Think politics, disorder, issues with a capital I. In fact, capitalize the whole bloody word. 503 seems synonymous with topical debate, 2009’s This Much Is True, for example.   But can the fearless 503 show its lighter side?

Their new show Peter & Vandy, on which I have just been appointed Assistant Producer, certainly leans to the happier side of the human condition. About as close as 503 will ever come to RomCom, Jay DiPietro’s play is receiving its British premiere after huge success in New York.

It might seem like a safe bet, nice and comfortable and easy. But it goes against that age old axiom (which I may have just made up) that topical issues sell. This certainly seems to work best at 503 and with social/political/cultural “problems” come a whole host of potential marketing strategies. But how do you market a play where two people fall in love, then fall out of love and back in love and then back out of love, etc? This isn’t a deadly shooting on the underground or the conflicts in a gritty south London prison. This is worse. In Britain, Love and Happiness doesn’t sell.

But it’s my job to make it sell. This is going to be tough. I’ll hopefully be back with positive progress soon. Check it out at www.theatre503.com. Maybe I’ll just ask the writer to have a little rewrite. Perhaps Vandy is driven to psychosis after discovering Peter, now a premiership footballer, has been cheating and her brand new Toyota has been recalled?

Back of the net.

I suppose I am influenced by good theatre. I have to be honest though, recently, I haven’t seen a lot of that. Yeah, most of it’s good, enjoyable stuff, I just want to be blown away. As a producer though I find myself influenced by certain artists. I know who I want to work with in my career; who I hope will let me produce their stuff. Mark Rylance, Rupert Goold and companies like Complicite and Punchdrunk are the people I want to work with. I also love experimental, new theatre so its hard to be influenced by something which hasn’t been realised yet.

Do you have a particular style of producing (Would you consider yourself a “creative producer”?)

In my opinion, we work in the arts sector and I strongly believe that all I do is creative. That may sound a bit cliche and a tonne of bullshit, but I think that you can be creative with anything you do. Lighting, acting, any type of design, direction, producing is creative. Of course, you can be boring and treat it like admin, but even arts admin has some capacity to be creative. I’m wary of saying I’m a “Creative Producer”, it implies that a mere “producer” is bland and unartistic.

You’ve incorporated multimedia in theatre productions in the past. To what effect?

Multimedia is important. I think the way theatre is consumed is completely dfferent to 20-30 years ago. We seem to crave visual theatre, I certainly do. This is why directors like Rupert Goold are so successful – they don’t just use text, they utilise all forms of media and it makes for some enchanting work. That said, multimedia should never distract, it should work with the live performance to enhance the production. This is what I try and do when I use multmedia or when I am trying to placate an overly ambitious director adamant to use film, sound, dance, music and performance simultaneously; in my opinion, less is more.

What are your thoughts on the opportunities for producers in the early stages of their career?

In the early stages of producing, it is certainly hard to get anywhere. Well, anywhere you consider to be anywhere. But that said, its easy to get involved. Hitch yourself with some dead end, brainless job. Did someone mention Harrods? and get stuck in. I find everyone incredibly willing to take you on board and offer their advice and that’s incredibly comforting. I would quite like to see some more industry-led producing internships (paid, obviously), but with much of the focus, quite rightly so, on acting, design and direction, that could be a way off.

What is your planned or desired future direction?

At every interview I go to they always ask the “where do you see yourself in 5 years time” question. I always say I don’t know. 5 years, I’m not sure. But 30. No problem. Running a space like the Young Vic, with the best artistic director in the country and owning a blackberry. Tidy.

Thanks Tom!

We’ll be featuring the same invaluable information on jobs, offers and events, but will also be hosting the creative industry commentary and criticism of special guests and commentators. Watch this space. OR if watching isn’t your thing, you can subscribe to RSS feeds of certain post categories on our homepage. For more information, or to contribute your own two cents (pence) contact us at uk@stellarnetwork.com.