"I interfere with everyone else’s job," admitted Cameron Mackintosh (of Cats, Les Misérables and Miss Saigon fame) when asked in a recent interview what his job as a producer actually involves. Although at risk of implying that my producing prowess is equal to that of Cameron Mackintosh – I agree. Producers are in overall control of a show: applying for a venue, rights, and funding, running an eye-catching publicity campaign, and balancing the budget. Ultimately, producers don’t really do much of the show-creating themselves; but we recruit a team, enable communication between team members, and make sure a strict timetable and budget are kept to.

Usually, I start by making sure each person, from the director to the publicity designer, knows what is expected of them, arranging various meetings to discuss the production. Then I step back and let these talented individuals do their thing, until I have to remind someone of a deadline, or respond to a request for more budget in one area, or make sure the production designer and director agree on what the set is going to look like. This term I am producing Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, Sam Steiner’s fantastic debut play. As it is a Week One show, it's involved plenty of emailing, Facebook messaging, Doodle polling, and spreadsheet-making over the holidays.

“The sense of solidarity created between everyone involved in a show is irreplaceable”

Having this overall responsibility for a show, and being able to watch it grow from an idea in a director’s head to a fully-fledged production that people will actually pay to see is extremely rewarding. The sense of solidarity created between everyone involved in a show is irreplaceable – and while it is often undeniably stressful, time-pressured and frantic, I think this only enhances the ecstatic mixture of relief, pride and adrenaline you are rewarded with when a show goes to plan. Furthermore, getting involved in any aspect of student theatre is a great way to get to know people at other colleges, and in different years from you. While college-based friendship groups are certainly invaluable, it can be nice to burst the college bubble and get to know people you would never have otherwise met.

As well as the relatively short-term benefits of friendship and fun, producing also helps you tackle the employability monster that constantly threatens to overshadow all university experiences. Producing really does cover all the bases – need to show teamwork? As a producer, you manage a large team of people working on a specific project. Need to prove you can use excel spreadsheets and manage money? As a producer you could manage budgets of up to several thousand pounds. Need to show organisation? Communication skills? Initiative? Producing’s got your back.

If you love theatre, enjoy doing admin, and want to meet new people there’s no reason why you shouldn’t take up producing this term. You can start by applying to assistant produce a show to learn the ropes, then move up to producing yourself. Maybe you're already involved in student theatre as an actor or stage manager? That’s no problem – lots of people start producing shows after being involved in student theatre in some other kind of role. So what are you waiting for? Follow in the footsteps of the great Cameron Mackintosh and start interfering