In this blog, I’ll demonstrate the help of this degree, it’s modules, and the teachers offered me, helping me prepare myself better for the industry using three specific examples.
The Yorkshire Trios
The first time I’d heard about this project was an email from my lecturer. In the email, she introduced a project held by Next Door But One, which is a theatre company based in York. It was a great opportunity for me as a non-native English playwright to check if people from here would like my works. I got the chance to meet amazing people across the industry, including a fantastic tutor who guided me through the process of rewriting and editing of my drafts. I also met directors and actors, who were so patient and eager to listen to me explaining and trying to figure out how to cross cultural barriers. The show was on March 26th and 27th, in York Theatre Royal.
Workshop with THE WISE CHILDREN
We had a field trip to York Theatre Royal for a musical, Blue Beard, adapted by a company called The Wise Children. In our Elements of Theatre-Making module, we discussed the idea of adapting existing productions for new formats. A particularly memorable one was a musical version of Wuthering Heights. We got the chance to meet the project manager and an actor from Blue Beard. They arranged two 3-hour workshops for us. It was wonderful, and although it was tiring, everyone took a lot from it. Working with professionals in the industry was a great opportunity. We got to know how a company runs and how to adapt a non-theatre story into a musical.
NEW EARTH Community Feedback Session at York Theatre Royal
As a student from China, I sometimes find it hard to translate and then better explain. As mentioned before, I faced difficulty when writing the piece for the Yorkshire Trios. There are phrases that mean something in Chinese, but don’t translate directly to English. (The phrase was 莫名其妙, just in case somebody understands it). A member of staff told me about a feedback session held by New Earth Community. It provides free specialist training and opportunities in the performing arts for British East and South East Asians* (BESEA) aged 18+ living in the UK. I participated and learned a lot!
Conclusion
The above are just three different examples of the opportunities we met during our study in University of York, there are countless opportunities and interesting things to gain here.
Your monologue was such a delight!