ON THE BUSES FESTIVALS Third-year Theatre Production student Sally Wattiaux talks amps, cables and mud in the time it takes to travel from Newton Park to Bath. WORDS: KATE HILPERN
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PORTRAIT: NAOMI WOOD
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n hour after I pitched my tent on a staff campsite at Glastonbury on Sunday morning, it started raining so badly that I had to hide in someone’s caravan. But that’s Glastonbury for you! I couldn’t believe my luck when I got accepted to do work experience as a production assistant at the UK’s biggest festival, part of a collaboration project on my Theatre Production course. Being from Geneva, I’d never been before – and here was I not only attending, but also providing technical support to ensure all the performances in The Glade area – composed of multiple stages, including a main one, plus a bar – ran like clockwork. The whole stint was nine days and kicked off with ensuring the area was safe for the punters to arrive on the Wednesday. By Tuesday, the lighting equipment and big screen had arrived, so we were kept busy setting it all up and cabling it. Then on Wednesday, we sorted the sound equipment, along with some serious mud digging. I loved every minute, particularly as I’d specialised in lighting and sound on my course. The best part, though, was the festival itself, when we assisted the acts with sound checks, did regular health and safety checks, dealt with the changeovers of the acts and ensured people who needed to could get backstage. We had quite a few DJs, including Carl Cox, as well as bands including the Gentlemen’s Dub Club. Watching the backstage professionals at work,
The generator went down and the backup hadn’t been switched on. There was no light and sound for about 10 minutes
and getting to genuinely contribute to the end result, was such a buzz. I found myself in awe of the sheer scale of the festival. Not that it all went swimmingly. There was one moment when the generator went down. Usually, the back-up generator kicks in, but it hadn’t been switched on by the site electricians. There was no light and no sound for about 10 minutes and we all panicked as the audience started to walk towards other areas. But they quickly returned in the mood to dance. There was lots of banter backstage, which was fun, and there were some funny moments too, especially when people got covered in mud. By the Sunday night, when the audiences had gone home, it was a case of derigging, putting everything away for next year and making sure the site was tidy. By this time, it struck me how much I’d been taken out of my comfort zone – at one point having to rewire half the LED screen under pressure and, another time, being left by one of the VJs to use the software, even though I’d never done anything like that before. “Don’t worry,” he said. “You’ll feel the music and get through it.” And he was right. I enjoyed working in live entertainment so much that I’ve done other live work since – thanks to the contacts I made – and I’ve also been asked to work on Glastonbury again this year. I think festivals and other live work is where my future now lies.