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A Heartstopper of a Job: Working in Scenic Arts

A Heartstopper of a Job: Working in Scenic Arts

RWCMD’s brand new two-year Foundation Degree in Scenic Arts teaches you the skills to create sets, backdrops and props, opening up an exciting professional world of work in theatre, television, film and design.

If you’ve ever watched 'Heartstopper' on Netflix and admired the beautiful murals, or been to the theatre and wondered who painted the amazing backdrops or created the life-like props - it would have been a scenic artist.

Why study Scenic Arts at RWCMD?

Design for Performance grads Ruby Boswell-Green and Céleste Langrée both studied Performance Scenic Arts as part of their degree.

The scenic arts training is very practical and hands-on, and allows you to explore different styles of work, which really appealed to Céleste:

‘You work on actual productions, surrounded by professionals, and exceptional staff and tutors, in real theatre spaces, and there is also a great support network.

I think the main difference between the College and going to an art school is that RWCMD gives you a taste of the working world.

It trains you for a specific job, giving you the tools, knowledge and experience to collaborate well.

It taught me about the relationships, the hierarchy and the communications within the theatre, and it definitely gave me experience, and a really well-rounded work ethic.’
Céleste LangréeDesign for Performance graduate

Céleste designed the set for the College's production of 'The Marriage of Figaro'

Ruby agrees: ‘My time doing scenic art at College was really insightful. It taught me not to be scared of experimentation (all scenics have their own ways of doing things!) and to really observe the world around me so that I could work out how to recreate it.

Painting is often disregarded as a skillset – but that’s far from the truth. And the College is where to learn to do it to the highest standard.’

A Heartstopping job

Among other jobs both Ruby and Celeste worked on Netflix’s 'Heartstopper', along with other RWCMD grads. Ruby has also worked as Art Department Assistant on ITV's upcoming 'The Winter King'.

‘Don’t feel you have to go into theatre, what you learn at College is massively transferable.

I’m lucky to have worked on 'Heartstopper' with many of my talented friends from College, and again it’s the training from RWCMD that helps me problem-solve in that environment.’
Ruby Boswell-GreenDesign for Performance graduate

For Céleste, who did mostly scenic arts and prop making on the show, this job allowed her to indulge in her love of drawing and painting.

‘What was really exciting about 'Heartstopper' was the amount of different projects we were able to work on’ she said.

‘It was definitely high speed and we all worked closely collaborating on the pieces. We did a lot of the props for set dressing as well. It was my first time working for TV and it was very interesting being able to experience the differences from theatre.’

How have you used your scenic arts training since leaving RWCMD?

Ruby got her first job at the Upstairs at the Gatehouse theatre in London because she saw a call-out on the RWCMD alumni Facebook page and felt confident enough to go for it. She’s gone on to work on set design and scenic paint multiple shows there, using methods she learned at College, like woodgraining, ageing, wallpapering and precise painting.

‘I’ve also been lucky enough to create shows with Bay Productions, who are based in Cardiff. This job was incredibly varied and it was quite the moment to see my scenic work on stage for Disney’s tour of 'Beauty and the Beast,' or in press shots for the Met Opera. Conveniently all created in Cardiff!’

Céleste’s work has taken her from TV to theatre to opera, working at the British Youth Opera, Welsh National Opera, the Sherman Theatre and working with opera in Germany.

She’s just about to start an MA in Performance Design and Practice in Central Saint Martins, as well as designing a contemporary opera in France