Student Placements

University of Wolverhampton Student Placements

The Arena Theatre is committed to supporting the next generation of creative talent. In response to the generational crisis the theatre and live-events sector is facing in its workforce - and the immediate and vital need for individuals to develop practical skills within the industry - the Arena is seeking to support three year-long student placements who will learn from and support the full-time staff team at the venue.

Closing date for applications: Thursday 28th September 2023 at 5.00pm

Interviews will take place week commencing Monday 2nd October 2023. Placements will begin week commencing Monday 9th October 2023. 

Further information can be found below. To express your interest in our placements, please fill out the following Google Form (click).

For any enquiries, please contact the Arena Theatre at arena@wlv.ac.uk.

Structure of Placements

Front of House, Venue and Event Management

This student placement will oversee the entirety of the theatre's diverse range of programmes, including its array of artist development work, education and community initiatives, and its professional and private hire programmes. The successful individual will gain insight into all artistic and operational aspects of a professional small-scale theatre by shadowing and working alongside the Front of House team. This will include but is not limited to: programming, contracting, finance, data, and administrative tasks. 

Arts Marketing and Rich Content Creation

The Arts Marketing placement will work alongside the venue's Education and Outreach Officer to supplement the Arena Theatre's marketing output. The successful candidate will contribute to the content and design of the theatre's social media and e-marketing channels; contribute to the compilation and production of the Arena Theatre's seasonal brochures, and will shadow members of the Front of House team when working with visiting companies to create and achieve audience development objectives. This placement will also be responsible for creating graphics, animations and videos that can be disseminated across all channels.

Theatre Technical Support

The Technician placement will work with the theatre's team of highly-skilled technicians to learn aspects of technical theatre. This includes, but is not limited to, lighting, sound and AV - both operation and design. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to have hands-on experience of all three areas, and go on to have a specialism in one area if desired. Alongside the Arena Theatre Technical Team, the Technical Support placement will assist in helping the get-in and get-out of visiting companies, and the design of private hire and Associate Artist performances if desired.

We envisage these placements would include at least one session (day) per week, though this is up for negotiation if the student wishes to attend more, or alter weekly patterns around assessment and exam periods.

These places will carry academic credit and students are required to produce a portfolio of work upon completion of the placement.

Benefits for Students 

- A unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the professional theatre industry.

- The opportunity to work alongside experienced professionals in a variety of roles.

- Learning hands-on about all aspects of the production process, from development and rehearsal to marketing and performance.

- The opportunity to build networks and contacts in the Theatre and Creative Industries to benefit future employment.

- A written reference for future employment.

- Formal training opportunities supported by West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

Selection Process

Students will be selected based on their academic performance, interest in the theatre industry, and their personal qualities. We will also take availability and ability to commit to the full year of the programme into consideration.