Category Archives: Drama

Celebrating Karolos Koun Event

Posted on by


Celebrating Karolos Koun

Friday, September 22, 2017 – 10:00am
Jacqueline du Pre Music Building, St Hilda’s College, Oxford

A one-day conference

On Friday 22 September the APGRD will host a one-day conference with an accompanying exhibition to celebrate the life of the Greek theatre director, Karolos Koun (1908-1987). The conference is co-organised with Dr Angeliki Varakis-Martin (University of Kent); with generous support from the Institute of Classical Studies.

The conference will be held in the JdP Music Building, St Hilda’s College, Oxford.

Registration costs £20 (£10 concession) – this includes lunch, refreshments, and a drinks reception. There will be an optional conference dinner at an additional cost of £35.
Register via the University of Oxford’s Store website

More Details here:

http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/events/2017/04/celebrating-karolos-koun

Apply now for the V&A Theatre and Performance Volunteer Opportunity now 2017/2018

Posted on by

The V&A Department of Theatre and Performance contains the UK’s National Collection of Performing Arts. The collections are vast, covering all areas of live performance – from theatre, opera and ballet, to music hall and musical theatre, circus, puppetry, and rock and pop.

· Departmental activity is divided into collections work (based at Blythe House, Olympia) and exhibitions, events and publications (based at V&A South Kensington).

· Exhibitions-based work includes the development of temporary displays in the Theatre and Performance Galleries at the V&A and a broad programme of special exhibitions, both at the V&A and on tour, and running various special performance-related events.

Voluntary Work Experience Placements and Training

· The Exhibitions side of the Department offers a small number of volunteer and graduate placements for career development, training and research.

· Placements are available in the following areas: Research and interpretation, Exhibition development and Performance events and programming.

· Volunteers have access to professional development training and experience, both at the V&A and at other relevant institutions and organisations in London, such as theatres, museums and other arts institutions.

· Work is varied and rewarding, and allows volunteers to contribute to the work of one of the UK’s flagship cultural institutions.

· The next placements will start on 2 October 2017 and run for approximately six months.(Please note that different projects require different time commitments).

Applications – If you are interested in volunteering, please complete the application form overleaf and then send this to t.applications@vam.ac.uk. The deadline for applications is 17 September 2017.

VA Department of Theatre and Performance Volunteer Opportunities Autumn.._ (002)

Tunbridge Wells Puppetry Festival Lion King Masterclass

Posted on by

As part of the Tunbridge Wells Puppetry Festival in October, there will be THE LION KING company masterclass.

Join the festival on Friday 13th October at Trinity Theatre at 12:30pm – 2:30pm for exclusive masterclass which will introduce you to the iconic puppetry from Disney’s acclaimed stage musical THE LION KING.

By the end of the masterclass you will have gained an understanding of:

  • Director Julie Taymor’s vision.
  • The influences that inspired the production.
  • The different types of puppetry in the award-winning musical.
  • What it takes to make and maintain the 232 puppets in the production and have met some of the team that is responsible for this.

Members of the company will share their insights into what it is like to perform with the puppets as well as meeting a number of actual puppets from THE LION KING themselves!

Tickets for the masterclass are priced at £5.

While you are at the Theatre, this is also the perfect opportunity to visit THE LION KING exhibition in Trinity Gallery (free). Featuring some of the complete costumes, full-scale puppets and masks along with costume sketches and behind-the-scenes photographs, this fascinating exhibition will bring to life the journey of how the legendary production made the transition from screen to the Broadway stage.

Meet one of our Alumni: Natasha Brown (MA Drama 2015)

Posted on by

  Natasha graduated in 2015 with a MA in Creative Producing. Since then she has worked at the Gate Theatre in Notting Hill and the Southbank Centre as a Marketing Officer, where her main goal has been to drive new audiences to the arts. Alongside marketing, she works as a freelance producer and theatremaker.   

 

What do you value most about your time doing Drama at Kent?

 This is a hard question because I enjoyed doing so many things that it’s hard to pin point the most valuable. I guess that would be my answer… I enjoyed the variety that the degree offered. In any one term you could be learning about Shakespeare, Greek Tragedy, Naturalism or Physical Theatre. There were always really interesting subjects to study and I found that really freeing as I’m someone who likes to have multiple ideas occupying my brain.

What advice would you give to first-year student starting a BA in Drama at Kent?

 Get involved in other things! It’s good to get stuck into your degree as soon as you begin your university education, however, your first year is one of the only times to truly explore the university experience before you have to get more focused. I signed up to a bunch of extracurricular activities during my first year as a way to learn more about topics that weren’t related to my degree, such as politics, sport and volunteering.

In terms of the degree, make sure you give yourself enough time to do the work properly. I’ve been guilty of one or two (or three or four!) all-nighters and not only are they unsustainable, but you do yourself an injustice because you could achieve much more with a bit more time. 

Why did you choose Kent?

As soon as I arrived on campus, I had a positive vibe about the place. It is so open and green. Canterbury is such a beautiful city that felt safe and not too far away from London which is where I’m from. My course was particularly exciting as I got to go abroad for a year and complete a Masters specialising in Creative Producing – something other universities weren’t offering.

In what ways did your degree prepare you for what you’re doing now?

 I’m fortunate in that I got a job in a theatre as soon as I graduated so I was using actual knowledge I gained from my degree straight away, such as knowing about contemporary writers, actors and directors, understanding how a theatre is run and funded, and being aware of what’s involved in staging a show.

 There are also some really basic transferable skills that my degree prepared me for such as time management, research, lateral thinking, communication and team work. It cannot be stressed enough how important these skills are in most workplaces! Fortunately, doing a degree in Drama prepares you for so much – it’s no wonder I always bump into Kent graduates in the industry.

 

 

Performance Poetry Winner from School of Arts

Posted on by

Henry Maddicoot performing He flicked his cigarette at Wise Words Festival 2017

Henry Maddicott (Final year Drama student) has been celebrating his success at the 2017 Wise Words Festival Emerging Talent Final which was presented in partnership with Apples and Snakes, England’s leading organisation for performance poetry and spoken word.

Earlier in the year poets from around the country had the opportunity to apply for the opportunity to compete against each other at Canterbury’s Wise Words Festival. Out of the many that applied only six were shortlisted.  These included Henry as well as fellow Kent Drama student Jemma-Louise Burgess. The prize includes support from Wise Words and Apples and Snakes to produce an hour long show for next year’s festival. He will also receive three mentoring sessions with a high profile poet of his choice along with promotional material and the first pick of any upcoming writing workshops that they may be hosting.

You can find out more about Henry Maddicot’s poetry by clicking here.

Arts Success in Employability Points Scheme

Posted on by

Students from the School of Arts were winners at the University’s annual Employability Points Rewards night on Tuesday 6th June.  The scheme, pioneered at the University of Kent, allows students to claim points and rewards for their extra-curricular activities and is registering a higher number of students actively logging points and applying for rewards than ever before. These rewards include paid internships, project placements, work experience, training, vouchers and much more, offered by businesses and organisations, including many exciting opportunities in the arts.

One of the winning students was first-year Drama student Aleksander Angelov, who won the prize for the Highest Scoring Student Studying a Creative Degree. Aleksander has earned a remarkable 1,695 points in his first year.

He has immersed himself in University life, attending an impressive amount of Employability Festival Events with the Careers and Employability Service, as well as in-sessional English seminars with Kent’s Centre for English and World Languages, for which he became Course Rep. He has continued to improve his employability and skills through completing the Careers and Employability Award on Moodle and the Hub’s Enterprise Skills Award Module. He is the co-founder and President of the Bulgarian Society, as well as a member of the Homeless Outreach Society and T24 Drama Society. His award was presented by Dalia Halpern-Matthews, Chief Executive of Nucleus Arts.

Second-year student Jose Miguel Santos (Drama & English and American Literature) was the Highest Scoring Student from the Faculty of Humanities and received his award from Colin Carmichael, Chief Executive of Canterbury City Council. Miguel has managed to obtain an outstanding 2,310 points whilst at the University of Kent. He has worked as a School of Arts mentor, regularly attended Careers and Employability service skills workshops, completed a range of Study Plus courses, acted as a Kent Student Certificate of Volunteering Champion, a Kent Buddy and a Student Trainer, delivering training sessions to student volunteers. His commitment to volunteering has led to being nominated the Kent Union Volunteer of the Month multiple times, as a result of undertaking various projects, including the Community Clean Up, a Canterbury Food Bank collection, a Shoebox Appeal, Age UK Christmas Tree project, to name a few. Notably, he was also involved with successfully writing a funding bid for the construction of an all-weather sports pitch for adults with learning difficulties. Miguel has successfully claimed four three-week professional placements across the summer as a result of his participation in the scheme.

To find out more about the University of Kent’s Employability Points scheme click here.

ART31: UPRISING Saturday 15 July at The Gulbenkian

Posted on by

 

A one-day festival event, created by ART31’s Youth Board (13-25 year olds from across Kent), and focusses on the biggest challenges young people are currently facing, including mental health and wellbeing, employment and education, happening on Saturday 15th July at Gulbenkian.

It’s hosted by Billie JD Porter (BBC3, Channel 4, Vice), and we’ve got loads of speakers and participants including Darren Henley (Keynote speaker, Chief Executive Arts Council England), Dean Atta, Envy, Jamsin Vardimon and loads more. There’s also workshops – spoken word and rap with Envy, animation, dance with New Adventures & Re:Bourne and Pie Factory Music sharing their top tips for involving young people in the leadership of arts organisations. It’s also going to be a great networking opportunity, as there’s so many creative professionals involved with the event, and there’ll be roundtable sessions to meet them and chat about career paths etc. 

As well as all that, there’s performances going on throughout the day (theatre, dance, music, spoken word) and then in the evening there’s the ART31 Awards ceremony, recognising young people’s achievements in and contributions to the arts in Kent. Young people will be receiving awards of £500 to help them realise their arts ambitions. They can either apply themselves for these awards, or be nominated by someone else of any age, and applications are open until Mon 19th June – http://art31.co.uk/2017/05/18/art31-awards-applications-now-open/

Book here – http://art31.co.uk/events/uprising/

Our trailer for the event is available here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb8fpcuQ1Ms

 

 

 

https://uk.patronbase.com/_Gulbenkian/Seats/NumSeats?prod_id=CQW&perf_id=1&section_id=M&action=&seat_type_id=S