After several years in amateur theatre he started working professionally using his engineering skills as workshop manager for the Garrick Theatre. He then went on to work for the Royal Exchange, Granada TV, Manchester Opera House, Equity and eventually his own theatre company The REC Theatre Company.
He ‘retired’ from full time work in theatre when he was 50 as there was so much more he wanted to do in life ‘before the energy ran out’. “ I am by nature a traveller and an artist. There is more than a hint of the Gypsy in my genes and I’ve never felt quite at ease with a routine in life.”
Martin continues to run venues during the fringe and, although, after 15 years, he closed down the REC Theatre Company Limited in 2005, he continues to run the drama school and young peoples’ theatre company now known as The Young REC Theatre Trust.
He also works part time as a tour guide at Poole's Cavern, writes, acts, paints, makes furniture and helps with his partner’s hair salon on occasions.
Always a dreamer he continues to pursue ideas artistically even if they don’t reach fruition.
As Aristotle said ‘All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind.’
Locally, some of his successes have been establishing a drama school in 1994, the Buxton Buzz Comedy Club, Nice Venues and turning the Pauper’s Pit into a permanent theatre space and gaining 5 awards at Buxton fringe.
The Ticket Reservations software in use at Nice Venues is also Rollercoaster Productions’ own product and has multi show, multi venue and multi performance capabilities. Use of the software has enabled Nice Venues to deal with telephone bookings quickly and accurately as well as streamlining the ticket collection and buying process. www.RollercoasterProductions.com
Alongside Martin, tutoring The young Rec and writing plays for our young actors, rather than relying on off the shelf stuff with a couple of decent parts and nothing for the rest of them, I work in a school. Kids. I love ‘em. But as a vegetarian, I definitely could not eat a whole one. Unless it was made of Tofu.
(I remain perplexed at the reasons why Martin would never let me do a slot when he was establishing the Buxton Buzz Comedy Club….)
Tom Larken
Chris Thornton
Corinne Coward
Lighting and technical services in NICE VENUES are handled by Chris Thornton, who has worked alongside Martin Beard and the REC for several years. Chris has his own company, Rollercoaster Productions, based in Buxton who specialise in small to medium size venues and also the hire of lighting and special effects equipment. He has been working in The Old Clubhouse since 1994 having produced numerous events ranging from Rock and Roll nights through to REC’s Christmas Carol and of course, the Fringe shows over the last 4 years. Other recent local venues include Paxton Suite (Company of Dancers shows and others), The Octagon (University of Derby Midsummer Ball, Tideswell Male Voice Choir, YF Christmas Balls), New Mills Art Theatre (Dance Shows), St John’s Church with Godspell (the biggest show in last years fringe) and numerous others!
I always wanted to be an actor. Or an author. Archaeology was high up there too.
And law. Still, you can’t do everything. So in between Sales and Social Work ( not
at the same time) I have acted my way into The Royal Exchange, Liverpool Unity, Granada
and Yorkshire T.V, lots of other Theatre Companies-
I was never really into drama, until 2 years ago. I was 12. Life was tough and it was my escape route. I had just moved about 200 miles from Essex and missed family dearly. Then my new school meant a new life. A friend of mine recommended the REC after his own experience. After just one Saturday lesson, I wanted to keep coming back to more and more. The whole group welcomed me and especially Martin and Corinne. After a year and a half of lessons, they told me my skills have improved dramatically (no pun intended), and that sent my confidence sky high. After a few weeks in the new term, when I kept showing up early, they told me to come along and give tutoring a chance. I did so and warmed to it well. Since then, I have enjoyed seeing children going through the skills I had learnt just months beforehand. Drama has changed my life and set it in a new direction; I have only Martin, Corinne and the Young REC to thank for this.
Alice De Cent
Nice Venues are managed by
The Young REC Theatre Trust,
Studio 3,
Glutton Bridge,
Buxton,
Derbyshire.
SK17 0EN
01298 83628
Alice de Cent first joined the Rec Drama School aged 12 and has been in many plays and on countless adventures with them including the Buxton and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. She has worked Front of House at the Old Clubhouse since 2005 and is returning this year to start work the day after her drama school semester ends. She is currently in her second year of training as an actor musician at Rose Bruford College in London. She is usually to be found in the Nice Venues office selling tickets or pretending that it was a group of hungry audience members who ate all the Nice biscuits.