Games, set and match
Friday 20 July 2012
Ferenc Hepp, Box Office Supervisor and Duty Manager at the Ivy Arts Centre, looks forward to being put through his paces in not one, but two volunteer ‘Gamesmaker’ roles at London 2012.
This summer is going to be a busy one for Ferenc. In addition to being a line judge at Wimbledon, he will also be performing the same role in the tennis event at the Olympic Games. And not content with all that court-side concentration, he has also volunteered to take part in the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
‘I was chuffed to bits when I heard that my applications for both roles had been accepted,’ says Ferenc. ‘The Games coincides with the period in the year when a lot of theatres go ‘dark’; so it’s given me an excellent opportunity to pursue my outside-work interests in both tennis and amateur dramatics at a time when it’s less busy in my working life.’
The role of line judge is very similar to the one that Ferenc has performed at the Wimbledon Championships since 1994. Thanks to his past experience and the fact that he has reached the top of his grade, Ferenc was actually lucky enough to be invited to apply to become a Technical Official at the London 2012 tennis event, also held at Wimbledon.
However, to win a place as a performer at the Opening Ceremony, he had to take part in two separate auditions.
‘I’ve been a member of the Godalming Theatre Group since 2000, and I’ve performed in a variety of roles in pantomimes, shows and musicals,’ he says. ‘But competing against thousands of other hopefuls to have the chance to audition in front of Danny Boyle (the Artistic Director of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony) was something else.’
Although he’s hoping to be a team leader at the tennis, Ferenc isn’t quite sure of the role he’ll be playing at the Opening Ceremony. ‘I’ve been told I’ll have a character role in one of the sequences, but that’s all I know. I’m really looking forward to finding out more, and to seeing how the small part I’ll be playing fits in to the bigger picture.’
So what is Ferenc most looking forward to?
‘Well, at the tennis event, it will be working with colleagues I have worked with at other tournaments and giving the best performance that I can.’
And at the Opening Ceremony?
‘I’m really looking forward to working with the dancers, speciality acts and other musicians inside the Olympic Stadium on what has got to be one of the best stages anywhere in the world this year.’
