Again, the weather was challenging but when the rest of the country was closed due to snow, the temporary 1,200 seat venue opened on time without problem.

Once again I was tasked with full site design and deployment, working with local contractors, dealing with the requirements of the City of Costa Mesa and applying for all permits. The extreme heat of southern California caused some issues during the build of the event – with temperatures over 40°C we often worked the crews at night to stay productive.

Orange County is my last location on the US tour before I return to the UK to commence work on further UK projects for 2010, 2011 and 2012.

All equipment (twenty seven shipping containers) were brought to the site in San Francisco and unloaded, the big top, seating and staging and other venues built – as well as building extensive outdoor decked areas and the Peter Pan exhibit – a newly built structure for the US tour.

I also worked with City Engineers and electrical contractors to connect mains electricity to the site to reduce the need for generators, fuel usage and the impact on the environment.

Working in the US was an amazing experience and I now have a great depth of knowledge taking equipment shows and productions from the UK overseas.

My work included full event planning application, license application, ground surveys and onsite delivery. I also specified booked and managed all site staff, contractors and relationships with AEG Worldwide, the operators of The O2. The entire responsibility for getting the show from Kensington Gardens and rebuilt on site at The O2 (in the sometimes driving rain and snow) fell to me.

Once the show had finished its ten week run it was stored, packed and shipped to San Francisco to start its tour of the USA.

With an audience of around 80,000 people in 2008 they did not want to lose their audience to other shows or activities for the two years that the venue would be out of operation. The producers turned to Theatre Tent, who in turn asked me to oversee a temporary venue to house the six week run of the pantomime.

Due to the length of run, a full planning application, premises license and extensive logistical and production planning were required to ensure the temporary, 1,200 seat venue would work. Project work started in February 2009 with numerous meetings with planning officials, the Canterbury Licensing team, Kent Highways and Canterbury City Council. Site visits, plans (and elevations) were created and full production project management undertaken.

I looked after the management and planning of all infrastructure, worked with the production managers, set designers, producers and company management, as well as managing all health and safety on site.

Despite some pretty terrible weather throughout the run, it was enjoyed by the guests that attended and planning is underway for the 2010 shows.

End of the Road is one of my favourite events with a great atmosphere, beautiful site and great team of people. This year the event was fairly similar to the 2008 event with the Garden Stage, various bars and the Big Top stage. This year saw film production company Ruby Films on site, filming the opening shots of ‘Tamara Drew’ staring Gemma Arterton – so as well as running a festival site, the site management team also ran a live film location (ok, we watched whilst they did their thing!).

I worked on site to manage the teams who built campsites, put in fencing and distributed furniture. I also looked after site infrastructure contractors to ensure that the dozens of temporary venues were put in the right places.

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens is the story of Peter, Wendy and the Lost Boys, set for the first time in the park that they call home.To help a little with the show, I was commissioned by Three Sixty Entertainment (the people behind this new production) to help create the perfect setting to bring the story home.

Working with closely with Executive Producers, Directors and Production Managers this was my first time working on a full theatrical performance -- so it was great to see how a show of this size comes together.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2oMUK-5OSk

My role as Site Production Manager encompassed every possible aspect of taking a field in the middle of London and turning it into a full West End spec theatre venue for 1,200 people within just four weeks.  I worked closely with Royal Parks (our hosts at Kensington Gardens), Westminster Council (for our premises license, planning permission, building control and environmental health) as well as London Fire Authority and Royal Parks Police.

I was responsible for co-ordinating nearly 60 contractors, over 300 vehicle movements (through very special controls within the Royal Parks) and managing the full site production budget.  I also helped recruit staff to run the show and managed an onsite team of dozens who helped put the site together.

The one-off custom designed auditorium tensile structure (think modern day circus big top) was created specifically for the performance, and along with the tiered seating system was brand new, out of the box for this, its first installation.  I worked closely on the development work with the designers here in the UK and with the manufacturers in Italy and France -- and co-ordinated delivery of all equipment from mainland Europe onto site.

I also looked after all paperwork aspects, including variations to the premises license, planning application and full health and safety, event planning manuals and risk management for the project.

With the event running from May to September its been a fantastic project to work on -- check out the pictures and video links below.

Working directly with EADS Astrium, I provided a complete event managemet service, procuring all equipment (20,000 sqft big top structure, power, catering, stage, lighting, sound, toilets etc) as well as managing the budget, applying for (and getting) the premises license, working with the venue, organisers and overseeing the whole project from start to finish.

Working with the catering company we served over 3,500 meals from a field kitchen, all cooked and prepared on site.

I also provided all front of house management staff, stage management, technicians and production staff to make the event run smoothly.

I assisted the show’s producers with a variety of tasks to ensure the smooth running of the event and performance.

As this office building is not normally used for childrens parties all areas of the venue were transformed with theming and décor to provide a memorable and entertaining event for the guests.