Celebrating Somerset's Creative & Cultural Practitioners - Amy Batty

Amy Batty, born and bred in Yeovil, has worked in Stage Management mainly in opera for 8 years with companies such as Welsh National Opera, Garsington Opera and English Touring Opera. She’s always had a love and passion for theatre and, as several people have said, would be happy sweeping a stage for the rest of her life if it meant she could be there, in a theatre, in her happy place. From performing onstage to calling a show in the wings to making props and painting stage floors, to moving scenery or selling ice creams in an auditorium, the theatre is home. Once again Amy joined us for Panto 2025-26, Beauty and the Beast, so we took the opportunity to ask her some questions about the role of Stage Manager.

What's the most challenging part of stage managing a panto?
Anything could happen. It is panto after all. We all work tirelessly, with not as much time as you’d expect, to put all the parts of a panto together and we do this at the coldest, most flu-ridden time of the year. That can definitely be a challenge. 

What show are you most proud of or enjoyed working on as a Stage Manager and why?
I am very proud of Jack and the Beanstalk last year. I had the added challenge of learning how to walk on stilts in a week and became very close friends with the Giant. I’ve had so many amazing opportunities, particularly as I work in touring opera. New venues, new people, new places all over the country and beyond to give the tourist in me new adventures and new challenges. I have a particularly special memory of touring a small-scale opera of Don Pasquale to the Octagon Theatre, in 2019. It was the first time two of my theatre worlds had collided together. My childhood theatre and my current (at the time) workplace. I was an Assistant Stage Manager (ASM) for the show and being there with the touring team and the lovely local technical team from The Octagon was really special. It reminded me of just how far I’d come.

What skills do you need to be a Stage Manager?
Organisational skills, people skills, a good sense of humour, time management, a love for stationery (you don’t need this but it’s a great job if you do love stationery – who knew there are so many kinds of post-it notes out there). The ability to adapt fast to any situation is key, as we are partaking in live theatre. Whether it’s a missing prop, a forgotten line or two, an audience member falling ill, a fire alarm, or a traffic jam on the M3…

How would you go about making a career as a Stage Manager?
My #1 advice I’d tell anyone is to just get involved. Find a local theatre group and volunteer there. Get experience. See lots of different shows. I was very fortunate to get lots of work experience in the West End, as well as throwing myself into society shows and working with the drama department technical team at university (Royal Holloway, University of London). It’s always just been something I love to do so I’ve done it. I was also very fortunate to get a place on a Professional Stage Management course at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. This led me to getting work with Welsh National Opera and I haven’t looked back.

Anything you were looking forward to for this years panto?
The glitter, the puns, the music, the magic, the costumes, the sets, the joy, the festivities, the surprises - Little did I know when we started rehearsals at the beginning of December that I would be proposed to onstage, surrounded by my work family, my real family in the audience, in a venue I’ve grown up in, dressed all in black, sweaty and hair a mess, glitter everywhere. It is something I will never forget. I also really believe that theatre is for everyone.