For two years I was a deputy technician at the theatre in my home town, and for several years was one of a team of technicians employed for bookings at my school's professional-standard auditorium. Since then, I have spent six years as the technician of the O'Reilly Theatre at Keble College (entrance, of course, on Blackhall Road).

My experience has covered most aspects of off-stage work:

• Sound mixing, both live and recorded;
• Stage management, for classic plays, musicals, and a National Theatre tour;
• Event lighting, including conferences and outdoor concerts;
• Stage lighting design, from simple to spectacular;
• Production management, overseeing all technical aspects of shows in contexts as diverse as ornamental gardens, the Edinburgh Fringe, and the challenge of an overnight conversion of an Oxford college hall into a musical theatre;
• Venue management, at the aforementioned O'Reilly, maintaining and administrating as well as training and assisting visiting crew with the facilities.