How I got my job... as a theatre director

Miranda Cromwell, who co-directed the recent West End production of Death Of A Salesman, shares her secrets…

Your hobby can become your job

I found out I was dyslexic at college – it helped me realise that I learn in a different way. Throughout high school I’d do all the creative subjects – anything to stay as far from the traditional classroom as I could. I’m really drawn to making things with other people, rather than by myself, but as much as I enjoyed drama and the arts,

I didn’t think there was any work in them. Even when I was studying performing arts [in Truro, Cornwall] I was selling double glazing in order to subsidise what I thought was a hobby. Back then I wasn’t really aware of all the different jobs in theatre. The only way I thought I could make money from something I loved was to teach, so I went to an audition at the Bristol Old Vic theatre, to lead their Young Company [ages five to 25].

Listen… but to the right people

In Bristol I became the director of the Young

Company. Early on, my students had suggested we put on a show and I was the one to organise and direct it. From there I began directing three to five shows a year – large productions with hundreds of people. One of the biggest lessons I learned was how to keep my own voice while also taking on advice. It’s important to seek out feedback, but I used to listen to others’ criticism so much that I would change what I was doing and stop taking risks. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut and know that you’re the expert on your own show. Now, if I get criticism, I ask myself, “Did I make the work for them? Are they the demographic of the audience?” If they are, then I take on the feedback. A 70-year-old reviewer isn’t the right person to listen to if you made the show for teenagers.

Mentors are the same as friends

After eight years in Bristol I moved to London. My mum wasn’t well, so I wanted to be closer to her, but I also felt I was ready to move on from youth theatre. It was like starting again from scratch. I sought out assistant director jobs, particularly with women I admired in the industry. Finding a mentor, I think, is almost the same as how you would make a friend – I would form a relationship with those who I was inspired by. I was in email contact with my mentors for years, making sure they knew I was keen to work with them while also emailing feedback when I went to see their shows. It was my work as an assistant that led to me being invited to co-direct Death Of A Salesman in the West End, which was the biggest production I’ve ever worked on.

“Finding a mentor is almost like making a friend”