Jack Ramplin, Theatre Technician at Warwick Arts Centre explains his involvement in organising the University Awards Evening:

My usual job involves...

The Technical department at Warwick Arts Centre provides invaluable technical expertise and year-round support for visiting productions and events. My role involves working closely with the 1500 separate events, comedians, theatre and dance productions and Orchestras that use any of our 5 main performance venues.

As well as these events, I also Production Manage and coordinate delivery of special projects throughout the year, such as TEDx Warwick, the National Theatre Connections weekend, One World Week as well as the highly successful Warwick Christmas Lectures.

For the University Awards, I’m involved in...

For the previous two years, my role in the University Awards has covered many areas, from the stage design of the CCSG Awards 2016 to the Production Management of the University Awards 2017.

The team of 5 technicians, myself included, start work on the Awards about 3 to 4 months before the actual event. We liaise closely with the incoming artists and hosts as well as external hire companies who provide us with the necessary equipment in order to provide a visual spectacle for those who attend the event. My final job is to provide a detailed Production Schedule for the day of the Awards. Together we design, install, test and then run the Awards evening in a long day that easily tops 15 hours of production work.

The Awards evening was great because…

The Awards ceremony is a perfect way for the Technical Team at the Arts Centre to showcase their range of professional skills, to a room full of people who may not fully be aware of the type of work that we are involved in.

If there was one thing I could change about Open Days it would be...

For me, next years Awards ceremony could be held as a cabaret table event, further allowing us to showcase the flexibility and diversity of the Butterworth Hall as well as continuing to showcase the professional skills of the Warwick Arts Centre Technical Team.

What you may not know...

The work that goes on behind the scenes in the Arts Centre happens 7 days a week, 364 days a year. As well as working on external shows, we also deal with 12 student performances across our theatre and studio spaces, as well as hosting the Easter and Summer conference season whilst the students are away on study leave.