Meet Peter, 23, from Birmingham, and find out about his life as a lighting technician at the Royal Opera House in London. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.
I'm Peter. I'm 23 years old and I'm a lighting technician.
My mum used to take me to the theatre all the time when I was younger. I used to love going to gigs. That's what I used to spend all my pocket money on. I spent my whole time looking up, seeing what the different lights were doing rather than watching the performance. And I actually really wanted to be one of these Tech guys. I didn't do particularly well in high school. I really wanted to do stuff outside of the classroom. I didn't enjoy being sat at a desk. I went on to college and studied a Technical Theatre course whilst I resat some of my GCSEs. When I was 18, I got the opportunity to have an interview at the Royal Opera House, which I couldn't believe.
When I got my apprenticeship I had never lived by myself. I was really scared about moving to London. Some of my amazing teachers at college really supported me and encouraged me to take this apprenticeship and I've never looked back since. This apprenticeship covered a variety of different areas in technical theatre. I did lighting, sound, flying scenery in and out. I worked on building sets. I also cut gels for different size lights, put them in front of the lights to change the colours. When I finished my apprenticeship, I was a freelancer and it enabled me to work in so many different places. I worked at the National Theatre. I worked at the Royal Opera House. Early this year. I was fortunate enough to become a full time lighting technician. We work a 15 hour day here. It could be opera or ballet. We do the Bafta here sometimes. We have lights all over the theatre. Some four storeys up and every show is different. With lighting the possibilities are endless. The science behind it all, the way that light travels in waves is just fascinating to me. In Physics and Maths classes I never thought it would apply to me. But here I am needing to use it every single day. There were certain points in my life at school where I never thought I'd be doing anything like this. I'm a simple man from Birmingham and I get to do all these amazing things.
It is a privilege to work on the shows that we do because people come from all over the world to see these operas and ballets and I get to see it all for free.
I had never lived on my own before my apprenticeship but I had amazing teachers who encouraged me to go for it.
- Peter's mum took him to the theatre all the time when he was younger and he spent all his pocket money going to gigs
- He was always looking up at the lights rather than watching the bands on stage
- Peter was more interested in things he could learn outside of the classroom
- He studied a technical theatre course at college which led him to apply for the Technical Theatre Apprenticeship at the Royal Opera House.
What to expect if you want to be a lighting technician
- Lighting technician average salary: £15,000 to £40,000
- Lighting technician typical working hours: 42 to 44 hours per week
What qualifications do you need to be a lighting technician?
You could get into this role via a university course, a college course (such as a Level 3 certificate or a T-level in Media, Broadcast and Production - England-only, from Sept 2023), an apprenticeship, volunteering, working towards the role or through one of the new entrant training schemes that broadcasters and film bodies offer, such as BBC trainee schemes.
Sources: LMI for All, National Careers Service, GOV.UK
This information is a guide and is constantly changing. Please check the National Careers Service website for the latest information and all the qualifications needed and the GOV.UK website for more on T-levels.
For careers advice in all parts of the UK visit: National Careers Service (England), nidirect (Northern Ireland), My World of Work (Scotland) and Careers Wales (Wales).
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