We chatted with Central graduate, Madeleine Young, to see what she has been getting up to after graduating from Scenic Art, Theatre Practice, BA in 2019.
What would you like to tell us about today?
The immersive Doctor Who: Time Fracture in central London, and Raya at Hampstead Downstairs.
What is your role?
I’m a Scenic Artist on both; on Doctor Who I worked as part of a team lead by Tash Shepard, a fellow Central grad, and for Raya it’s just me!
How did you get involved with these projects?
I was brought on for Doctor Who by the production designer, Rebecca Brower. I met Rebecca while studying at Central; she’s a graduate of the Design for Stage course and I was really lucky to have the opportunity to work with her on a number of projects while I was still studying, including The Grinning Man and Bat Out of Hell.
I got the job painting Raya through my connections at Hampstead Theatre. I’ve worked with the team there many times, they’re all wonderful people and I really love working there. Ushering at the Hampstead was my first job in London and helped to pay my bills through uni. I got to know the production team whilst serving them on the bar and basically begged until they brought me in to paint a show. I’ve worked there on and off ever since!
What made you want to get involved?
I was hugely excited to be asked to paint both shows because they were the first theatre projects I was able to do since the first lockdown. I’ve been working in film a lot more since the start of the pandemic, and been doing some specialist finishing and interiors work, but theatre will always hold a special place in my heart.
Doctor Who was especially exciting because of the scale of it - with 17 fully immersive ‘worlds’ being created by a huge team of designers, scenic artists, constructors, lighting, sound and video, it was a mammoth project and it’s always really exciting working as part of a large team like that. I also used to be a huge fan of Doctor Who as a kid, so it was very cool for me to indulge my inner child for a bit!
What does a normal day look like for you?
My working day is usually between 8 or 9am and anywhere from 4-6pm. I usually arrive on site or at a workshop early, because I’m always worried about there being delays on the Tube, and I like to get a coffee on my way to kick-start the day if I can. Once I’m there, I’ll have a chat with the Designer, Lead Painter or Production Manager (or a combination of all three), find my space or the set elements that I’m working on, and then set to work!
Often my first task of the day will be to mix the paint that I’ll be using, but not always. Sometimes I’ll have a meeting, to show paint samples to a designer, or have lighting tests with the Lighting Designer and LX team, or to discuss the budget or schedule with the Production Manager.
What are you currently working on?
I’m between big projects right now - I’ve just finished doing a few days of last-minute touch ups on Doctor Who, and I’m attending one of the first dress rehearsals tonight. I’m painting the new shop counter for the Vagina Museum in Camden (look them up - it’s an amazing place!), then for the remainder of this week I’m going to a workshop to do a few days painting on a BBC television drama. Something I think people don’t realise about freelancing, until they’ve done it, is the sheer number of jobs you’ll be juggling at any one time.
This week is quite busy with work, but on top of that I’m also thinking about Raya, which I’ll finish painting at the beginning of June, a specialist finishing job I’ve got booked in from mid-June for a few weeks, I’ve got a few calls scheduled next week to talk about projects over the next few months, and I’m also planning a mural project with a friend of mine. I like having lots of projects on the go at once, it never gets boring, but it can get tiring!
What has surprised you most about your experience?
Realising that I’m actually “Doing The Thing” is always fun - after so long working towards this as a career goal, taking a moment out of a busy day to breathe and appreciate all that I’ve achieved over the last few years, despite the pandemic, is lovely.
What has been the biggest challenge that you have overcome while working on this?
Learning to say no and not overwork myself has been a really steep learning curve. It’s almost impossibly hard to say no to jobs, especially when you’re new in the industry and still building your network. However, whatever experience you’ll gain from that sixth or seventh project is never worth the toll it will take on your mental and physical health and wellbeing. I’m diabetic and I have depression, so learning that my body simply doesn’t have the ability to work the kind of hours and back-to-back weeks of work my peers do has been tough, but the more aware I am of my limitations and what I need to do to look after myself, the better I can do my job and the more I enjoy it.
Starting to work on shows again after a loooong period of unemployment during lockdown was a big wake-up call for me, as my stamina was a lot lower than it had been and I couldn’t push my body as far as I used to, but taking things a bit easier over the last few months has enabled me to reassess what my ideal work: life balance will look like and I think going forward I’ll enjoy life a lot more!
How did you find out about Central?
I found out about Central by researching drama schools and conservatoires online; I knew way before I even started college that I wanted to study scenic art or set design at university. I found all the schools in the UK that offered courses on those topics, and Central shone out to me due to the practical focus of the courses, the facilities available at Central and the course structure - actually working on shows was very important to me, so having the ability to work on such a variety of productions whilst studying was a big pro for me!
Is this what you had planned to do after graduation?
Yes, pretty much exactly!
What advice would you have for anyone looking to follow in your footsteps?
Work hard when you’re working, but value your time and don’t push yourself TOO hard, or work for less than you know you’re worth. Saying yes to something that you’ll then resent later just breeds unhappiness for everyone involved and you deserve better than that! Be nice to everyone, keep a good sense of humour and don’t let the stress get to you
If you want to book your place to see Madeleine’s projects in person, you can find out more about them, Doctor Who: Time Fracture and Raya.
You can read more about Madeleine’s work and projects on her website.
