Paul McCartney fame school

[sunflower68]

This one is for joko - I read that you used to go there. I would be really interested to know what it was like, and if you ever met Mr McCartney. Did you become famous??! ;)

[joko]

HI sunflower,
I was on the performance design course - you know sets props scenery, so no, i'm not famous (could have pretended then couldn�t i? lol)
i did see paul 3 times, spoke twice, he was with heather once. there were often celebs about the place
he told me he had a pair of pliers in his pocket and offered to get my nose stud out for me. he was really nice and bought my mate a drink as she was there when he arrived.
he visits about 2-3 times a year, usually when there is some kind of occasion.
you are guaranteed to meet him at least once - he does the graduation ceremony.
some people think its like the tv show fame - its not. you do get the occasional dancer in the bar but not very often. Its much like any other colleges � just noisier!
some of the tutors are known to be frustrated performers or 'failures' in their chosen field so are bitter but i think these are in the minority. some of the guys from the band 'the farm are now music tutors and they're great.
There are of course a few arrogant snooty fame hungry students but thankfully they were not typical.
many of the success stories are not by fame it is often behind the scenes, top of the field type situations. there are a few �sort of� famous people, like in life on mars, the female wpc liz white, and one guy from the phone ads with the 'suits you sir' guys.
the young guy who won the role of son in emmerdale on soap idol was a pal of mine
i myself have worked on a few big blockbusters as well as smaller but very well known productions.
There are many success stories but not in terms of fame, more of being the top in their field perhaps behind the scenes, or in a group.
generally it is a really fun, vibrant place full of really talented people. they run courses in every aspect of putting on a performance - music, design, sound, dancing, singing, acting, management etc
are you thinking of going there?

[sunflower68]

Thanks joko. I guess I am just a curious type. Often wondered what it was all about. Did you have to have special qualifications and is it funded like a 'normal' college? How does that bit work? Personally no, I have never had the bug to perform but I can gather from your field it must be a fantastic place to learn a trade such as performance design.

C'mon and spill the beans - which sets have you worked on. Any gossip on those actors. You owe it to us curious ABers!

Thankyou joko, it is a great insight and you gave me a good idea of it all. Sounds like you must have had some fun there! Jo.

[joko]

hi sunflower,

no, no special qualifications, just need to be able to perform well and demonstrate ability at the audition/interview.

its much like any other college really, except for a never ending stream of shows and productions, with all your mates in!

can't really give you any goss - i'd never work again!
but i have worked on, at varying levels, troy, harry potter, blue peter, hollyoaks, bob the builder, revengers tragedy, nice guy eddie, the coral, starhyke and loads of smaller stuff that you probably won't have heard of.

its an interesting job, meet loads of new people though sometimes you get weeks and weeks of no work, which can be annoying - it can be quite hectic though, so its also nice to have some time off.

i'd like to have something else to do in between jobs - like sewing or something - but you can't gurantee an employer of your availability so they are reluctant to employ you.

thats the only downside for me really, except for the occasional ego or bully...but that can happen anywhere