This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:06] Josh Mitchell: Hello and welcome back to the We Are Theatre Podcast.

[0:10] Josh Mitchell: Today we are going back to my roots. I started in this industry as a techie and now I'm going deep diving on technical stuff, I guess.

[0:18] Josh Mitchell: That was very well worded.

[0:20] Nick Cook: Hi, how are you going?

[0:22] Josh Mitchell: I'm very well, thank you. Yourself?

[0:25] Nick Cook: I am doing great. I'm really excited to have this chat.

[0:28] Josh Mitchell: Um, you are the head of tech ops at the Theatre Royal in Sydney.

[0:35] Josh Mitchell: Um, just for those people at home that don't know the technical world, what is your actual role in this theater and what do you look after?

[0:44] Nick Cook: Um, I am responsible for everything that sort of happens from behind the proscenium. Um, so from all of the shows coming in, um, I look after the theater's infrastructure, liaising with the tour and shows coming in, um, and make sure that the shows get in safely on time and that all our wonderful audience members can come in and have a great time. Um, it's a pretty all-encompassing role.

[1:13] Nick Cook: Um, it covers everything: staging, lighting, sound, wigs, wardrobe, um, so a bit of everything. So it keeps me on my toes, which is really good.

[1:25] Josh Mitchell: That is amazing. Um, so you get to see the show kind of go from the theater being this empty shell into what we see as audiences. Um, what's your favorite part of that whole process of bump in, bump out as a tech? What is your favorite moment of that process?

[1:47] Nick Cook: For me, it's the bringing something so 2D on paper. You know, I get sort of the plans, the schedules, and all of that sent to me often years in advance of a show arriving into the theater. Um, so for me to take that very 2D piece of paper and turn it into the final product, seeing that process evolve, seeing wonderful crew come together, um, you know, the performers rightly so get the standard ovations at the end of every show because they're absolutely tremendous.

[2:21] Nick Cook: But the amount of work that goes into just taking from the first second of a bump in all the way through to post-opening night, you know, the crew work tirelessly and tremendously hard to make those dreams real for everyone to walk on stage. Um, so seeing that process come alive, you know, seeing the audience stand up on opening night and give everyone a round of applause, you know, I think the techs won't admit it, but they're getting that round of applause too.

[2:49] Nick Cook: You know, it's a complete all-round package for everyone involved, and it yeah, that's certainly for me a lot of time, a lot of energy translating paperwork into a performance. That for me is the standout.

[3:03] Josh Mitchell: Yeah, I love that. That is such a cool insight. Um, let's backtrack a bit.

[3:10] Josh Mitchell: Uh, let's backtrack a bit.

[3:12] Nick Cook: Oh my god, I am stumbling over words today, guys.

[3:14] Josh Mitchell: It's okay.

[3:15] Josh Mitchell: Um, when did you first get into technical production? What was the thing that drew you towards it? Where'd you study and how'd you get into the industry?

[3:25] Nick Cook: Um, I'm originally from Wales in the UK.

[3:29] Nick Cook: And um, I was very fortunate that the high school I went to had a really good drama school. It had a drama studio in there, a theater. Um, and as much as I wanted to perform, and I did try to perform, um, I uh, anyone that's heard me sing or attempt to dance will testify, I found my calling very much. Um, I've always been in love with live performance, um, not necessarily just theatre.

[3:37] Nick Cook: I spent a lot of time in live music as well, um, but just that experience of a live show really drew me in very early on. Um, so I was very fortunate at school to have those facilities available to me to sort of just be left to my own devices during my lunch breaks in high school and sort of play around with equipment, and I soon found that I really enjoyed it.

[3:37] Nick Cook: Um, and I decided that that was the route that I was going to take in life. Um, so I would have been 14, 15, um, where I really started to say this is what I'm gonna do. Yeah. Um, and then I went to a college in Cardiff, uh, in Wales and studied drama, which was again, it was a bit performance, a bit technical, um, and I always leaned towards the technical.

[3:37] Nick Cook: Um, and then I was very fortunate to be accepted into a theatre school in the UK called the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, or LIPA, um, up in Liverpool in the northwest of the UK, and I studied my diploma of higher education in theatre and performance technology.

[3:37] Nick Cook: Um, and that sort of gave me a really great grounding for where I wanted to go, um, and that led me into live music. Um, yeah, it was a bizarre time in the early 2000s where there was an explosion of live music in the northwest of the UK.

[3:37] Nick Cook: Bands were just popping up all over the place, and I sort of found my way into doing lighting. That was my sort of main skill set. I found myself doing lighting for live music for quite a few years before I eventually found my way back into theatre. So it's been a good journey; it's been a very fun journey.

[3:37] Josh Mitchell: I love that. So, um, where would you say that your career kind of really went into overdrive and you were like on the path to where you are now? What was that tipping point that sent you to this point?

[3:37] Nick Cook: Um, it was absolutely by accident. Um, I was touring with a few bands around the UK and I was incredibly busy. Um, I was probably partying too much and I forgot to book festival season, and in the UK, if you don't book a festival season over the summer, you don't work.

[3:37] Nick Cook: Um, and by chance, I stumbled across the potential of going and working on a cruise ship. Um, it wasn't something I'd ever explored; it wasn't something I had really had an idea about what I was going to do. Um, and within a matter of weeks, I was on an airplane heading to Orlando, and I went to work for Disney Cruise Line, um, and did a couple of contracts for Disney Cruise Line as a lighting tech.

[7:40] Nick Cook: And it was a very interesting experience. Yeah. Um, I didn't feel I fit in very well with the Disney franchise, okay. However, I enjoyed cruising.

[7:40] Nick Cook: So I moved to a company called Carnival, also based out of the States, and I ended up working for Carnival for five, six years.

[7:40] Nick Cook: And it was a really fascinating time, and my skill set just kept increasing. But the more you do, the more you learn.

[7:51] Nick Cook: You were sort of stranded; you were by yourself.

[8:01] Nick Cook: And then upon leaving Carnival, I moved to Australia.

[8:08] Nick Cook: I met her over in the States.

[8:36] Nick Cook: Great years with foundation, I decided to embark. An opportunity came up to build a theater, to be involved in the opening of the theatre.

[8:46] Nick Cook: And you know, sadly, it's something that doesn't pop up very often. So I took the opportunity and went and opened the Sydney College Theatre in Western Sydney.

[8:56] Nick Cook: And again, again, another opportunity came up.

[8:56] Josh Mitchell: So I was just about to say it's pretty much the exact same thing here, isn't it?

[8:56] Nick Cook: Yeah, and it seems you could turn down so.

[8:56] Nick Cook: And here I sit where we're four days away from the first bump in of the Theatre Royal, and um, then it'll be my second theatre opening in about two and a half years, which is tiring.

[8:56] Nick Cook: 100%. I wish I could be there for bump in; I absolutely love bump ins myself. It's my favorite part of the whole experience.

[9:28] Josh Mitchell: Um, let's just backtrack to foundation just for a hot second because as the technical op, foundation has a really unique moment with shows being bumped in and then having to set up for the Helpmann Awards as well.

[9:28] Josh Mitchell: So as that technical oversight, what is that like to try and do that kind of 72 hours of getting an award show bumped in while not kind of trying to fully bump out a theater? Like, what is that like from your perspective?

[9:28] Nick Cook: It's busy, um, but you're working with a lot of incredible people at that moment in time. So there'd be myself, my theatre team, plus the technical director of the show that's in the theatre and the touring crew that are with that show. Plus then you have a team that come in with the Helpmanns.

[9:28] Nick Cook: So there's a lot of incredible brains associated with the process. Um, it's just time-consuming.

[10:40] Nick Cook: Um, everyone works together to ensure it happens.

[10:43] Nick Cook: Um, the show would come down on a Sunday night and we'd straight away start building whatever infrastructure it is we were putting in for the Helpmanns.

[10:53] Nick Cook: Often it would be a screen of some variety, whether it be on stage, um, off to the side of the stage, and at the same time, the TV elements of the Helpmann bump in.

[11:04] Nick Cook: Um, that tends to go all night, um, through to the Monday morning.

[11:09] Nick Cook: Yeah, and then eight o'clock in the morning, we start to tech the Helpmann day.

[11:17] Nick Cook: Yeah.

[11:17] Nick Cook: Um, and yeah, it just kind of flies by.

[11:21] Nick Cook: And you know, before you know it, it's good enough and it's live on stage.

[11:26] Nick Cook: There's lots of TV trucks around, there's lots of people in very nice evening wear.

[11:30] Josh Mitchell: Yeah.

[11:31] Nick Cook: And then it's over.

[11:32] Nick Cook: And then we reset the theater back and we do a show on the Tuesday.

[11:36] Josh Mitchell: I think it's just one of those things when I was going through your resume, it just clicked in my head, and I was like, oh my god, like this is one of the things as consumers that you don't really think about.

[11:36] Josh Mitchell: Cool, you like see the awards.

[11:36] Nick Cook: Yeah, yeah.

[11:49] Josh Mitchell: These people literally like flip a whole theater from show one night to an award show back to open the show on the Tuesday, like blows my mind.

[11:58] Josh Mitchell: Um, but let's dig into where you are now. The Theatre Royal Sydney has just gone through a refurb to be here ready for Jagged Little Pill.

[12:07] Josh Mitchell: Um, three amazing shows actually coming up at this theater: Jagged, uh, Girl from the North Country, and American Paris, like three fantastic shows to start.

[12:18] Josh Mitchell: So what was that like being like, cool, I'm taking over this theater and look at what I get to work with straight away?

[12:24] Nick Cook: Yeah, it's been fun.

[12:25] Nick Cook: Um, it's been a really holistic kind of experience for me as well.

[12:30] Nick Cook: Um, the team at Trafalgar are tremendous, um, from the UK side of the business, which is obviously, you know, Sir Howard and Dame Rosemary are very inspirational people to work with.

[12:45] Nick Cook: Um, and then the team in Australia from Tim and Torben.

[12:50] Nick Cook: Um, it's just a lot of fun.

[12:55] Nick Cook: Um, we've all sort of been in it from day one together.

[13:00] Nick Cook: Um, and you've seen it evolve, you know, there's been a lot of headaches, but um, you know, when you've got a good group of people together, you can overcome those headaches and get us to where we need to be.

[13:14] Nick Cook: And um, yeah, I say we're very, very close.

[13:14] Nick Cook: We're very, very close.

[13:19] Nick Cook: There's, uh, this week's a long week, but uh, we're nearly there.

[13:25] Nick Cook: So I think people are going to be blown away.

[13:27] Nick Cook: I think I certainly know when we've done site visits for some producers coming through and whatnot, the overwhelming sense has been just jaw-dropping, you know, the changes that have happened have paid tribute to the original designs, they've paid tribute to how the theatre should be presented, um, and have been modernized to allow for shows to come through.

[13:52] Nick Cook: You know, that was certainly a key focus of my energy when I first joined was to make sure that the infrastructure within the theatre could support theatre for years to come.

[14:01] Nick Cook: Um, you know, there's no point in going through this sort of process to have short-term thinking.

[14:07] Nick Cook: Um, so we've definitely thought of the long term when we've been changing things.

[14:12] Nick Cook: Yeah, hopefully people like the change. You know, you can't please everyone, but I'm certainly very fortunate to have a network of people that I can call and kind of ask advice and sort of gauge some ideas before I press go on them to see what the reaction's gonna be.

[14:30] Josh Mitchell: Yeah.

[14:32] Nick Cook: Going through the reverb process and obviously setting that up for the future, is there any unique features or things about this theatre that people, for like me, for the first time going to be walking in here, that is going to distinguish it from those unique features that you see at the Capitol and Lyric and everything like that? What's unique about this theatre that makes it just be like, "Oh my God, like this is just a really cool place to consume art"?

[14:57] Nick Cook: Yeah, it's the intimacy. The intimacy of the theatre is going to be the first thing that people see, and that's not just from an audience point of view; that'd be from a performer point of view. You stand center stage and look into the auditorium, and you can see the facial expression of every single member of that audience. And it's a, you know, it's a 1200-seat theatre, so it's not a small theatre, but the intimacy of it is outstanding. There isn't another theatre in Sydney that gives that level of intimacy. Every theatre has something unique and something wonderful about it, but intimacy is absolutely at the forefront of this. I think that performers and audiences are just going to be astonished by how close they are to each other and how involved in the performance an audience will be because of that.

It's pretty unique. Architecturally, it's looking very good. It's been brought back to where it was originally, and it's looking spectacular. I love that. Hearing intimacy, especially for "Jagged," being the first—I saw "Jagged" on Broadway, and if it's intimate, I'm so excited to get in and see this show because it's so easy for a show to get lost in the space.

[16:18] Josh Mitchell: Yeah, and that's not knocking any shows or venues. Sydney's had a problem with venues. There was a huge outcry when it looked like the Royal wasn't going to be saved, you know, the protests that came about when it looked like the Royal was gonna disappear, when it was going to be yet another victim of the lack of art in Sydney. It was saved, and that process has been wonderful. Now we get to add this space to shows. When you book in a theatre as a producer, certain shows sit in certain theatres better than others. That's just life; not every show fits right. So what was it like looking at, like, as the refurb was going on from a technical perspective, looking at the specs and everything, and trying to figure out where all your rigs are gonna go and how you're gonna be able to fulfill what shows like "Jagged" and "Girl from the North Country" are going to need lighting and sound-wise?

[17:39] Nick Cook: Yeah, I sat down with the theatre consultants very early on. I have a lot of opinions, which probably clashed maybe sometimes with others. But I've been very fortunate; I've put a lot of shows in the last sort of decade into theatres. Knowing what's hurt me previously, what's not quite worked, where we could have done this better, we should have done that better. Having gone through the process in opening the Coliseum, seeing what worked there, seeing what didn't work there, and really sort of being able to map all of that out and really think about how a show bumps in, what the process is, and what shows we're likely to get. It's impossible to predict the next 10 years, but looking at the space and kind of seeing, well, you know, we're gonna sort of get a show that's probably gonna be, you know, six to twelve semi-trailers.

So what amounts of gear is gonna be coming in? How do we best go about that? Safety was a key driver with the renovation. Bringing a venue to today's standards is huge, and that was a key component of all of the works and how we went about the works was to ensure that when people are coming in to put shows in there, they're working in a pleasant and safe environment.

[19:18] Nick Cook: But yeah, there are a lot of quirks that have gone in, and the changes, you know, technology changes so often. Some things are getting lighter, some things are getting heavier, and we're making sure that we know we've got sort of contingency for that. I thought, what was your background? Was it lighting or sound?

[19:40] Josh Mitchell: So I started as a—so I did my training in studio and live music. And then I went into very small local productions as a sound and lighting tech, running both on very small rigs. But we've got a theatre here that I've had a look at all the specs for and been in and out and around the lighting techs. So like seeing the jump from small-time theatre, like operating, and then walking into places like the Capitol and the Lyric, and just look—that's my first thing I do is look up and I'm like, "Oh my God!" Like you look at "Come From Away" right now and the rig that they've got up above their stage, it is just insane. So yeah, I'm one of those people that notices the lights and then hears the sounds and looks at all the different aspects. That's my first thing as a consumer, which is really weird. But I still do that.

[20:38] Nick Cook: Yeah, it's just one of those things. Sometimes my first thing with "Six" was the back wall when it was lit a certain way. My first message was to the lighting designer, I'm like, "What's the go?" Like, that was just—I just noticed this, and he's like, "Oh my God, yeah!" Like, yeah, I was like, just those cool little things that are just really super unique that some people just don't notice because they're focused on the show, but there are people like us that are like, "That little tiny light there that did that thing in that one spot just blew my mind." So yeah, as a tech, and then I went on stage, and now I'm back doing this type of thing, breaking everything down for everyone.

[21:18] Josh Mitchell: Excellent.

[21:19] Nick Cook: So yeah, good fun. You'll know a little bit that the lighting, for example, is getting smaller with LED. You know, everything's getting lighter. You're removing heavy ballasts from fixtures and whatnot. But sound is getting bigger. The ability for an audio system these days is incredible—what you can do with sound.

[21:44] Josh Mitchell: Yeah.

[21:44] Nick Cook: So, you know, every sound design I get in, I sort of hesitantly open it, seeing sort of, "Oh no, how much are we gonna be putting in?" From surrounds through to all sorts. But it's good; it's good fun. Yeah, I'm learning. Audio was never a strong point, and this project has really tested that because I've had to put a lot of audio infrastructure in. So yeah, hopefully they like it.

[22:13] Josh Mitchell: I did the same. I was audio heavy when I first started, then flicked to lights, and now I'm kind of like in between the two, and I'm like, "Oh my God!" Like there's just so much information to carry in all the time that it's just if you don't have 14 other people around you reading the same thing, things are gonna be missed.

[22:31] Nick Cook: Absolutely. From a stage perspective, what's the setup like with stage pits, everything like that, as like bobbing in a band and everything like that? What's the setup for this venue?

[22:46] Nick Cook: So we're a Priscilla March theatre. We have an orchestra pit, so the pit is automated. It's a motorized pit. So we're lucky there; we don't have to stack build or any of that. So that's always nice. It's always a sigh of relief when people come in and there's a pit lift. It's a standard demountable stage. So again, if a production—we're very much a bare walls theatre. That's the same as the Capitol and the Lyric. We don't carry equipment per se. We have drapes and a house curtain and such like, but we don't carry lighting and sound. All of that comes in per show. So every time you go to see a show in Capitol, Lyric, or Royal, everything you see has come in specifically for that show.

[23:47] Nick Cook: I get a lot of questions from people when I do tours, and I tell them that, and they say, "Oh, that seems so counter-productive; you're gonna pull things down to hang things again." It's the explanation of if we put a standard rig in these sorts of theatres, it would spend, I would imagine, 80% or more of its life in storage.

[24:10] Josh Mitchell: Yeah, I was gonna say it's almost counterproductive these days to have a standard rig because lighting designs are so specific. Just having extra setups on rigs, like just having one extra fixture in a rig can just throw out an entire—it’s just—we're dealing with predominantly, when you look at the shows that are coming through, not unfortunately—that's the wrong word. It's generally overseas designs. It's very rare to have a show that's Australian made, Australian designed that comes into the theatres. It happens, but it's sort of the rarity. So all of the designs are designed overseas.

[24:55] Nick Cook: So that's from the lights and designer stack and designers, stack design. So whatever the sound designer, for example, designed on the West End, he or she wants to put that show with that design. You know, they may have won a Tony Award with that design. That's the design they want to have, and that includes all of the equipment. So it doesn't matter; you can have the world's greatest PA, but if it isn't the PA that that designer designed that show on, then it's not a good thing. It's gonna get ripped out and replaced. It's gonna come down, you're gonna put it in storage, you're gonna need to find somewhere for it. Theatres don't have a lot of storage; it's not a premium.

[25:34] Josh Mitchell: Especially where this theatre is as well, being in the middle of the CBD.

[25:39] Nick Cook: Correct, correct. I mean, we're essentially—it's such a unique location. We are truly in the CBD. I mean, you know, the postcode is 2000; we are slap bang in the middle of the city, but we are also sort of in the basement of 25 Martin Place. You know, that in its own right comes with a lot of challenges and a lot of positives. You know, being that close to everything is gonna, I think, be awesome when we open. I mean, really bringing the CBD alive again.

[26:16] Josh Mitchell: Yeah, it's gonna be kind of like as unique as going to see a show at the Opera House. Like it's gonna have that—like when you go to the Opera House, you have that cool seaside vibe. But this is like pure CBD Sydney, like just right in the heart of everything, essentially walking distance to nearly everything. Like it's gonna be very good for tourism when things reopen because people can just spend a whole day in the city and they'll be like, "Oh yeah, show at night." It's just, you know, it's especially just off Pitt Street, isn't it?

[26:53] Nick Cook: Yeah, yeah.

[26:54] Josh Mitchell: Yeah, so like walk down Pitt Street Mall. "Oh look, there's a theatre there." Like it's just gonna be one of those really uniquely placed theatres that is almost that New York, London-style theatre where you turn a corner and, "Oh my God, it's there." Like it definitely something that isn't really Sydney as much as—because traveling to the Lyric and the Capitol, they're in a very specific section where that whole block is the theatre, where this is like—

[27:26] Nick Cook: Correct. You go in there for the theatre.

[27:27] Josh Mitchell: Yeah.

[27:29] Nick Cook: So yeah, wow, just thinking of that. That's insane. With bump-ins and all that, what's your access like for your loading dock and all of that? Because that wouldn't be easy for semis to load in in the CBD.

[27:40] Nick Cook: No, so a semi-trailer won't fit in the load-in dock. So the trucks go to a yard and get cross-loaded onto slightly smaller trucks. And they come in that way. And then it's just straight down a ramp onto the stage. It's pretty smooth; once they're cross-loaded onto the smaller trucks, it's a pretty smooth process to get them in. It's just not quite big enough for a semi.

[28:08] Josh Mitchell: Yeah, that's insane. That's just an extra layer of logistics, an extra step that we're gonna be covering.

[28:08] Nick Cook: Yeah, it goes into the planning, and myself and the touring technical director sit down and sort of look over those logistics and hopefully find a yard that's sort of close by to do their crossover.

[28:08] Josh Mitchell: Amazing. So over your entire career, let's think of it as a whole, is there some standout moments or things that you've worked on that you're like, "I can't believe I got a chance to be a part of the team that did that"?

[28:08] Nick Cook: Um, there's a lot. There's a lot. As soon as I started that question, I was like looking at your resume. I'm like, this is gonna be a hard one to edit. It was very flattering when I left Foundation. The director of operations there, who had been my boss for the entire time I was there, Paul, he sent an email out to the whole business wishing me well and quoted the amount of shows I'd brought into the theatre in my time there. And even I was shocked. I can't remember offhand, but it was a disturbing amount of bump-ins. Sort of, oh wow, yeah, that's quite a bit. Show-wise, I think for me sentimentally, being able to work on Les Mis was a big one for me.

[29:55] Nick Cook: Um my dad is not one for theatre. However, he loves La Miz. And it was the only show he would ever go and see. And uh he saw it so many times in different theaters around the UK. Um so getting to work on Lame is was pretty awesome to sort of share some of the secrets with him. Yeah, sort of was was a really nice moment. So for me personally, it was it could it would be that one. Um but then sort of as a tech, when you put your tech head on, seeing shows seeing Disney shows come through, like The Lion King and um and Aladdin, particularly, and seeing how far they push the technology, yeah, was was quite incredible. Um I would love to fly on the wall for that, like just like it was huge. Just watching their shows is just overwhelming.

And then you think about costume, like not even just lights, let's put lights and sound away, just costuming hair, makeup, like just did you did you see Aladdin in the case? I saw a lad I've seen Aladdin on Broadway. Um I've seen Frozen and Mary Poppins. They're my three Disney shows that I've seen so far. The act two opening of um of Aladdin, yeah, where they're doing the um the procession, it's um some of the greatest charges I've ever seen, and it was backstage, um, where essentially the performers were constantly looping around backstage into different costumes. So they they they they were dresses for days in the wings, and they they'd come running off prompt side, leg it across the the back of the stage and then re-enter on uh on OP in a different costume and it was it was the procession for uh for for him.

It was it was tremendous to see. Um and it was sort of that that particular show with Cave of Wonders going into the Cave of Wonders scene was the first time I felt I wanted to sort of give a uh a set change a scene change a standard ovation. Yeah it was just a marvel of lighting and and and technology. Yeah it was pretty it was pretty amazing. But that show it was it came into the Capitol I can't remember exactly but it was it was something silly like 31 semi trailers that it came in in it was huge.

[32:23] Nick Cook: But it's like time. That's a long so good bumping. I would love to be hands on with that type of stuff oh my god okay as a future um sitting here right now if you had the option to work in any theatre or on any show anywhere in the world right now where would you go oh I don't know yeah um I like I I have you know I haven't had a chance to do a show here yet and I think for me that's that's something I'm incredibly excited for in Chrome I've spent the last geez what we know November I spent the last almost 11 months um on a building site so I I'm I'm I'm really looking forward to getting some some crew into the building and some performers and and brightening this brightening the place up um that's an adding some some adventure to to the the royal so I I don't think I changed anything right now I think for me personally I I really I'm really excited to to bring shows through you know you you named the three shows that we're bringing here to yeah I'm pumped for those three things especially for an Australian market to have those three coming out so close to their Broadway um correct births as well like it's it's very rare we get American in Paris is a different story but you're talking girl from north country and um jagged have only gone on Broadway actually and West End I think girl from North Country is about to go there um in the last 24 to 36 months like it it's super fresh which is great for for Jagged we're the first we're the first stop post-Broadway um and you know that's that's rare that's rare for for a show to to come from Broadway and and and come into the Australian market and especially you know into the Sydney market as well which is it's it's exciting and um I think it's gonna really as we move forward and and knowing knowing Sir Howard and knowing how the Trafalgar is so determined to to bring shows to Australia first to really enhance that you know Sydney gets it first at the Royal you know where we're so proud to to be able to bring that out here.

[35:02] Nick Cook: It's exciting, so I try, I truly, I know that probably sounds like a pretty fair answer, but that was actually now a pretty damn good answer.

[35:12] Nick Cook: Who knows about the future or even the short-term future? It's certainly, I'm just really looking forward to having a show again and being involved in that creativity. As much as the build of a theater is an incredibly creative process in its own right, it's not a live show; it's not that process. So, it's going to fix things when they go wrong on an instant, trying to attempt to fix things. You know, sometimes you can't, even when that's a good show. This is one of the hardest sectors of the industry, I think, to get your foot in the door and get started. Being where you are now and having the experience behind you, I was one of those people that was like, I dropped out of school, went into my tech college, did my qualifications, and then hit a brick wall trying to get in. Luckily, I was just persistent enough; I ended up here doing my own thing.

[36:12] Nick Cook: For those people maybe that are still looking for a job or are trying to get into the industry on the tech ops side of things um what's some advice you have for those people um trying to start their career. It can be tricky it can be tricky um I coming from sort of an educational background as my route into the industry um I'm a I'm a firm supporter of of that education in in into the industry um and it doesn't have to be a a four-year degree you you know it's it's that going out and doing a live performance course it's it you know going and doing uh a week course uh you know a one year course um to really sort of get that grounding uh in the industry um it's it's it's really good to see that um that TAFE are starting to to really ramp up some live performance stuff as well um nider obviously uh WAPA um I I've done a lot of um stuff with the NIDA um one year technical course um where I take on some secondments I do some some guest lecturing for them um and I do lots of tours of the theatre for people um and so that route is you know it it can be it can be a lot clearer for for people that aren't coming from that from people who are coming from a hands on background from amateur dramatics where they've they've been with their their Amdran group and that you know they've been running the lights they've been doing the the set you know yeah um again all incredible groundings in the industry and I just encourage people to to keep going to keep learning to keep doing shows every show you do it doesn't matter what what size the theatre is it doesn't matter how many lights there are every show you do you become better yeah and that that takes you far you know it's it's bloody hard work yeah it is it it really is and and that can put a lot of people off but just putting yourself out there don't don't just just litter people with with your resume yeah that's listen when I when I moved to Australia so when I first moved to Australia I was on the back of being a a tech manager for for very large company in the States with Carnival um I was doing hundred million dollar refit projects and I couldn't get anyone to take my call in Australia.

[38:56] Nick Cook: I was calling every theatre I was calling every theatre company I was calling higher companies and I couldn't get anyone to take my call like no one was replying to emails and eventually I got one reply back and that was that it it took off it's just if this is something that people want to do it's just about being persistent and and I will say it you know I don't a lot of those people you know might come across as being being rude where people haven't replied maybe and yes some people maybe yeah a lot of the time people just forget or or they were they they were in the middle of a 14 hour day putting a show in and they got your email and it's sort of just it just got lost um forgot to go back yeah so there's there's no harm in following up that email give it a couple of weeks follow it up look at what the schedule is for for who you call in and and sort of seeing are they in the middle of a a build you know and it's probably not the best time to to call but yeah um you know and and look out for for for ads that that pop up you know that they pop up in in a lot of the publications um and yeah just be brave and and don't don't don't be afraid to engage you know uh text texts they're not as scary as they look they may dress in black, but that's just so they can't we're all we're all cuddly really.

[40:21] Nick Cook: Um but no it's um you know I certainly welcome well welcome anyone to to reach out to me and um and and inquire about work and and yeah you know it it might be that I I can't offer work you know it it might be that I need you to go and do a few more shows or or or something along those lines but you know I'm always keen to reply to people and and and offer my my advice to them um where I think they could maybe improve before coming in because i if if coming into a you know this this sort of size theater as as a as an early gig in in your career um the I think the curve is probably gonna be too too intense yeah um and it would it would it would be too daunting and I think it would probably scare a lot of people yeah um because it's fast you know everything's fast it's long hours and it's very fast paced and it can be very easy to sort of get left behind yeah yeah yeah I love that great insight and guess what Nick that brings us to the end of the episode that is a pretty good tying point guys so make sure you're checking this out because Nick's about to go back to a bump in and get really excited for a couple of weeks until uh Jaggat opens um so make sure you guys are checking out theatre royal Sydney because as I said three huge shows coming um to Sydney uh you guys aren't gonna want to miss this because these shows are top quality um we've already seen the cast for Jagged and it is incredible um hopefully you guys keep your ears peeled on this podcast and we might hear more about that from them um here uh but I'm just excited to walk through this theater and get eyes on it for the first time myself.

[42:03] Josh Mitchell: So uh I'm super pumped at that. Thank you, Nick, for joining us.

[42:07] Nick Cook: Alright, give me a shout or I'll give you a talk.

[42:09] Josh Mitchell: 100%.

[42:10] Josh Mitchell: Uh and guys, we'll do. Guys, thank you so much for joining, and we'll be back next week with a brand new episode of the podcast.

[42:17] Josh Mitchell: Bye.