Proper Job Gradcast

University of Kent
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A podcast series about Drama graduates from the University of Kent going on to exciting careers in the arts.

  1. Episode 23 Kate Lennon from UTC Artist Management

    08/19/2022

    Episode 23 Kate Lennon from UTC Artist Management

    Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Kate Lennon about her career as a talent manager at UTC Artist Management. Kate takes us through the long and varied path that took her from graduating at Kent to where she is now, including stints working in TV, performing with her sketch group Kitten Killers, and working for Funny Women. She talks at length about working for UTC, where she manages comedians like Ria Lina, Toussaint Douglass and Laura Lexx (who featured in episode 7 of this podcast). She has great advice for anyone pursuing careers in the arts, including the importance of a well-written email and even complimenting somebody’s shoes!

    23 min
  2. Episode 22 Moonbeam Theatre, graduate theatre company

    07/20/2022

    Episode 22 Moonbeam Theatre, graduate theatre company

    Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduates Elyse Hall, Colette McLoughlin and Jess Pattrick about how they set up Moonbeam Theatre – which is one of the University of Kent’s Graduate Theatre Companies. This was recorded while they were touring a show around Kent and Essex and preparing longer term for their first national tour. They talk about their three successful applications for Arts Council England funding, the importance of networking with other companies (like Square Pegs and Frozen Light), and how Covid helped them decide to commit to starting their own company. They also explain in detail how the Graduate Theatre Company scheme works and reflect on how the modules they took prepared them for becoming professional theatremakers – at one point using the memorable phrase, ‘What would Roanna do?’ Finally, there’s a bit of bonus fun with an audio clip from before the interview started.

    28 min
  3. Episode 21 Verity Tan, Verity Tan, photographer, drama teacher and full-time mum

    06/22/2022

    Episode 21 Verity Tan, Verity Tan, photographer, drama teacher and full-time mum

    Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Verity Tan about keeping her creative career going whilst being a full-time mum to three young children. She talks about how studying Drama at the University of Kent led to a career teaching creative drama classes to children. More importantly, she talks about putting this career to one side for a while to bring up her children – and balancing this with commissions to photograph theatre shows. She also talks about working in different countries, having started her career in Singapore before moving to Thailand. Whilst she was a student, she made a point of taking advantage of creative opportunities, from working for a youth theatre to being an extra in the film Into the Woods. She believes that this set her up for a creative career, and advises: ‘Try everything…You have to hustle. You have to try things.’ This is a perfect episode to listen to if you want to think about how parenthood might fit into your creative career.

    26 min
  4. Episode 19 Gersom de Koning, Head of Performing Arts

    05/20/2022

    Episode 19 Gersom de Koning, Head of Performing Arts

    Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Gersom de Koning about his career as Head of Performing Arts at the International Community School in Bangkok, Thailand. Gersom talks about how studying for an MA at Kent led to an international career in the arts up to the job he’s now doing – which includes being in charge of a 600-seat theatre and regularly producing student shows there. Along the way, you’ll hear about staging a Singlish adaptation of Shakespeare, following a production of High School Musical with Lord of the Flies, and being ‘quite the energy bunny’. Perhaps the most interesting takeaway is how what Gersom has learned from improvisational theatre and Keith Johnstone’s book Impro has helped him navigate through his career.

    28 min
  5. Episode 19 Beatrice Hyde, actor and playwright

    04/25/2022

    Episode 19 Beatrice Hyde, actor and playwright

    Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Beatrice Hyde about her career as an actor and playwright. This was recorded as Beatrice was rehearsing her play Emmeline for Theatre Lab Company at the Cockpit, and she tells the story of how she started writing it in a second year Drama module at Kent, developed it during a year studying abroad at Berkeley, staged a version at the end of her final year at Kent, and onwards to finally staging it professionally. Along the way, she talks about the option of studying abroad at Kent, doing a postgrad MA at East 15, being mentored, and developing the freelancer lifestyle in a career which ‘can have many slashes’. Want to know what she means by that? Then listen to the episode!

    25 min
  6. Episode 18 Claudia Marciano, actor and physical theatre maker

    03/17/2022

    Episode 18 Claudia Marciano, actor and physical theatre maker

    Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Claudia Marciano about her career as an actor and creator of physical theatre, particularly with the company Theatre Re. Claudia talks about how the modules she studied at Kent helped equip her with the skills and interests she draws on in her work, and the transition into professional work after graduating. Importantly, she talks about the nature of her portmanteau career, which involves balancing various different jobs, including acting and fitness training, at the same time as studying for an MA. Many who work in the creative industries have this kind of portmanteau career, and Claudia talks about how rewarding it is for each week of your working life to be different from the last.

    17 min
  7. Episode 17 Peter Morton, Puppeteer

    02/02/2022

    Episode 17 Peter Morton, Puppeteer

    Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Peter Morton about his work as a professional puppeteer, puppet maker and the artistic director of Half a String theatre company. The interview took place just before Peter was due to shoot off to a dress rehearsal for the Little Amal project, in which a 3.5 metre puppet of a refugee girl walked across Europe from the Syrian border to the UK. Peter’s contribution was to design and build a giant fox puppet which met Little Amal when she arrived in Canterbury. Current Kent Drama students helped to build and operate the puppet. Peter talks about how he started his puppetry career whilst still studying at Kent, and how he established his career after graduating. He has lots to say about the importance of finding the right people to work with when making theatre.

    20 min
  8. Episode 16 Kyrah Gray, comedian

    01/12/2022

    Episode 16 Kyrah Gray, comedian

    Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Kyrah Gray about starting out as a stand-up comedian. Kyrah talks about how going to a networking event instantly got her both gigs and a manager. She explains how she started out on the urban comedy circuit and is now trying to break into the mainstream comedy circuit. This leads to some great discussion about the particular challenges facing black comedians in the UK. She also talks about the craziness of choosing to become a comedian when you suffer from anxiety, and the remarkable fact that she doesn’t actually get anxious onstage. She talks about balancing day jobs with a comedy career, and how the transferrable skills you get in a drama degree set you up for even the most conventional job.

    26 min
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About

A podcast series about Drama graduates from the University of Kent going on to exciting careers in the arts.

Information

  • Creator
    University of Kent
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2022
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
  • Show Website
    Proper Job Gradcast