better as a Stage Manager.

In Charles Court Opera I also work on an amount of newly written work. This has allowed me to work
closely with the creatives, supporting them as changes and re-writes are made, communicating those
changes to other members of the team and keeping up to date and clear rehearsal scores and notes.
I am also privy to the private discussions of the creative team and am used to dealing with that
information confidentially and sensitively.

Touring with small companies on a limited budget is always a challenge and doing this has developed
many transferrable skills. I am very comfortable keeping cast members informed and organised,
making sure they have everything necessary to perform and feel comfortable. I believe that I am able
to project confidence and surety in difficult situations, supporting cast and creatives alike.

Obviously, post-covid, I am up to date with all Covid restrictions. As a very organised and tidy person
in my everyday life I have found this to be very useful in the current guidelines. I always like to keep
performing areas clean and tidy and I feel that my attention to these details puts cast members at
ease in these difficult times.
I feel that I would be a useful member of your team. I have a passion for the job
and a passion for the art from, and I would very much like to bring that passion to you.

Referees:
Mr. Stephen Barlow ( http://www.stephenbarlow.net/)
Mr. John Savournin ( https://jamesblackmanagement.com/artists/john-savournin/ )

Details available on request.

License & Passport

Skills

Secondary Job Title	Showrunner
Job Titles	Stage Manager, Showrunner, Lighting Tech / Operator
Years in industry	6+ years
Work Permits	EU
Musical Skills	Violin
Musical Style	Classical