English teacher Molly Hardman is gaining a new perspective on storytelling, returning to the classroom to learn about live production at TAFE SA.

The experience has her contemplating a new career designing sets and props for theatre productions, festivals and other events.

“I’m enjoying the hands-on approach,” she says. “Every day is different and you use different mediums including clay, scenic art and woodwork depending on the job.”

The success of her first professional project, a photo wall for last month’s Spin Off Festival, is providing further motivation.

Molly says enrolling in the Certificate IV in Live Production and Technical Services seemed like a “natural progression” as she pursued an interest in live theatre.

The course, based at the Adelaide College of the Arts (AC Arts), teaches a range of skills needed for a career behind the scenes in the live performance, major events and creative arts industries.

“I like going to the theatre, I appreciate the set designs and props and I always wonder how they are created,” she says.

Since joining the course in February, Molly has been exposed to different aspects of the industry including audio and lighting and stage management but it’s the design roles which most appeal.

She says her skills as a high school English teacher come in handy for understanding and interpreting text to provide visual assets.

“I’ve been an English teacher for 17 years and so I’m used to taking things from the page, analysing words and finding meaning in the language,” she says.

Recently, Molly and her Live Design classmates had the opportunity to pitch design concepts for Spin Off, an all-ages music festival at the Adelaide Showground.

“I decided to pitch a design for the photo wall because it gave me the opportunity to work at a larger scale than previous work,” she says.

Molly used the flowers in Spin Off’s promotional material as inspiration for her design and was thrilled when festival producers Five Four Entertainment not only chose her concept but employed her to bring it to life.

Molly’s playful design (right) featured colourful flowers, fluffy white clouds and a rainbow against a blue-sky backdrop, which she recreated on large-scale MDF panels, with detachable 3D elements made from repurposed objects including pool noodles.

She says the most challenging part was delivering and installing the large project, but the effort was worth it with the final result drawing compliments from festival goers and organisers.

“It was great to work on a real-world job and understand client demands and deadlines,” she says.

As part of her course work, Molly is currently working on the props for The Seagull, a production by TAFE SA’s acting students, which will be performed at AC Arts on September 19 and 20.

For people interested in finding out more about the Certificate IV in Live Production and Technical Services, a course information session will be held on Tuesday, 29 October.