ABTT Launches Inaugural Silver Award for Theatre Stage Construction
10 April 2026
The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) has announced the launch of the Inaugural Silver Award for Theatre Stage Construction — a new industry-recognised qualification designed specifically for theatre stage carpenters, running for the first time this August as part of the ABTT Summer School.
The Silver Award for Theatre Stage Construction fills a longstanding gap in the formal training landscape for stage carpenters, providing a structured, accredited route to validate specialist skills that until now have been developed largely through experience alone.
A qualification built for the craft
The Silver Award is a five-day course designed to enable candidates to develop their skills in the specialist area of theatre stage carpentry. It sits within the ABTT professional development pathway as the second step after the Bronze Award — moving candidates from a broad technical foundation into advanced, discipline-specific expertise.
Like all ABTT Silver Awards, the course intertwines theory and hands-on training, so what candidates learn is directly applicable on the job.
Liz Sillett, ABTT CEO says: “Stage carpentry is a highly skilled discipline that sits at the heart of every production — and for too long, there hasn’t been a formal qualification that reflects that. This award is a direct response to what we’ve been hearing from the sector, and we’re proud to finally give stage carpenters the recognition their craft deserves.”
Part of a broader pathway
The Inaugural Silver Award forms part of the ABTT Summer School 2026 — a concentrated week of training running 3–7 August at Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, bringing together Bronze and Silver Awards and specialist CPD courses under one programme.
The Summer School offers technicians at every stage of their career a structured pathway: from the Bronze Award foundation, through to Silver specialisms, with standalone CPD courses that feed directly into the award framework.