21 Jul A Sense of Direction – Ben Occhipinti

Ben Occhipinti has a long commute. The 39-year-old director, composer and sound designer is an associate at Perthshire’s Pitlochry Festival Theatre but lives an eight-and-a-half-hour drive away in Wiltshire. “I have worked like that all my career,” he says. “I live down south with my husband but come up to Pitlochry for a few glorious weeks at a time to work on productions there.”

Occhipinti was made an associate at Pitlochry – where his productions of Stephen Sondheim’s Gypsy and Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden run all summer – in 2019, a move which reunited him with the venue’s artistic director Elizabeth Newman, with whom he had previously collaborated at Bolton Octagon from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, Occhipinti had worked in a range of roles at various venues as a freelancer, beginning his career with Salisbury Playhouse in the early 2000s.

How did you become a director?

I arrived at directing in quite a roundabout way. I grew up in Sicily, but did not do much theatre there, just ran around by the beach. Then, we moved back to the UK, to Salisbury. I was a dancer at first but injured myself quite badly so had to stop, so I joined the youth theatre Stage 65 instead. I got stuck in doing absolutely everything. That is when I discovered the backstage side of theatre.

One thing led to another, and I transitioned into working professionally as a freelancer. The first show I directed myself was a new musical at the Edinburgh Fringe when I was eighteen. I still haven’t really decided on one thing. I direct shows, but I still compose a lot of music and do a lot of sound design as well. I didn’t do any formal training. I just take the opportunities that come up.

Who or what was the biggest help along the way?

I did the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme at the Bolton Octagon, which is where I met Elizabeth Newman, although I had worked with her before at Southwark Playhouse and Salisbury Playhouse. We have been friends and colleagues for 20 years. Spending 18 months at the core of that artistic programme in Bolton was invaluable. It totally changed my career.

What work are you most proud of?

There was a whole season of work that Elizabeth and I made when I had become an associate at the Bolton Octagon after I did RTYDS. We made some brilliant shows that connected with all sorts of audiences, many of which had not connected with the theatre before. We did an immersive production of Summer Holiday that involved everyone getting on board double decker buses.

What work are you least proud of?

I don’t think I’ve ever made a piece of work that is 100 per-cent perfect. You are always learning as a director. I think a lot of the mistakes I have made have come from not keeping the audience at the forefront of my mind when making a show.

Who – or what – is your biggest theatrical influence?

There have been a handful of shows that have had a big impact on me, but my biggest influence is being in a working theatre, surrounded by skilled people making shows. I always find a nugget of inspiration from everyone, whether they are an extraordinary actor or an extraordinary composer.

Is there a show that you really want to stage?

I’ve just done Gypsy, so I can tick that off my list. I would really love to direct a production of Annie. I think it is often put in a weird category with kids’ musicals, but I think it is a beautiful story and a brilliant musical. I’d like to direct a Shakespeare, too, like Henry V, although I’d be a bit terrified.

What is your financial situation?

I have always done other jobs. I trained and worked as a chef for a good fifteen years. I have worked in bars. I still run another independent ecommerce business that has nothing to do with theatre. That is just how it is financially nowadays. Even incredible successful directors have side hustles.

What do you enjoy most about directing?

The community. I was always terrible at sports and got bullied for not being any good at football or rugby. I have realised that theatre is my sport, though. We are all on the same side, working to achieve the same goal. We are a team and I love that.

What are your frustrations with directing?

Making theatre is an all-consuming job, so the downtime around it can be incredibly hard and quite lonely. When you are solving problems alone, not surrounded by other people, that can be tough.

What fills you with dread about the future of theatre?

There seems to be less and less work being made because of financial restraints. A lot has been taken away from theatres embedded in communities, making work for those communities, and I think the further away we get from that, the harder it will become to attract new audiences.

I am also worried about drama and music and dance not being valued in education. I think that is going to have a really catastrophic effect on inclusion. If I were a young person now, I think trying to chart the same journey I have been on would be a lot harder. Those opportunities are just not there.

What gives you hope for the future of theatre?

The young people who, despite difficult circumstances, are still getting out there and making work.

What are you working on at the moment?

My production of The Secret Garden opens at Pitlochry Festival Theatre this week. It is an amazing adaptation, written by Elizabeth, which will run throughout the summer in our beautiful outdoor amphitheatre. My production of Stephen Sondheim’s Gypsy opened in Pitlochry a few weeks ago and runs throughout the summer, too, alongside all our other shows in rep.

ENDS

Fergus Morgan is SDUKs resident blogger.