It’s funny how things turn out – when Sophie Taylor first applied for a job at Lighthouse some ten years ago, she had absolutely no idea she would one day be Bar and Catering Manager.
“Definitely not,” she laughs. “I applied for a job here straight out of uni, for no other reason than I needed to earn some money. That was in 2015.”
Having studied Choreography and Dance at Winchester University, Sophie faced a dilemma all too familiar to new graduates with bills to pay – jobs in your chosen field are not easy to come by.
“I loved my course, but I had no way into getting a job in that. Dance was always my thing, it still is. I came to all the shows I could at Lighthouse; as a student I reviewed dance shows at Lighthouse; I’ve even performed on stage at Lighthouse with a group called Spitfire, but I couldn’t see a way into dance to earn a living.
“My family is from here, so I applied for a Front of House job, and was offered the bar. I’d never worked bar in my life!”
Throwing herself into her work with characteristic energy and enthusiasm, Sophie soon shifted though the gears as Supervisor then Bar Manager, before being made Bar and Catering Manager four years ago as the arts and hospitality sectors started to find their feet again in the face of Covid.
“My first job was to show The Beacon can work, and we’ve done that. The team is brilliant, and our new chef Sam has got loads of ideas that he’d like to try – I hope we get to put some of them into action. It’s about having the confidence to try something new; embracing change and seeing what happens. For instance, imagine if we had live music playing in The Beacon.”
Few embrace change as readily as Sophie, but she admits it hasn’t always been plain sailing.
“I made some terrible mistakes at first – like pouring a whole pint of lime cordial for one customer and dropping a bottle of Captain Morgan rum when I went to refill the optics.
“I loved the bar and although I never wanted to be a manager I felt I could do something in the role – I’m reliable, I’ve always been very can-do, and I’m flexible.”
All of which are key qualities for most roles at Lighthouse. Unsurprisingly, as one of the UK’s largest arts centres, many people who harbour professional ambitions in the arts, have found themselves behind the bar at Lighthouse, including ‘barman turned showman’ Josh Tucker who returned with Paper Mug Theatre as part of the 2021 Sanctuary intake and, again the following year, with the studio drama A Partnership.
“Each year we get a turnover of staff, and I really like that,” says Sophie. “We’ve had musicians, performers, writers, dancers; I always tell them to let it be known that’s who they are and what they’re into as you never know who you might meet or what connections you might make.”
And having picked pints over pas de deux, what of Sophie’s own choice?
“Oh, I love my job,” she says, “although I still see all the dance shows I can – I’ve seen Motionhouse every time they’ve come to Lighthouse.
“I did regular classes to keep up with dance, but things are a bit different now I’m a mum.
“This job is always different and there’s a really good team here that I love being part of. There’s always talk of how different The Beacon could be through changing the furniture and flooring, adding outside seating, maybe doing food outside. Nearly all our sales are secondary sales as customers have already bought a ticket, but I’d love to see us build up a customer base that isn’t reliant on there being a show on.
“I’d love more people who work in the building to use The Beacon, and people who live and work nearby.”
(NC)