Backstage pass

Ever wondered what goes on backstage?

I was 11 when I had my first backstage experience at Universal Studios in Los Angeles with my family.

We were shown the ‘secrets’ of all their blockbuster movies. It was a relief to see that the shark in Jaws was a lot less scary in the flesh. And yes, 11 was a long time ago.

But that first backstage tour whetted my appetite to go behind the scenes and learn how stuff was done.

It’s probably why I worked on film crews. That was one permanent backstage gig. It never failed to amaze me how that disorganised mess on set translated into a seamless experience on screen.

Via a much smaller screen last week, a workshop participant wondered how much effort had gone into designing the session I had facilitated.

‘It felt so smooth,’ she said. ‘I bet it took a lot of work.’

Her comment got me thinking.

This picture of my home studio for that gig looks as messy as a film set. But her experience was, by her account, as seamless as a film.

I’m often asked what is it that makes workshops hum. How is it that people leave some workshops energised and with stuff done, but leave others feeling drained and like they have wasted their time.

This has triggered my next book. It won’t be published for a while, so in the meantime, I’m hosting a Backstage masterclass every month to unpack one aspect of workshop design.

I’ll unpack things like nailing purpose, promise to participants, openings, transitions, breaking down the big chunks of work and closings. We’ll talk storyboards, energisers and the power of great questions. How to design a plan that you can drop and follow the flow of a group. And a whole lot of stuff in between.

If you’d like to find out more, come to my taster on Thursday 14 January at 12pm. You’ll find out what you’ll get from a Backstage master class and decide if you’re up for one, two or the whole series of six.

Just comment below or email me with ‘backstage’ in the subject line of and I’ll send you the details.