Work experience offers practical, hands-on insight into the industry, helping you build skills, confidence, and a clearer understanding of your chosen sector. It’s an ideal first step when starting your career in theatre. As an initial step, we recommend getting in contact with your local theatre to see if they offer any work experience! 

Here are some organisations that offer or promote work experience opportunities:

• Get Into Theatre
• The Old Vic, London
• Oxford Playhouse, Oxford
• Curve Theatre, Leicester
• National Theatre, London
• LW Theatres, London
• Bristol Old Vic, Bristol
• Shaftesbury Theatre, London
• Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
• Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester
• The Point Theatre, Eastleigh
• Playbox Theatre, Warwick
• Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, West Suffolk
• Watermill Theatre, Newbury
• The Minack Theatre, Cornwall

Internships and Apprenticeships provide structured learning opportunities, combining practical work with professional development. They allow you to gain valuable experience, make industry connections, and enhance your employability in theatre.

Here are some organisations that offer or promote these opportunities:

• Masterclass Theatre Trust
• Royal Ballet and Opera
• Get Into Theatre
• ATG Entertainment
• Creative Access 
• The Stage
• Creative Alliance
• National Theatre
• Royal Shakespeare Company
• Arts jobs
• ERIC Creative Careers App

Volunteering gives you the chance to contribute to theatre projects while developing transferable skills. It’s a flexible way to explore different roles, build your network, and gain experience that can support your career growth.

Here are some organisations that offer or promote volunteering opportunities:

• South London Theatre
• Shakespeare’s Globe, London
• Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
• Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
• Nottingham Arts Theatre
• Curve Theatre, Leicester
• Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle
• Greenwich Theatre, London
• The Albany Theatre, London

Looking for work? Here are some organisations that promote job opportunities:

• Arts Jobs
• UK Theatre
• The Stage
• Mandy Network
• Creative Access
• Creative Lives in Progress
• ERIC Creative Careers App
• Local Theatre Careers Pages – Many individual theatres or organisations have “Work With Us” or careers pages.

Training in technical theatre teaches you the practical skills behind the scenes, from lighting and sound to stage management and rigging. It’s essential for anyone looking to build a hands-on career in theatre production.

Here are some organisations that offer or promote training opportunities:

• Association of British Theatre Technicians
• The Stage
• The Old Vic
• Southbank Centre
• Guildhall School of Music & Drama
• National Theatre
• Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
• Young People’s Production Arts (ages 11-18)

Theatre design courses develop your creativity and understanding of visual storytelling, covering set, lighting, sound, and costume design. They prepare you to bring productions to life with your artistic vision.

• The Society of British Theatre Designers
• National Theatre: Skills Centre
• Almeida Makers
• Victoria and Albert Museum
• The Old Vic
• Young People’s Production Arts (ages 11-18)
• Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama

Producer training provides knowledge of the business and management side of theatre, including budgeting, planning, and project coordination. It’s ideal for those who want to make productions happen from start to finish.

Here are some organisations that offer or promote training opportunities:

• Stage One
• Almeida Theatre, London
• China Plate Theatre, Coventry
• National Theatre, London
• Derby Theatre
• Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Cardiff

Training as a director develops your creative vision and leadership skills, helping you guide actors, designers, and technical teams to bring a production to life. It focuses on storytelling, collaboration, and the practicalities of staging theatre.

Here are some organisations that offer or promote training opportunities:

• Regional Theatre Young Directing Scheme
• Royal Court Theatre: Working on New Plays
• The Old Vic: Artist Development
• Almeida Makers
• Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama

Training as a playwright for theatre focuses on storytelling, dialogue, and dramatic structure. It equips you to create compelling scripts and contribute original work to the stage.

Here are some organisations that offer or promote training opportunities:

• Theatre503, London
• Almeida Theatre, London
• Bush Theatre, London
• New Writing North, Newcastle
• Writing West Midlands, Birmingham
• Masterclass Theatre Trust: Script Sessions, London/Remote
• Criterion Theatre: New Writing, London
• Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Cardiff
• The Cockpit, London

Specialist training in wigs, hair, and makeup equips you with the techniques needed to create characters and support storytelling. It’s a creative and highly skilled area of theatre craft.

Here are some organisations that offer or promote training opportunities:

• Last Looks Beauty, London
• CBMA Academy, London
• NODA, Peterborough
• The Iver Makeup Academy, Buckinghamshire
• BOA, Birmingham
• Young People’s Production Arts (ages 11-18), Cardiff

Costume and wardrobe courses teach skills in garment creation, maintenance, and costume management. They prepare you for roles that bring character and story to life through clothing.

Here are some organisations that offer or promote training opportunities:

• The Old Vic
• Northern College of Costume
• The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama
• Rose Bruford College
• Victoria and Albert Museum
• Young People’s Production Arts (ages 11-18), Cardiff
• Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama

Stage management courses develop skills in organisation, communication, and technical coordination. They prepare you for roles that ensure a production runs smoothly, supporting the creative vision by managing logistics, people, and performance cues.

Here are some organisations that offer or promote training opportunities:

• Stage Management Association
• The National Theatre
• Rose Bruford College
• Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
• The Bedford College Group
• Birmingham City University
• Middlesbrough College
• Queen Margaret University
• Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
• Young People’s Production Arts (ages 11-18)

Sound courses for theatre focus on audio equipment operation and maintenance, sound reinforcement, and cueing. They prepare you for roles that support live performance by ensuring reliable sound systems and clear, consistent audio throughout a production.

Here are some organisations that offer or promote training opportunities:

• Association for Sound Design and Production
• Guildhall School of Music & Drama
• Orbital Sound
• National Theatre
• Bristol Institute of Performing Arts
• BOA Academy, Birmingham
• Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
• Young People’s Production Arts (ages 11-18)

There are plenty of organisations out there that help foster creativity, build networks, and open doors to opportunities in the industry. Many are free to join, and others ask only for a small membership fee — so whatever your background or budget, there’s something for everyone.

• Masterclass Theatre Trust
• Roundhouse: Young Creatives
• Open Door
• Young Lyric
• The Old Vic: OV Makers
• Marlowe Theatre: Artist’s Network
• Birmingham Rep: Talent Development
• Almeida Theatre: Young Creatives
• The Cockpit: Theatre Maker

You can also meet theatre professionals at large careers fairs across the UK:

ABTT Theatre Show

Skills London

Step Up Expo

TheatreCraft

The Big Bang Fair

The Talent Foundry

What Next?

Created in consultation with teachers across England and Scotland, Get into Theatre’s vast resource offers lesson plans, workshops, discussion points and resources tailored to teach theatre careers directly in the classroom. You can take a look here.

This Toolkit was built in partnership with ATG Entertainment and was funded by Arts Council England National Lottery Funding.

They also have lots of videos spotlighting various careers in theatre. 

We have a wide range of videos, covering some of the different roles in theatre and our panel talks from previous years.

Roles within Theatre:

Meet Prosthetics Make-Up Artist, Sam Shuck

Meet Set and Costume Designer, Kadija Raza

Meet Head Armourer, Daniel Walker

Meet Company Manager, Sunita Hinduja

Meet Lighting Designer and Technician, Rajiv Pattani

Meet Producer, Debbie Hicks

TheatreCraft Panel Talks:

TheatreCraft Trailer

Careers in Theatre Education & Participation

Careers in Arts Management

Careers in Technical Theatre

Careers in Theatre Producing

Build Back Fairer

MYPATH is built to challenge the perception of careers education. For a long time, careers education has been seen as simply an additional responsibility for schools and hasn’t been given the limelight it deserves. They strive to make careers education fun, engaging and highly impactful, all whilst reducing the workload of careers professionals and educators.

They have multiple free resources: 

– Job of the Week – putting a spotlight on different jobs, the skills you need and how to get there.

– Careers Podcasts – bringing you stories from people with non-linear career pathways.

– Why bother? – resources on how Maths, Science and English are used in everyday life.

We are proud to have partnered on a free resource, Who is Involved in a Pantomime? shining a light on some of the roles beyond the stage that young people may not be aware of. 

The ERIC app is primarily for young people who are 16+ with an interest in careers in the creative industries.

Their typical user is looking for work experiences or internships, creative competitions, careers events or workshops & other early-careers opportunities to build their skills and confidence. They are looking to get work-ready and enhance their CV or portfolio, but aren’t necessarily ready to apply for a job just yet. Their team do all the hard work, creating hundreds of resources you can choose from to help kickstart your career.