Mentoring.
“You land this job as PM and suddenly you are Head of Health & Safety, running fire drills and evacuation procedures, then having to do a performance review of staff that were under-performing, trying to set budgets for the following year based on the very scant information, dealing with over-ambitious designers, and having to step back as you’re the only one who really knows how the widget controller works.”
The PMF understands how important Mentors can be in this scenario, acting as a guide, a support, a source of information, and someone who just understands your problems and concerns. So we’re delighted at the level of support that we’ve received for our Mentoring Scheme, which relaunched in July. Our Mentoring Team, led by Brod Mason, has been working hard to recruit volunteer Mentors from both the theatre and events worlds, and we now have an impressive cast list of highly-experienced and senior members of our profession, based not only in the UK, but also in Africa, Australasia and the USA.
Mentors and Mentees meet monthly, and although primarily aimed at early-career or would-be Production Managers, our Mentoring Scheme can be invaluable for Production Managers at any stage of their development. Previous Mentees have gone on to successful freelance and venue-based careers; and their Mentors get lots out of it too!
“I’m very pleased to be part of the PMF mentoring scheme. While I have knowledge and experience to share, I also believe that I can learn a lot from a mentee. They will have fresh perspectives and innovative ideas that can challenge and inspire me. This mutual learning dynamic is both enriching and rewarding, and it is gratifying to know that I will be playing a part in their growth and success.”
Joe Fletcher, Head of Production, Sydney Theatre Company
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the time given to me by a brilliant PMF mentor; it gave me the confidence that I could move into production management and I haven’t looked back since! It felt only right to give my time as a mentor and I found the experience rewarding and informative; I learnt lots about myself whilst supporting a junior colleague navigating their way into production management.”
Suzy Somerville, Director of Production, Birmingham Rep
“I got into the industry thanks to senior team members taking the time to teach me, so it’s really important to me to give something back and support the next generation of Production Managers.”
Louise Gregory, Technical & Production Manager, An Tobar and Mull Theatre
We are still looking to support more mentoring partnerships,
so if you’re interested in volunteering as a Mentor,
or if you think you would benefit from some mentoring support,
please get in touch via [email protected],
or go to the Mentoring page of the PMF website.
