Student Name: Daisy
Pathways Programme: Pathways to Arts, Culture and Heritage
Internship Role: Production Assistant
Internship Employer: Exeter Northcott Theatre
Summary of Organisation: Exeter Northcott Theatre is a leading producing and presenting theatre for the South West, based on the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus with a vibrant city-centre sister venue, Exeter Barnfield Theatre. Established in 1967, the Northcott has a strong reputation for high-quality work that combines artistic ambition with deep community engagement, and in recent years has entered an exciting new chapter as a more regularly producing theatre alongside its programme of visiting work.
The organisation employs around 30 permanent staff across artistic, technical, marketing, front of house, and operations departments, supplemented by a large freelance workforce, community participants, and volunteers. The company is known for a collaborative, supportive and values-led culture that prioritises access, inclusion, and the development of artists and emerging talent, particularly from the South West.
Please briefly outline the project/tasks/responsibilities you worked on during your Professional Pathways internship.
“My role was a production assistant, this meant I got to shadow the technical and backstage team during rehearsal. My main tasks included prop organisation and creation, running notes backstage, helping maintain rehearsal and being able to experience television broadcasters such as ITV and BBC come into the theatre and capture promotional content for Daphne.
Daphne was the current show the Northcott theatre was working on, and it was about the secret life of the famous author, Daphne du Maurier. I ended the week by joining the audience and watching Daphne on its opening night.”
What achievement(s) were you particularly proud of during your Pathways internship?
“I think an achievement I was most proud of was definitely when I saw the first performance of Daphne with an audience. I was able to see how all the props, costumes and scenes worked together, as during rehearsal we would practice the show scene by scene, meaning we continuously stopped to make sure each scene was perfect. This was such a thrilling, but yet emotional experience when seeing in person how I helped the theatre bring this amazing show from final preparation into performance.”
Why would you recommend the Professional Pathways programme to other students?
“I would definitely recommend this programme. With being a student from Penryn campus I was anxious about travelling up to Exeter to an unknown campus by myself. But I felt so welcomed, all the staff and other students were so lovely. The staff also organised accommodation on Exeter campus for the training week for me, which was just a 10 minute walk to the building where we had to meet each morning. This made me feel comfortable walking around a new campus. The pathways programme has made me more confident to try new things and speak to new people, it also provided me valuable insight into a professional career in the arts, culture and heritage sector.”