Darren Brown: Theatre with Choreographic Practices BA(Hons) graduate

BA (Hons) Theatre with Choreographic Practices 2006

In April 2008, less than two years after graduating, Darren Brown was awarded a John Brabourne Award in a high profile event at BAFTA. The awards are handed out by the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund as a way of getting new talent into the television and film industry. Each award is unique to its recipient. Darren’s award was sponsored by Endemol UK, one of the largest independent televison production companies (producers of Big Brother / Deal or No Deal) and was awarded to him by Steven Fry.

“I heard about the award on the Channel 4 website - there were many different sponsored awards to choose from but the Endemol position seemed like the one best suited to someone starting out in the business. Television employees often start out as runners and gradually work their way up the ranks - this award allowed me to jump straight into a higher position that may have taken me four years to reach on a runner-entry route. I decided to apply as it seemed like an excellent career-advancing opportunity in an environment that I would enjoy being a part of – every day now I enjoy getting up and going into work!”

Endemol granted Darren a fully-paid, two-week work placement initially but then extended his contract for a further two weeks’ employment. “The placement was time spent with the old development team, during which time I worked on various formats and ideas for new shows. My employment was extended because they were impressed with the quality of ideas that I was producing and also I had the opportunity to pitch these ideas to commissioners, which is something that only higher level staff have access to. After the placement they invited me to apply to become a member of the new development team.”

Darren is now employed full time as a Development Creative, creating and developing ideas for new television shows, and says that the award granted by the CTBF has been a huge help in furthering his career in this area.

“My aim has always been to work within the theatre and film industries so as such my career choices haven't changed. I see this job as the first major step on the route to my dream career. It was the skills honed at Dartington that led me to working in this kind of creative and innovative environment. I originally came to Dartington from a dance and theatre background; I chose the college because it was one of the few places that allowed me to mix the two practices whilst also allowing me the freedom to have my own creative input. It was this independent control that made me choose Dartington over other institutions. The theatre course at Dartington encourages you to actively engage with current events around you and to feed this into your work. Working in the area of television that I do, it is essential that I am informed about current cultural events and can use these to develop the ideas and projects I am working on; it is about being able to respond and adapt to cultural trends at a fast pace. During my time at the college I also learned how to generate ideas and material quickly; I learned how to use information and research to stimulate ideas and to develop material - this is particularly useful in my everyday work in which I am expected to produce multiple show ideas/formats on a weekly basis.”

Being a Development Creative is a highly pressurised job. “We can have anything from 1-4 show briefs per week with 20-30 ideas for each show. We will generate as many ideas as possible to fit the required brief and then gradually break them down to the four best ideas which we will be required to pitch (imagine The Apprentice board room with Alan Sugar!) to the heads of the company. I enjoy working in this environment as there is a fast turnover of ideas and briefs - no two days are the same which is something I enjoy in my working life.”

Darren credits the contacts he made whilst still a student at Dartington, people based in the theatre world who helped him to get into other work whilst he was applying for various television positions. “Networking is essential - it's very true that it's often not what you know but who you know - people are much more likely to employ you if they know of you or have a word of mouth recommendation.” Darren also maintains links with other ex-Dartington students. Currently, outside of Endemol, he is working with two of them on a comedy series for BBC3.