Formed in 2015, the Mulberry Schools Trust is a family of schools, with inclusion, equality of opportunity and a striving for educational excellence at its heart. Its vision is to be a key provider of outstanding education for all so that students leave as highly-qualified, confident and articulate young people with a wealth of experience. In January 2023, they launched the Mulberry Production Arts Academy in partnership with the National Theatre and The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Running across five secondary schools in the Trust, the academy aims to take explicit positive action to address the current skills shortage in the UK’s production and technical arts workforce and the wider chronic crisis in representation within the UK’s cultural and creative industries. In particular, it aims to create the next generation of workers from Black, Asian, and ethnically diverse backgrounds, those with disabilities and those that are economically disadvantaged. One of the several ways in which they’ve addressed this is by hosting the Rightful Place Arts Conference – an event which promotes the various career opportunities available in the creative industries and the pathways to accessing them. Following its recent B Corp accreditation, White Light (WL) is more committed than ever to ensuring the company maintains a positive social impact – hence was delighted to take part in this year’s conference.
The Rightful Place Arts Conference took place on 26th April 2023 and was attended by around 120 students. The specific aim of the event was to create a broader awareness and insight into the diverse range of production arts and backstage roles, and shed light on the many pathways that can help students access these career opportunities. Students heard from a panel of industry professionals from various backstage disciplines discussing the importance of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion within production arts, and participated in a range of career-focused workshops. One of these included WL’s very own Stuart Porter, who led a discussion entitled ‘What is Lighting Design?’
The aim of the session was to teach students about what can often be an overlooked aspect of theatre production. Stuart demystified any unknowns about the world of theatre lighting and gave advice on how the profession works, how students can get into it and how WL can help. Rather than simply talk about the discipline, Stuart decided to turn the session into a practical one and actually invited students onto the stage where they could experiment with gels and lighting fixtures. He explained afterwards: “Whilst I can personally talk all day about lighting, for those unfamiliar with the profession, they actually have to experience it first hand to truly appreciate its impact and the influence it can have on a piece of theatre. That’s why I was so keen for the students to do just this and it was fantastic seeing their responses and hearing about their new-found interest in lighting”.
Other events on the day included additional workshops from The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama and the National Theatre, as well as a key note address by lighting designer Prema Mehta.
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