Zak on Cinderella on Ice, Come From Away and Carousel

Portrush man Zak McClelland is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, having studied Technical Theatre Arts specialising in Theatre Technology.
Working at the build of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre 2019Working at the build of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre 2019
Working at the build of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre 2019

He has been involved with the world of theatre since he was a boy as a member of Portrush’s Ballywillan Drama Group.

“Growing up in Portrush, I was involved with Ballywillan Drama Group from an early age, and later with Portrush Music Society and many other groups performing at the Riverside Theatre in Coleraine,” he said.

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“I attended Dalriada School, Ballymoney, until 2011 and then onto Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. After graduating, I found a job with the London Symphony Orchestra as a technician at their own rehearsal and events venue, LSO St Luke’s. I maintained a keen interest in the theatre side of the live events industry and in 2016, I decided to leave the events sector and move to Pitlochry, in the Perthshire Highlands, to work as a Swing Technician for the summer season at Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

Zak McClellandZak McClelland
Zak McClelland

“I worked on shows including Roger & Hammerstein’s Carousel, Alan Ayckbourn’s Damsels in Distress Trilogy (Game Plan, Flat Spin & Role Play), Noel Coward’s This Happy Breed & Charles Dickens’ Hard Times. Following my time at PFT, I worked on a freelance basis as a Technical Stage Manager for a range of productions including Philip Ridley’s Pitchfork Disney and Killer at Shoreditch Town Hall, directed by Jamie Lloyd; Access All Area’s MADHOUSE Re:exit at Shoreditch Town Hall and The Brickworks, Manchester. The show was an immersive experience performed by learning disabled actors giving an insight into what it feels like to have a learning disability in today’s world.

“I also worked on Requart & Rosenberg’s Deadclub at The Place, London, an up-close immersive experience for a limited audience, informed by psychological research into memory distortion with the audience right into the middle of the whole mess.

“In 2016 I first worked with the Imperial Ice Stars on their annual Christmas production, at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland in London. This led to a long-term involvement with the Imperial Ice Stars, joining as a Stage Technician and eventually becoming their Production Manager/Head of Stage after touring to Australia with Swan Lake on Ice, China with Cinderella on Ice.

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“Last year I joined the team responsible for bringing some of the biggest West End shows such as Warhorse, Matilda, Phantom of the Opera & Mamma Mia to the Asia Pacific region. I was proud to be part of the team to bring Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre to York & Oxfordshire in 2019, creating two replica Shakespeare’s Globe style theatres from scaffolding, with four plays running in each for the summer season. Also during last summer I was part of the technical production team to bring BBC Countryfile Live to Castle Howard, York.

Dressing the Ice stage, in Beijing during the tour of Imperial Ice Stars’ ‘Swan Lake on Ice’Dressing the Ice stage, in Beijing during the tour of Imperial Ice Stars’ ‘Swan Lake on Ice’
Dressing the Ice stage, in Beijing during the tour of Imperial Ice Stars’ ‘Swan Lake on Ice’

“I joined Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in London’s West End in November 2019 as a Technical Assistant Stage Manager. In March the lights went off in the theatre industry, so I have returned to the North Coast and am now working at Armstrong Medical in Coleraine, producing respiratory ventilation circuits for hospitals and healthcare facilities around the world.”

Q. What is your favourite song/album and why?

A. A huge fan of Jason Robert Brown’s music, an album I always find myself going back to is his How We React and How We Recover album. Wait ‘til You See What’s Next is a particular favourite track from the album at the minute. It is about the excitement and also the apprehension of what the future has in store. I think it has a particular relevance at the moment, especially with how unstable the live events industry is and not knowing what the future will hold for the industry I love.

Q. What is your favourite film and why?

A. A somewhat unlikely ‘childhood’ favourite film is Air Force One. I have always been drawn to American presidential action films, and enjoyed the unrealistic plot lines, which as a kid gives you that superhero impression of the US president...I am now somewhat wiser that I once was.

Q. What is your favourite piece of classical music and why?

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A. I think the Finale of Swan Lake is such a fantastic piece of music. I will admit that I will nearly always connect it to the stage musical Billy Elliott, rather than Swan Lake. Although it does bring back great memories of a fantastic summer touring Australia and China with the Imperial Ice Stars performing Swan Lake on Ice.

Q. Who is your favourite artist (eg van Gogh) and why?

A. I am a huge fan of local artwork and have recently bought a beautiful print from Keith Drury. It features many local landmarks from around the Causeway Coast, in a contemporary 3D style. It will also be great to have a bit of the North Coast hanging on the wall, when I move back to London.

Q. What is your favourite play and why?

A. Although I always been more of a fan of musicals, I really can’t decide on what my favourite play is. When I was at university, we produced The Laramie Project. It is about the reaction to the 1998 murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in Laramie. It features real accounts of people living in the town at the time. It is a hard-hitting show, which had a lasting effect on everyone who worked on it.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is also a brilliant piece of physical theatre, giving a great insight into how people with Asperger’s Syndrome see the world and the challenges they face in day-to-day life, not forgetting the great humour.

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Of course I have to mention Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. When I first saw the show, my mind was blown away by the magic on-stage. Even now having worked on the show, I am still blown away by the stage craft and skill of everyone involved to bring the story to life, in front of a live audience!

Q. What is your favourite musical and why?

A. Come from Away - the story of the plane passengers grounded in a small town in Newfoundland, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It is a joyous and poignant show, which has such a feel-good message of togetherness and friendship. The music is incredible, performed by a talented onstage band, who join in with the party. It has the added bonus of only being about an hour and a half long, so you can be in the pub for 9.30pm!

Q. What is your most special moment in the arts and why?

A. It has got to be the final night of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre in September last year. It had been an incredibly long summer, working on some fantastic projects, throughout the year with a fantastic team. Not only had we delivered eight different Shakespeare plays within two ‘Pop-Up’ theatres constructed from scaffolding, but we had built a Shakespearean village at each site for visitors to enjoy during the summer. A very proud moment.

Q. What ‘classic’ just doesn’t do it for you?

A. Having read and enjoyed The Hobbit while at primary school, I had always wanted to get into The Lord of the Rings. I have tried to read the books, watch the films, even listen to the musical but I have just not been hooked by any of it. I love the films of The Hobbit, but The Lord of the Rings just doesn’t grab my interest.

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Q. What have you been reading/watching/listening to/revisiting during the Coronavirus period?

A. Early in lockdown I was lucky enough to get a temporary job at Armstrong Medical in Coleraine producing respiratory ventilation circuits for hospitals and healthcare facilities, so have not felt like I have had the same free time as many others. While working on the nightshifts, I found myself staying up all night at the weekend watching TV and got into the series, Scorpion on Netflix. A group of geniuses assist the US government with the most obscure situations. Highly unbelievable and in the end highly predictable, I was hooked for four seasons of 25 episodes. That’s 100 hours of valuable time I will never get back. I regret nothing.

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