OC PROFILE Ben Stevens (P06)
Roger Bart as Doc Brown with Ben Stevens (P06)
88 mph
The thing about Charterhouse is that it’s not just about the education, it’s about everything else. I think that was me – I did ok academically but the opportunities I had at Charterhouse really shaped what I’ve gone on to do with the rest of my life. I was a Music Scholar, playing five instruments, and did Music A Level alongside Theatre Studies, English and History AS.
I
first became involved with the BTT with The Music Man. I made the Ensemble, somebody didn’t turn up at rehearsals and suddenly I found myself playing a named character thinking: ‘This is much more than I expected!’ The next big show we did was Les Misérables; I think we were one of the first to do the Schools’ Edition. It was during this show that I became aware of the backstage stuff and that’s how it kind of started. Over the years I did various backstage roles and ran the box office and front of house for a time, so it gave me an all-round knowledge, albeit on a smaller scale, of the running of a theatre. When I left School, I didn’t really know what to do. I had been involved with Godalming Theatre Group who performed their shows at the BTT, I was still interested in theatre, and it was my sister who suggested Guildford School of Acting. I applied and got a place, luckily on a Dance and Drama award which covered all my tuition. Without this grant, or my scholarship and bursary at Charterhouse, I couldn’t have attended either institution. At GSA the ‘Graduation Show’ is run like a professional environment to prepare you for going out and getting a job! You apply for a role, interview with the technical tutors, and are allocated a role. Just ten minutes
“ … on press night, Christopher Lloyd, the original Doc Brown, came to see the show. That’s a fair bit of pressure, but very special to be part of their legacy!” 34
