"I started going to a Sunday stage school when I was 10 years old. From that, I became interested in what was happening behind the scenes and when I was offered the opportunity to work as a stagehand, I jumped at the chance. This developed into doing stage management at local theatres and I decided I wanted to pursue technical theatre as a career."

"I chose to do a Foundation Art course when I left school, as I wanted more time to explore different areas of the arts and expand my artistic skills before opting for a theatre course. I looked into the different options available in theatre design and attended open days for several institutions. I chose Northbrook College because their Theatre Design course was very practical, the classes were small and there was a lot of one-to-one teaching. I was impressed by the facilities and felt comfortable in the surroundings.

During my two years at Northbrook I learnt a huge range of skills - scenic painting, model making, carpentry, costume design, prop making and pattern cutting to name but a few. Set design was the thing that I enjoyed the most and seemed to have a proficiency in, so I chose to make it my specialism. In my second year I undertook a project that involved designing both the set and the costumes for a play and enjoyed the challenge that costume design presented me with. Over the two years, four of my designs were realised on the stage and this taught me invaluable time-management, budget-control and negotiation skills.

To complete my degree I transferred to the third year of the Theatre Design for Performance course at Wimbledon School of Art. This gave me the opportunity to concentrate on my design skills and gain a degree from an institution with a long- established reputation."

"I started my own theatre costuming business about a year ago. During my time at university I had gradually become more confident with costume design and it turned into something that I loved doing. It started when I applied for a job making a costume for pantomime and although I didn't get the job, my CV was passed on to someone else who commissioned me to make a dame costume. Things really just spiralled from there and I have built up a client base that keeps me busy all year round. The work is mainly costumes for pantomimes, although not exclusively. I love designing and making dame costumes as they are so outrageous and fun, but costuming a serious play can be just as challenging and enjoyable."

"I assist a range of theatre designers throughout the country and my work revolves around model making and technical drawing - both on paper and using programs such as AutoCAD and VectorWorks. I love the intricacy and precision which both these tasks involve, and I learn a lot from the designers that I work for. I feel a great sense of pride when I build a model or create a drawing that is used to realise a design. It is an amazing feeling to see a set in a big theatre such as the Royal Opera House or the Barbican that I have been involved in creating."

"The most challenging project I have undertaken so far was to design and construct costumes for London School of Musical Theatre's production of the Stephen Sondheim musical 'Into the Woods'. In all, I designed and made sixteen costumes in a period of just over two months."

"Teamwork, communication and time management are essential qualities in the work I do; without them it is impossible to achieve an effective production. Theatre design is not an easy area to break into and there is a lot of competition so you need to be determined and persistent to get work."

"I would say: go to open days and have a look at what each place has to offer. I think it is very important that this type of training offers you practical experience and teaches you a range of different skills. Being able to take on more than one role as a designer is very useful, it makes you significantly more employable and you create much more effective designs if you have a knowledge of how other areas of the theatre operate."