by Priscilla

Dec.20, 2010, under Backstage Blog

I’m the stage electrician, which means I work with anything that has a plug on backstage, by plugging electrical things up and unplugging them. My best cue is the Aria scene when Felicia is on the shoe on top of the bus. I have a big wind machine that makes the silver sail billow and flap up and down behind the show.

Richard Knight

I started working on Priscilla at the very beginning of the show, from the technical rehearsals. For the first 8 months I was on the follow spot and then I moved down to the stage electrics. So I know seven positions within the crew, five follow spots and both sides of the stage on stage electrics. I know the show back to front.

I’d estimate that I’ve worked on probably 60 West End musicals. I started when I was 17 and I’m now coming up to 45. The very first theatre I worked in was in this one, the Palace. I was working front of house on a show called Song and Dance with Marty Webb and Wayne Sleep.

I was front of house and I used to talk to the follow spots and when a job came up they talked the boss into giving me a go. I think there are three ways to get into theatre if you are looking for a job. The first is to know someone who works in it who can get you through the door. If you are not lucky enough to know someone, there are various courses you can do or lastly you can walk into a theatre and try and get a job as an usher or attendant and then work your way up inside the theatre.

My favourite song in Priscilla is Macarthur Park, as I’m a discos 70’s kid. Tristan Temple is my favourite actor in the show. You basically can’t go wrong with Priscilla. It’s a spectacle. It’s the only show I’ve ever worked on where there’s a standing ovation without fail. When you hear people leaving the theatre they say how much they love it. I’ve never heard a bad thing about it.