Theatre & Performing Arts
Whether you love the limelight or would prefer to design the lighting for a performance, the Theatre & Performing Arts sector is one that is known to be energetic and eclectic and provides jobs for individuals with many different skill sets.
Most of the time, when you think of theatre or performing arts, you’re most likely to think of drama school attendees, and graduates of the prestigious acting education providers. The industries are vast, with productions happening at grassroots level, up to the UK’s West End. There are plenty of funds, apprenticeships and training available for those wanting to go into the Theatre & Performing Arts industry!
The choice of roles within this industry is HUGE. With teams spanning across creative, production, admin and customer service. Therefore this can range from an admin assistant to stage manager to choreographer.
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Theatre is demonstrative of any roles that are happening within a theatre building or setting.
From the box office and programme designers to costume and set builders, this is a greatly varied and inherently creative sector.
Many theatres also have educational outreach departments and run free initiatives for local young people in between productions too, so this is an industry with a huge heart!
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Performing Arts is any form of performance role e.g. dance, spoken word, poetry, comedy that happen outside of a traditional ‘theatre’ environment. This also includes other creative venues such as dance studios.
Many people in this area are performers, directors or freelancers. It’s very common for people who work in the performing arts to be multi-disciplined and flexible with their creativity. It’s a great area for someone who needs variety and loves to experiment!
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🎩 There are an estimated 296,000 jobs in the Arts sector currently! Definitely a good availability for you to throw your hat in the ring
💃 According to 2020 figures, employment in the performing arts industry decreased by 12% compared to the previous year.
🧑💻 The number of employees in this industry reached 72,000 in 2020, dropping from 82,000 in 2019
✅ In 2018, venues represented by The Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre generated ticket revenue of £1.28 billion, employing 290,000 workers.
🎭From 2006 to 2016, the theatre and performing arts industry has grown by 90%.
🩰The theatre and performing arts industry continues to grow, with ticket sales increasing by over 6% between 2016 - 2017, while revenue from the wider entertainment industry has grown by 10.6%.
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📩 There has been talk about the possibility of ticketing for performances with NFTs!
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The Old Vic have created an incredible resources hub featuring career quizzes, interviews with different theatre professionals and loads more.
Royal Opera House have created some amazing resources, including lesson plans, for primary schools to help discover the world of Performing Arts. They are designed to be easily implemented by non-specialist teachers, with no familiarity of opera or ballet required!
One Dance has pulled together everything you and your students need to know about careers in dance
Get Into Theatre covers all the careers in theatre and in the wider performing arts sector
Like the sound of Theatre & Performing Arts?
Learn more on the ERIC app through our industry guides. When you’re ready to explore further, you can start browsing the Theatre & Performing Arts section for opportunities, events, courses and more!