It’ll Be Alright On The Night!

We caught up with the team who create the atmosphere and bring all contents of the concert together on stage.

My job is to use lighting to enhance performances and to make TV pictures, in collaboration with the TV production team and the camera team.

What will you be doing for the Ten Pieces Proms?

During the week before Ten Pieces at the Proms there will be rehearsals, and at those rehearsals I build a series of lighting states to help convey the mood and story-telling of all the performances, to enhance the viewing experience of both the audience at the Royal Albert Hall and the television audience.

What kind of effects and moods can lighting create?

Lighting is a wonderfully creative medium, and some people describe what I do as ‘painting with light’. But creative lighting offers so much more. It tells viewers where to look and where not to look. It can convey time of day, time of the year, mood of the performers, and it can even dynamically join in with the music, adding to and enhancing the excitement of the performance.

What’s your lighting vision for this year’s Ten Pieces Proms?

That would be telling! But much of the creativity comes out during the rehearsals, and I deliberately keep much of the creation and operation till then. Too much early planning can make the result a bit mechanical. I do talk through the show with Paul Bullock though to get his vision of the show, and this is a very important framework for me to work with.

Which piece are you most looking forward to directing lighting for?

I really love the whole process of using light to make performance and television come to life, but if I have to pick a favourite I would say that I really love dance performance, and using light to reveal shape and movement. But I must say that working with young performers is always enjoyable as they bring enthusiasm and joy in a way that even the best performers can’t quite match.

As the Event Producer for the BBC Ten Pieces Proms it's my responsibility to make the vision of the Creative Director and Scriptwriter a reality. This means dealing with all of the logistics and practicalities from sourcing a costume and a Proms designer to ensuring we can find enough dressing rooms for the performers, working out how to get everyone on the stage at the Royal Albert Hall to ensuring all the technical teams can deliver what is asked of them and finding ways around anything complex.

I work closely with the Event Manager at the Royal Albert Hall and the BBC Philharmonic orchestra management team and an Event Coordinator in our team who helps me and the Proms Event Manager who ultimately agrees what can stay and what can go on the stage.

The second part of the role is to manage the concert on the day itself, which means working with the show caller to make sure the concert starts on time and that all of the radio, TV and technical teams are ready to go and cued at the right times throughout the show. This can be the really scary part as it's crucial to get it right but it's also the most exciting, adrenaline pumping moment of the whole process.

What are you currently doing for the Ten Pieces Proms and on the day?

Lots and lots of organising and talking to people from presenters to the creative director or from the orchestra management team to the techical teams (lighting/sound/screens) and the Royal Albert Hall ensuring everyone knows what's happening when and what we need from each of them.

What are you most looking forward to from the Ten Pieces Proms?

The young performers who have been asked to perform in the Ten Pieces Proms - I can't wait to see their performances! However, most importantly I can't wait see their excited faces as they come off stage. It's an amazing thing for them all to be doing.

For anyone who’s not got a ticket how they can get involved at home?

They can watch the Sunday performance live on iPlayer or listen live on Radio 3.