Discover Central The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

For this special, bonus episode of the Discover Central podcast, we’re joined by Will Sebag-Montefiore (Just These, Please), and Adwitha Arumugam, Sam Law and Aadar Malik (The Situationalists) to discuss the process of taking their shows, ‘Honestly No Pressure Either Way’ and ‘Dreamliner’ to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

On the final episode of the third series of Discover Central host Victoria Edwards, Central's Access and Participation Manager, interviews alumni Tim Chaundy and Maame Atuah to talk about all things Central Outreach.
Tim Chaundy is the Curriculum Leader in Performing Arts and Music at City and Islington College, which is part of Capital City College Group, the biggest group of further education colleges in London. City and Islington College offers an extensive range of academic and vocational courses for all ages, including a range of courses in performing arts, music, art, design and fashion. City and Islington College - and Tim - were one of the Central's first Outreach partners. Over the last five years, they have worked together to provide City and Islington College students with a range of workshops, free auditions and tickets to Central's productions. Tim is also an alumnus of Central, having graduated from the BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education Course.
Maame Atuah is an alumna of Central's BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education course and now works at Central in the Student Recruitment and Outreach team as Student Recruitment and Access Administrator. As part of her role, Maame works closely with Victoria Edwards to deliver the School's Outreach programme. She also recently helped to run the Outreach project Small Axe: Big Talks, which encouraged participants to critically explore themes from Steve McQueen's Small Axe films 'Lovers Rock' and 'Education' through their participation in movement, creative writing and devising workshops. Outside of Central, Maame is the Co-Founder of Diversity School Initiative, a nonprofit organisation that was set up to tackle under representation and diversity in UK drama schools.
You can find out more about City and Islington College by visiting their website.
You can find out more about Central's Outreach Programme by visiting the Central website, where you can also read about recent activities including Small Axe: Big Talks.
**You can access a Dyslexia-friendly transcript of this episode.**
Discover Central is hosted by Victoria Edwards and produced and edited by Megan Hunter and Scott Bellamy.  Main podcast image by Patrick Baldwin.  Theme music “Emotive Technology” is by High Street Music and has been used with permission thanks to Premium Beats.  With thanks to colleagues and students at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Host Victoria Edwards

Tim Chaundy
 

Maame Atuah

For the fifth episode of our third series of the Discover Central podcast, we’re joined by Mairi Hayes and Jake Harders, both graduates of Central, who now work across the School's diploma and short courses to find out more about their work.
Mairi Hayes graduated from Central's BA Acting course in 2008, and is now the School's Community Drama and Diploma Manager with responsibility for overseeing the entirety of Central's short course provision. Beyond Central, Mairi has worked extensively as an actor and theatre maker with companies including the West Yorkshire Playhouse, the Roundhouse, the Lowry Theatre in Manchester, the National Theatre, the Southbank Centre, the UK Film Council, BBC and ITV. She has also worked in a broad range of arts community and educational contexts, including work in schools and colleges, youth clubs and theatres, and holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.
Jake Harders graduated from the BA Acting course in 2003, and alongside his co-course leadership with Mairi of the online acting diploma, he is also a Visiting Lecturer across several of Central's short courses. Jake has travelled the world working as an award winning professional actor in theatre, television, film, and radio. He has also studied with and has been profoundly influenced by many of Jerzy Grotowski's original actors at the Grotowski Centre in Poland. Alongside his extensive teaching schedule, he is currently undertaking research for a PhD on the contribution of Grotowski to UK actor training. 
We’re also delighted to welcome Sonny Kong and Luke Fox, graduates of Central's diploma courses who tell us more about their experiences of studying at Central.
You can find out more about Central’s range of short courses and diploma offerings by visiting our website.
You can also find out more about Access All Areas theatre company, with whom Central partners to run the Performance Making Diploma course, by visiting their website.
**You can access a Dyslexia friendly version of this episode**
Discover Central is hosted by Scott Bellamy and produced and edited by Megan Hunter and Scott Bellamy.  Main podcast image by Patrick Baldwin.  Theme music “Emotive Technology” is by High Street Music and has been used with permission thanks to Premium Beats.  With thanks to colleagues and students at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Discover Central Host Scott Bellamy

Mairi Hayes

Jake Harders

In March, we sat down with Dr Katharine Low for our fourth episode of Series 3 and a discussion about her research, her newly published book and the work that she and her students have been undertaking over several years and in collaboration with partner organisations in South Africa.
Dr Kat Low is a Senior Lecturer in Community Performance and Applied Theatre at Central with teaching and supervisory responsibilities across the schools undergraduate and postgraduate Applied Theatre courses, as well as research degrees. A research-practitioner in the field of applied theatre and sexual health, she has worked transnationally in South Africa, Tanzania, Europe and the UK. She has a deep commitment to feminist-led research, arts in health and theatre-making in urban settings, and the role of women in theatre.
We were also joined by Alexandra Netea, a final year Contemporary Performance Practice student, who discussed her worth with Kat and artist Erica Lüttich on a project in South Africa.

More information on Kat's work can be found on the Central website or by visiting her website where you can view examples of her work and find a list of her publications, including her new book "Applied Theatre and Sexual Health Communication: Apertures of Possibility". You can also read an interview with Kat on Central's site. 
Information about the Global Challenges Research Fund can be found on the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) website.  
Learn more about Kat's work with Gerard Bester and the Outreach Foundation.
**You can access a Dyslexia-friendly transcript of this episode**
Discover Central is hosted by Scott Bellamy and produced and edited by Megan Hunter and Scott Bellamy.  Main podcast image by Patrick Baldwin.  Theme music "Emotive Technology" is by High Street Music and has been used with permission thanks to Premium Beats.  With thanks to colleagues and students at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.  

 

Host Scott Bellamy

Dr Katharine Low

On our third episode of Series 3, we're joined by Dr Sylvan Baker to discuss his recent appearance on the BBC'S Small Axe: the Podcast, which focused on his experience of growing up in the British care system. We discuss how these experiences have shaped Sylvan's work and research, both inside and outside of Central, including his support for care leaver students.  
We also chat about Sylvan's work with the Verbatim Formula, which he co-founded with Dr Maggie Inchley, a Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London. The Verbatim Formula is a collaborative participatory arts project that has developed verbatim theatre techniques to share the voices of care experienced young people, care leavers and adults responsible for their care and education.
Dr Sylvan Baker is an artist and an academic, a practitioner and researcher working across the fields of applied theatre, socially engaged arts and social justice for the past 30 years.  At Central, he is a Lecturer in Community Performance and Applied Theatre, teaching on both the undergraduate and postgraduate Applied Theatre courses.  Beyond Central, his practice has taken place across the UK and globally in sites in Brazil, the USA, in a diverse range of contexts and communities, and has a specific interest in international interventions in sites of conflict and transitional justice.
We're also joined by Isabelle Kirkham and Sophie Scarlett, final year BA Contemporary Performance Practice students who tell us more about their project with Action for Children, 'My Time in Care'.
And Central's Access and Participation Manager Victoria Edwards provides more information about Central's Care Leaver Support Scheme, which she oversees.

More information on Sylvan's work can be found on the Central website or by visiting the website for The Verbatim Formula.  You can also listen to Sylvan's interview with Ashley John-Baptiste on the BBC's Small Axe: The Podcast or read the accompanying feature on the BBC Website, 'Home and Safety: what the Covid-19 pandemic reminds us about a life in care'.
**You can access a Dyslexia-friendly transcript of this episode**
Discover Central is hosted by Megan Hunter and produced and edited by Megan Hunter and Scott Bellamy.  Main podcast image by Patrick Baldwin.  Megan Hunter's photo is used courtesy of Lydia Keen.  Theme music "Emotive Technology" is by High Street Music and has been used with permission thanks to Premium Beats.  With thanks to colleagues and students at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.  

 
 

Dr Sylvan Baker

Host Megan Hunter

On our second episode of Series 3, we're joined by Ben Naylor, the course leader for MA Acting Classical, to discuss his research, his work as a director and the recent productions staged at Central for his students, including Hamlet, which will be available to stream on Central's YouTube channel in May 2021.
Ben Naylor is a Senior Lecturer at Central and the Course Leader for MA Acting Classical. After studying ancient history and theology at Durham and Oxford Universities, Ben trained as a director with Sir Peter Hall at the National Theatre, with John Caird at the Caird Company, and with David Lan and others at the Young Vic. Ben has directed numerous productions, readings and workshops, and regularly works internationally in Israel, the United States, Spain, Germany, Greece and New Zealand. Beyond Central, he has taught at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the Young Vic, LAMDA, the Shakespeare Centre, Cambridge University and more. As a practitioner and a researcher, Ben specialises in Shakespeare and the theatre of the English Renaissance, and in acting traditions derived from Stanislavski, European expressionism and the American Method.
We're also joined by Aaron Lynn and Ella Faye Donley, recent MA Acting Classical Class of 2020 graduates and members of the cast of Hamlet, who tell us more about their work on the production and the course.

More information on Ben Naylor's work can be found on the Central website or on his own website.
**You can access a Dyslexia-friendly transcript of this episode**
Discover Central is hosted by Megan Hunter and produced and edited by Megan Hunter and Scott Bellamy.  Main podcast image by Patrick Baldwin.  Megan Hunter's photo is used courtesy of Lydia Keen.  Theme music "Emotive Technology" is by High Street Music and has been used with permission thanks to Premium Beats.  With thanks to colleagues and students at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.  

Ben Naylor

Host Megan Hunter

Aaron Lynn

Ella Faye Donley