My name is Lucy Kitcher, I am early in my career as an Assistant Stage Manager, Stage Crew member and Event Organiser. I have experience in prop designing and making, set building and painting, learning cue sheets and assisting in rehearsals and get in/outs.
I am enthusiastic and friendly and love a challenge, I am a good problem solver and keep a calm head in a crisis.
The majority of my experience has been with the great theatres in the South West region where I am based, but I am happy to travel and keen to dive into new experiences and locations.
In the past year I have worked for, or trained with, theatres such as Plymouth Theatre Royal, Exeter Northcott Theatre, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and Hull Truck Theatre. I have been ASM on the productions “Exe-Men” at the Northcott and “Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas” at Theatre Royal Plymouth, in association with the Lyric Hammersmith and Pins and Needles Theatre Company.
My experience ranges from professional theatre to community arts events, amateur performances, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I have always loved theatre and have been part of drama groups and creatives projects since I was very young. When I was a child my family created a charity for disabled young people in the South West to take part in art, drama and dance activities, and so inclusivity in the arts has always been close to my heart.
Training
My start into Stage Management came from deciding that theatre was the world I wanted to be in, having worked in other entertainment and events industries. I like the immediacy of theatre, and the use of practical effects, and how theatre storytelling can share such great stories and inspire emotions in an audience. I reflected on my previous experience in theatre work and wanted something that involved creativity, organisation and practical skills.
I wanted to put to use my skills in administration and organisation but in a creative field, and so pursued the role I had enjoyed so much at the Edinburgh Fringe and focused my time into Stage Management. I completed TRP’s ‘People Company Stage Management Course’ with Jeanette Owen (Nov-Dec 2022), ‘Prop Making’ with Meriel Pym at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (July 2024), Guildhall School for Music & Drama’s ‘Introduction to Event and Production Management’ with Mark Hartley (Jan-Mar 2025), Wise Children’s ‘Tech Taster Workshop’ for their show ‘North by Northwest’ at Theatre Royal Bath (May 2025) and I returned to BOVTS for a ‘Puppet Making Masterclass’ with Meriel Pym in July 2025.
I worked on developing my experience through seeking work placements and shadowing opportunities and various theatres. I shadowed the Stage Manager of Cameron Macintosh’s “Mary Poppins UK Tour” at Theatre Royal Plymouth. I was able to see the work of a large scale production with a great number of fly cues, movable set and automation. I have also shadowed at Hull Truck Theatre, during the tech & preview process for the show “To Have and To Hold” dir. Terry Johnson. In this week I shadowed the DSM as she called the show and was able to observe her script annotations and note making. I also shadowed the ASMs during the last dress rehearsal, I greatly enjoyed being backstage during this rehearsal to see the layout of the props table and backstage traffic. I also shadowed the Stage Management team on “Hamilton UK and Ireland Tour” while it was at Plymouth Theatre Royal for the summer. I shadowed with the ASM’s on their show tracks and sat with the DSM as he called the show, and was able to see how a DSM cues to a sung-through production.
At the same time I shadowed on “Hamilton” I was doing work experience with the Technical Stage Crew at TRP. I was part of the get out and deconstruction of an outdoor performance festival venue, and shadowed from the Crew side on “Hamilton”. I worked with the crew on the flyteam to see how they operate the rigging and perform the fly cues for the show. I worked for a few nights with the stage crew, working with the ASM’s to set furniture in place and set/reset props. At times I was given responsibility to act the cues on my own, or with the crew member and ASM. I learnt a great deal from this experience and greatly enjoyed being learning the ASM track for this show, and working as a crew member as well.
Since this time I have become a regular member of the TRP crew and have assisted on large Get In/Get Outs for shows such as “Miss Saigon”.
In the summer of 2025 I was approached by the Exeter Northcott for a Stage Management placement on their new production of “Exe Men” the story of the Exeter Chiefs rugby team. On this placement I was able to work from start to finish on a production – I was part of production meetings, rehearsals, technical rehearsals and shows. I learned a great deal from the CSM and DSM on how they approach their roles and was able to observe other professionals and how they managed their roles to get ready for the shows. I had an amazing time on “Exe Men” and I’m very grateful to the Exeter Northcott for my experience there, and I believe this training gave me the boost I needed to start working professionally as an ASM. I had found the main gap in my experience to date was just learning what it is like to work on a professional production. I was able to put into practice skills like prop sourcing, making setting lists, shout checks, and working alongside other technical teams to bring a production together.
The Plymouth amateur dramatic group ‘Tamaritans Theatre Company’ have a been a great step in my development. They produce high-quality amateur productions in a range of styles and perform in venues such as Theatre Royal Plymouth’s Drum stage, Plymouth’s Barbican Theatre, and The Watermark, Ivybridge. I started as ASM on the production of ‘Blackadder II’ in the summer of 2024. I made props such as clay pipes, a gravestone, and wooden signs, aligning to the brief that they needed to be durable, highly visible and period -appropriate. I also set and reset all props, keeping track of multiple duplicate props, built and painted the set, was responsible for set changes during performance and the get-in/get-out of TRP’s Drum stage. I was On-Stage Manager/ensemble for ‘The Girl on The Train’ (Sept 2024-Jan 2025) keeping track on complex set formations and choreography with moveable set pieces. The next production was Gail Young’s ‘Bothered and Bewildered’ – I was Stage Managing and acting in this production due to cast illness. We were restricted by limited technical set up and short rehearsal period but succeeded in creating a heartfelt story with multiple set locations and vast array of props covering multiple time periods. I was Stage Manager for ‘1984’ (Oct 2025- Jan 2026) the Nick Hern adaptation of the novel by George Orwell, directed by Steve Baker, and performed at the Drum in Theatre Royal Plymouth. I had to step away from this production for a time due to my work commitments with ‘Father Christmas’ but I was there for early rehearsals and set design, then returned to learn my track, manage the get in, and run the show in the venue.
I Stage Managed ‘Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ directed by Ami Philpott. The set for the show was a collection of 10 small ottoman style boxes to be used by the cast and ensemble to create different spaces such as Christopher’s home, London train stations, Swindon streets and town centre. Each box has it’s own track and has to be carefully set and handled during the show to ensure all props are accessible by the right people. This show had the challenge of the cast staying on stage for the entire run time- meaning all props have to be perfectly set beforehand and there is no room for adjustments during the show. The props were designed in line with the show’s meta-context – Christopher’s story of investigation is being performed as his school’s play – so the props have a hand-made look; 2D cardboard planets, tin foil pitchfork and simple recognisable character props for the variety of roles embodied by the ensemble. I operated sound for this production and worked closely to train my ASM to manage the backstage area while I was occupied with tech.
Education & Other Experience
I pursued my love of theatre, literature and history into my Classical Civilisation degree, focusing my dissertation on women in Greek Tragedy. I was always a part of student shows – as an actor, stage manager, set designer and make up artist. In my final year I was Stage Manager for Smirk Theatre, bringing their show “Takin’ It Easy 1916” to the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns I maintained my interest in theatre, supporting National Theatre At Home and my local theatres where possible, around my family’s shielding restrictions. At this time I worked for a Plymouth charity that worked with older people- I worked in administration; managed the website and social media, levelled up their digital platform through a CRM database and card payment system, completed risk assessments, and streamlined various projects within the charity.
I found my way into work as Production/Location Assistant with TV company Twofour (Aug-Dec 2023), an Usher at Theatre Royal Plymouth (Dec 2022-Present), and Production Assistant for community arts company Filament Works CIC as part of the Wide Open Paignton project (Aug-Dec 2024). Through these roles I have developed my skills in working in fast paced environments and picking up new and challenging skills quickly.
I had never worked in TV before working for Twofour and did not have the grounding of a TV/Film degree like my other colleagues but I learnt to adapt to this new environment, became familiar with the terminology used, and developed my resilience when working long hours and travelling long distances.
Filament Works CIC gave me the opportunity to assist on a large community arts event ‘Echoes; Paignton in Motion – Past, Present and Future’ before creating two of my own events with a team of assistants. Here I developed my skills in project management and team leadership, as well as building on my practical skills in adapting a multi-use arts space for a theatre performance, Q&A, and family craft workshop.
Lucy Kitcher Theatre 