We spoke to ATT’s Client and Content Manager, Craig, about playing Michael Clark, managing aggressive participants and what he loves about his job.
Professional actor, Craig Dowding joined ATT in 2015 in the role of Michael Clark in the first iteration of the programme EPIC for Tideway. After five years on the front line as an actor/facilitator running workshops everywhere from Acton to Adelaide, Craig moved into the role of Client and Content Manager, overseeing the creative output of ATT’s projects and liaising with potential clients. Craig lives in Kent with his wife and their four-month old daughter.
Tell us a bit about your job?
I focus on the creative output. I work closely with the Directors to manage script content across all of our projects from centre-based to pop-up programmes. I run rehearsals, liaise with our experienced Associate Directors and visit our deliveries to ensure we are all meeting the high standards that we set for ourselves and our clients expect. To the side of this, I meet with prospective clients ranging from small companies to large organisations, cost their requests and sometimes adapt and create new material to meet their needs. I also facilitate on occasion as I do still enjoy the buzz and challenge of it, and also find myself dabbling in other elements of ATT because I’m nosy and want to be involved in everything!
What’s your earliest memory of ATT career?
Earliest memory would be playing Michael Clark at EPIC and in the middle of the canteen scene, a participant asking me how to use the fancy tap because he couldn’t understand how it worked! I had to help him work the tap and then continue like nothing happened. ATT’s work can be a challenge, but it’s rewarding all the same!
Tell us what you’ve found most challenging.
One of the first times I facilitated a session (also in a site canteen), a participant behaved quite aggressively and rudely towards me. It felt like being thrown in the deep end, but it was a great lesson in how tough running a session can be. It’s a cliché to say we have to practice what we preach, but staying 2nd Circle was a must!
What is your favourite part of the job?
I love the variety. One week I can be travelling to our safety leadership centres and observing deliveries, another I can be in the office crunching numbers for quotes, developing relationships with prospective clients, which I really enjoy, or managing content. It can be demanding, but I enjoy being involved in the creative processes which make ATT unique and streets ahead of competitors.
What do you consider your greatest achievement in your career so far?
That’s a difficult one, but with regard to ATT I think successfully touring Australia for a month. It was a unique opportunity and I learned so much from it all. There were just two of us and we delivered sessions all over the country. A large part of successful facilitation is having experience and I had the opportunity to encounter all kinds of personalities and had a fantastic time meeting people from very different walks of life.
This year ATT celebrates its 15th birthday. You’ve shared a large part of that journey. What do you see in the future for ATT?
Bigger and better things! We’ve already established three safety leadership centres, we are building a fourth and I only see us growing from here. The work we do is fantastic and because it makes a positive difference it’s very rewarding. It’s a privilege to be part of a growing organisation and have so much to look forward to.
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