“It’s like a laboratory. You experiment with everything.”

Teresa leads a team of three, supplying all the cakes and pastries for our five cafes and other functions. Each day Teresa checks the pastry and cake orders from the cafes and elsewhere, then gets to work baking, icing, slicing and portioning. She’s in charge of quality control, puts in orders for ingredients and develops her own creative ideas for new menus.

She says: “I am like an octopus! I have to be on top of everything. It’s a skilled job and it’s hard work, but I am happy.”

“I love that it’s different every day”

Sophie engages the children, helping with their development, finding out what they like, providing their personal care, and helping prepare family-style meals. She works one day a week in the baby room and three days with the toddlers.

She says: “It’s getting to know them, encouraging them to talk about themselves and to be independent. It’s really good seeing them progress and be happy.”

“The best thing about it is paying everybody.”

Paul started his career working in payroll for an education publisher, then a charity, followed by heavy industry before he came to the RSC. He’s lived in Warwickshire all his life. He didn’t used to go to the theatre, but since he’s worked here he’s taken advantage of his free staff tickets and seen all the shows.

He says: “I pay everyone who has a contract with the RSC. It’s always busy and there’s never a typical day.”

“I like the diversity. I’m always out and about”

Ben is the first point of contact for IT support. When there’s an IT problem anywhere in the organisation, it comes through to him and his job is to diagnose the first part of the issue and decide what needs to happen next. He can be building and fixing laptops, installing networks, helping with digital meeting set-up and working on bigger projects anywhere in the organisation.

He says: “I’m always out and about going to all the different properties we own. And I always enjoyed working with computers and learning about technology.”

“I always knew I wanted to make stuff”

Chris makes props of all shapes and sizes for our shows, working with whatever material is required, including wood, metal, fabric, resin and plastics.

He says: “There’s nothing else you can do where one day I could be welding, another making things out of silicon. You pick up a lot of skills, and the way you do things is constantly evolving.”

“It’s amazing - a thousand people every night look at what you have made.”

After the actors are measured, the costume designs arrive and the material is cut into shape.  The costume is fitted with the actor and designer and any alterations pinned.  Susie then starts the real work of building and finishing the costume for the stage.

She studied costume at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, then worked at a regional theatre before joining the RSC.

She says. “It’s amazing – a thousand people every night look at what you have made. So many people get to see what you do – it’s a real pleasure.”

“It’s the moment when a young person gets it for the first time – they realise it’s not just posh old fashioned poetry.”

Robin works with our Associate Schools and Regional Theatre Partners to create and lead performance opportunities for young people. This can be working with regional theatres on performances of Shakespeare plays, bringing students to Stratford for our annual Playmaking Festival and going into schools to lead workshops with teachers or students.

He says: “The RSC Education Department is about making classrooms more like rehearsal rooms. I spend a lot of time mentoring and supporting teachers, helping them understand the ways an RSC rehearsal room might work. We say ‘Shakespeare is for Everyone’, and it’s not just a strapline – there’s a real commitment to learning.”

“I love what I do and I love coming to work every day."

Andrew builds scenery and stage floors, and fits them on the stage at the get-in before a new show opens. He works in several different materials, including wood, polycarbonate and plastics. He uses staff tickets so he can see the things he’s worked on in the show.

The best thing about the job? “The people I work with in my team – it isn’t an individual effort. It’s a team of people working together to make something that looks spectacular on stage.”

“I love seeing the audience reacting”

Laura programmes our onstage talks and discussions, including director talks, post-show talks with the cast, and rehearsal demonstrations, as well as discussion events around the themes of the shows. She also works with other cultural organisations, including festivals and museums, to develop events and workshops elsewhere.

She says: “I realised I loved seeing the audience reacting, and that working in events would allow me to see that.”

“I just knew that this was a place that I wanted to be connected to.”

Pippa works in the Estates team, providing admin support for our Stratford-upon-Avon home. She works on reception at our head office as well as doing regular shifts on stage door, meeting and greeting all the people that come to work in our buildings.

“I’m often the first point of contact at the RSC, so I try to make people feel welcome. I know I’m representing the RSC. It’s brilliant to work for a company I am interested in and to feel that I’m making a contribution to the work we do.”