Work Experience

Every year the Playhouse is able to offer in the region of 16 work experience students one-week placements. These weeks are highly competed for and consequently well prized. Most participants reflect that such opportunities offer a precious chance for them to learn about the workings of various departments in a theatre.

Applicants must complete an application form , returning it to the Education Department, at Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2LW, specifying which of the following weeks, they are applying for.

Applicants are selected for placements by interview on the basis of enthusiasm, proof of interest, aptitude and general quality of application. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer dates other than those listed below.

Please read the FAQ as this may help you when applying for a placement. If you have any further questions please contact Education on 01865 305334.

Image from Trestle Theatre Company

Summer Holiday Placements

During the summer we run a number of workshops for young people (8 - 18 years). We offer voluntary work experience placements to support the participants of these weeks. If you are interested please contact Heidi Vaughan for more details (01865 305366 / email ) or submit a C.V. with references to:

Heidi Vaughan
Oxford Playhouse
Beaumont Street
Oxford
OX1 2LW


Placement Dates


2007/2008 Academic Year

  • June 16 - 20

2008/2009 Academic Year

  • SEPTEMBER 22 - 25 Fully booked
  • OCTOBER 20 - 24 (group week) Fully booked
  • NOVEMBER 24 - 28 Fully booked
  • FEBRUARY 16 - 17
  • MARCH 16 - 20
  • APRIL 20 - 24
  • MAY 18 - 22
  • JUNE 22 - 26
  • JULY 6 - 10 (group week)

N.B.Weeks marked with * are weeks where a work experience course is available rather than an individual placement. These placements will consist of up to 10 students and carry a fee for the week.


Application Pack

If you are interested in applying for a placement at Oxford Playhouse, please download and complete the following PDF application form and send to the address stated above.



 Work Experience: Frequently Asked Questions How do I apply for a placement? Please download and complete the application form available above.
Letters and curriculum vitae alone will not be accepted as applications for a placement.
By asking everyone to complete a form we are able to make fairer comparison between candidates.
Forms can be sent by mail or e-mail. Do you interview candidates? All short-listed candidates are interviewed, as placements are highly valued and competed for. We may get up to 25 applicants for a single week; from these we will generally interview about 8 – 10 candidates.

If we do not select you for interview on your first application please do not hesitate to apply for a different week or the following academic year. How soon will I hear from you after I have sent in the form? The time between sending in your application and the time we take to reply will depend on a number of things, for example during the run of the Christmas show, or during summer schemes we may take a bit longer processing the forms, or if there are a high volume of applications for a week.

If you have applied for a placement with dates more than 2 months in advance we will write to confirm that we have received your application. If the placement you have applied for is in less than 2 months the first time you are likely to hear from us is when we shortlist for interview.

Once we have short-listed for a certain week we will write to all candidates to let them know whether they have been successful in getting an interview. Why do you only offer certain weeks? We offer placements between September and July of an academic year. During this time we will offer a single week placement per month.

We try to schedule the placements to coincide with Oxfordshire County Council work experience weeks and also our own programme of events. How many people do you take for each placement? We generally offer a placement to one person only.

If there are two applicants for a single placement that we think would work well together (e.g. same career aims) or gain from each other’s experience (e.g. a GCSE year student and an A’ level student), then we may take two people for a single week.

We never take more than 2 people for a single week (except when we are funded for an exceptional scheme). Can I have a placement in your makeup / wardrobe department? Because we are mainly a receiving theatre (one that brings in touring shows on a weekly basis), we rarely have opportunities in makeup / wardrobe. Visiting companies bring their own staff with them to which we have no access.

Opportunities may occasionally arise when we produce our own show, for example our Christmas show, when we would have access to makeup / wardrobe teams. Week placements in single department in such circumstances are only considered during such runs. Can I learn more about lighting? We have previously offered work experience students the opportunity to see a single performance from the lighting box. This can give you an insight into the workings of the equipment that is used to control the lighting during a performance.

Opportunities may occasionally arise when we produce our own show, for example our Christmas show, when we design our own lighting.

Placements during production week for students 16+ may be given to those specifically interested in lighting / set design / backstage work. Do you offer a two-week placement? No, we only offer single week placements for students. What age range is work experience suitable for? We generally take students who are 15+ at the time of the placement week.

Please be aware students who are under 16 are only able to watch backstage work.

Students who are aged 16+ are able to assist with backstage work.

Work experience placements are open to anyone (15+) who wants to spend a week at the theatre, moving between the departments and gaining an insight into the workings of the theatre. Placements will not be given to students under 14 years. Work experiences at Oxford Playhouse favours a mature approach. Do you take day release work experience placements? We only offer weeklong work experience placements to GCSE age students and above.
Oxford University students please check below.

Rarely we may offer individuals one day a week in a specific department for a set period of time. Please contact us if you have any specific requests, we may be able to assist.

If you are over 18 and wish to gain experience of the Front of House department you can apply to become a volunteer usher. Please see Opportunities for more details. I am a Oxford University student, can I apply for a placement? We offer tailored placements to Oxford University students. These can be arranged via the Oxford University Drama Officer. Please visit the Burton Taylor Studio website for contact details. Do you offer internships? No, at present we do not offer internships.

If you are a mature student and believe you have more to offer Oxford Playhouse than this current programme seems to allow, please write to Rupert Rowbotham, Head of Education (rupert.rowbotham@oxfordplayhouse.com). The week I want has already gone? We will advertise placement dates for the next academic year from Easter. Some weeks are more popular than others, and these weeks are likely to be filled first.

As soon as we have about 10 people short-listed we will interview and fill the placement. When we start interviewing for a specific week this will be indicated by ‘Applications for this week are closed’.

Weeks that have been filled will be indicated on the website.

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