Dorothy Tenham, born Dorothy Swettenham, (1 April 1931 – 15 February 2008) was an English actor and
stage manager
Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...
who became a pioneering teacher of
technical theatre
Stagecraft is a technical aspect of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes constructing and rigging scenery; hanging and focusing of lighting; design and procurement of costumes; make-up; stage management; audio engineering; and ...
. In the mid-1950s she established, against much opposition, the first course in the United Kingdom for training stage managers and other theatre technicians, and in so doing played a crucial role in the formalisation of technical theatre practice. At the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sena ...
in London she trained many students who were to become the UK's leading stage managers, as well as those students who later flourished in other theatrical craft disciplines or elsewhere in the creative arts. Her course informed the industry and set the standard for all subsequent theatrical technical training in
drama schools
A drama school, stage school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution (such as the Drama section at the Juilliard School); which specializes in the pr ...
,
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...
and
technical colleges.
["Learning the ropes", Neil Fraser, ''Arts Professional'', Issue 166, 24 March 2008]
Early life and career
Tenham was born in
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial co