Jordan takes on dramatic new role
Jordan Smith from Tingley has just started an apprenticeship with Opera North at the Howard Assembly Rooms in Leeds.
AS apprenticeships go, this one is pretty dramatic.
Tingley teenager Jordan Smith will soon be working behind the scenes of some spectacular musical performances at one of the most prestigious arts venues in Leeds.
He beat competition from across the country to become a creative and cultural apprentice at the Howard Assembly Rooms, Opera North’s base in the city centre, after being the pioneering student for the new technical theatre programme at Leeds City College.
Former Woodkirk Academy pupil Jordan, who has been acting since he was four and has appeared in more than 20 shows, joined the college as a performer on the performing arts (musical theatre) programme aged 16 but soon realised his real passion was for backstage and technical work.
After speaking to his tutors Michelle Ruse and Richard Lee, he decided to try and incorporate modules from the technical theatre programme into his studies, a move he said “worked amazingly from my point of view.”
Jordan, of Wharfedale Rise, then applied online for the apprenticeship on offer at the Howard Assembly Room after hearing about the course through Richard and the college’s head of creative arts, Ken Reid.
After attending a panel interview and completing two 30-minute written and practical assessments, he was offered the role and will now be trained in technical skills from lighting to sound under the guidance of senior staff.
“I am most looking forward to learning new skills as well as developing existing skills,” he said.
“In the future, I would love to continue working within technical theatre.”
He added that he was grateful to his tutors at Leeds City College, Opera North and Howard Assembly Rooms for the opportunity.
“I hope to make them all proud,” he said.
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Friday 24 May 2013
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