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Creative Industries Insight Day

For secondary school students in Key Stage 4 (ages 14-16)

Tuesday 23 February 2027

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The day will provide insight into technical and production careers within the creative industry. You can choose to join for a full school day trip, which will include a carousel of workshops in the morning, followed by a fully staged excerpt from Don Giovanni at the Leeds Grand Theatre after lunch.

There will also be an option to join for the afternoon performance only, which will be brought to life by a welcome talk before the show begins and an insight session following the performance.

Important information

Workshops

Participating schools will be able to sign up for and be allocated a maximum of 2 workshops.

The workshops will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. 

All participating schools will get at least one of their workshop choices.

The maximum number of students per school per workshop is 15. This group of students will attend both workshops. This is due to workshop capacity. Teachers must accompany students and stay with their students for the full duration of the trip.

Performance 

If you are booking tickets for the afternoon for a school group, please contact the box office to make use of the group booking offer.

Price

£12  per student for the full day (morning and afternoon), book via form.

£6.50 per student for the afternoon session only, book here. One free ticket per 10 booked for accompanying school staff.

For group bookings, contact the Box Office.

Venue
  • Leeds Grand Theatre

Timetable

Morning (10.00am—12.00pm)

The morning will include a carousel of workshops all focused on different elements of a career in technical theatre or theatre production. Please note workshop capacity is limited.

Workshop 1: Stage management workshop with Kate Davy, Head of Stage Management, in the Leeds Grand Theatre

This workshop will involve an on-stage cuing exercise led by Kate. Cuing is the signalling process provided by a stage manager to actors, technicians and crew during a performance to let them know what they need to do when.  This exercise will involve giving lighting and sound cues in response to a piece of music.

Workshop 2: Production Life Cycle, with George Leigh, Head of Production, in the Howard Assembly Room

George and his team will present the production process of an opera from designing to building the set, providing insight into the different job roles involved throughout the process. Participants will also have an Opera North model box presented to them, which is a scaled down, 3D representation of a theatre set.

Workshop 3: Costume design workshop with Evie Gurney, Costume Designer, in the Howard Opera Centre 

Evie Gurney will talk about the role of costume in telling a story, as well as giving an insight into a day in the life of a costume designer.

Please sign up via the form, stating your 1st and 2nd choice: Opera North’s Creative Industries Insight Day – Fill in form

The deadline for workshops sign-up is Friday 16 October.

Please note: if we reach capacity prior to the deadline date, we may have to close registration early. If we don’t reach capacity by the deadline, we will keep the form open.

Afternoon (1.00—2.15pm)

Performance of an extract from Don Giovanni with a ‘behind the scenes’ demonstration 

The afternoon will involve an introduction to staging an opera, led by a member of the creative team, followed by a performance of the final scene from the opera Don Giovanni.

There will then be a demonstration to showcase how the scene was staged from a technical perspective, followed by a short Q&A with the technical team.

To book for the afternoon only please click here.

FAQs

Am I able to book for just the morning workshops/afternoon presentation?

You can either book for the full day or the afternoon, but not just for the morning. Please see the pricing details for further information.

If you’d like to book for the full day, you will need to wait to book your afternoon tickets until workshops are confirmed and allocated to avail of the reduced full day price (following 16th October workshop sign-up deadline). Theatre tickets for workshop participants will be reserved. We will then contact you to let you know if you did/did not get a workshop place, so you can book afternoon theatre tickets.

Can I book for more or less than 15 students for either/both parts of the day?

15 students is the maximum a school can book for the morning sessions, but you can also book for less than this.

The afternoon is not limited, so you may book for as many students as you wish, provided you ensure you have appropriate accompanying teacher-to-student ratios.

You can book for up to 15 students for the morning workshops and book for more students to join for the afternoon. Please note, the day rate is only applicable to those joining for the full day. If you wish to bring additional students to the afternoon performance only, you can go ahead and book afternoon tickets for these students. As mentioned above, please wait until we have confirmed workshop attendance (following 16 October) to book afternoon tickets for students you’d like to join the morning workshops.

Can I bring students not in Year 10 or 11?

The morning workshops are intended for Key Stage 4 aged students, who are either currently studying or considering studying more vocational careers, but the afternoon performance is open to secondary school students of all ages.

Will students staying for the full day have a space for lunch?

Yes. A room will be designated for students and their teachers to have lunch before the afternoon performance. Please bring a packed lunch for this. Water refill stations are available. Please do not bring anything containing nuts.

Who will supervise students for the morning/afternoon?

Accompanying teachers must supervise their students for the full duration of your trip, with Opera North staff on hand to guide you around the building.

Is the event accessible?

All spaces across the day are fully accessible. Please share any access needs when booking.

How will seating for the performance in the theatre be assigned?

Seating will be assigned first come first served, filling the stalls first before moving up to the dress and upper circle of the auditorium. While we cannot guarantee specific seating allocations in the theatre, please do let us know when booking if any attendees have access needs that limit their seating options and suitable seating will be assigned. Please note, enough theatre seating for morning workshop participants will be reserved, so you can easily book once we have been in touch following the workshop sign-up deadline.

Is parking available for coaches?

Specific information on parking arrangements for those attending the full day or afternoon will be shared closer to the time. However, coaches will only be able to drop off/pick up at the venue.

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