Full name/age/job title:

Dave Workman, 25, Projects Manager at Globe Education, Shakespeare’s Globe. 

Please give us an overview of your average day.

I’m sure everyone says this, but there really isn’t an average day! The make-up of my day also changes across the year. From January to March I’ll be managing Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank, a professional production for young people, which will end up with me being on my feet for 12 hours a day corralling 1,400 students in and out of the theatre for a performance of Macbeth or whatever it might be.

The rest of the year isn’t quite as manic, and will see me working alongside our practitioners to devise and liaise on particular projects. I might also be concentrating on the financial side of things and planning future projects.

What is the most common misconception about your job?

It’s probably the scale of what we do – Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank has seen us work with 55,000 young people in London state schools across the last five years, and as a department over 100,000 people a year access our work.

To the public at large, The Globe has an identity of its own, which is fantastic, but often what they see on a visit to a show will be the tip of the iceberg.

What is the hardest thing about your role?

Reining myself in, in terms of being realistic about what we can actually achieve with what we’ve got – that encompasses various things, be that staffing, funding or hours in the day!

When did you decide what you wanted to do with your life and how did you set out to achieve it?

Until I was about 18 I wanted to be an actor. However, I came to an understanding not only of my (in)abilities in that regard, but also of the power that the arts can have to enhance people’s lives and society at large, and decided that facilitating this was something I had more of a passion for.

So, once at university, I took it upon myself to run workshops, direct productions with young people and generally immerse myself in the education side of things – I even toured in a show to schools that saw me prancing around a chemistry lab in a cloak (it made sense at the time).

What can you do to get a head start?

Working as an intern did it for me. It does rankle with me though that you seemingly have to be middle-class, London-centric and living off your parents to get a foothold in the arts industry, often unpaid (although The Globe is actually really good with its interns).

It’s also about being realistic: I think the current financial climate is a good time for small-scale organisations to mobilise and engage their communities with little capital but a lot of dedication, concern and talent.

Growing your skills isn’t something that should ever really stop – I run a Saturday youth theatre and spend an evening a week playing Scrabble with the residents of a homeless shelter. Both are really fulfilling in themselves, but they also feed into my day job.

Could you describe the creative element to your job?

Each workshop is tailored to the individual needs of the school/organisation that has requested it, so each of these requires me to work alongside the practitioner to plan the content and learning outcomes – ditto for our longer-term projects. I also support the creative team on our annual production for young people – I’m the key link between performance and audience.

What’s the one thing you wish you had known at the start of your career that you know now?

I’m learning new things every day – sometimes by error!

Probably more of an understanding of the formal education sector; ie schools. We believe as a department that supporting teachers is key to success – not only do you then build trusting relationships, but they begin to see that what you are offering does benefit them, their students and their exam results. 

Which organisations/websites/resources do you think would be useful for people entering your industry?

I’d advise people to keep up-to-date on changes to the education sector: being able to understand schools from the inside alters your relationship with them for the better.

If you are seeking full-time positions, sign up to as many arts/jobs mailing lists as possible – I have friends who have gained amazing experiences through short-term courses/volunteering opportunities that can only benefit you in the long-term, even if they seem superfluous at the time.

Would you like to be featured in Job of the Week? If you work in the creative industries and would love to share your advice, expertise and experience with IdeasTap members, get in touch with our deputy editor at Luiza@ideastap.com.