Outstanding performance
20 May 2009
Grace Stead, a Level 2 Drama student at LJMU, has won the coveted Stephen Joseph Theatre Production Award at this year’s National Student Drama Festival, held in Scarborough recently.
Grace is one of 70 lucky students who were picked by the festival to provide technical support for a variety of productions in a wide range of venues, including a sports hall, function rooms and the internationally-renowned Stephen Joseph theatre itself.
Working alongside a dedicated technical crew of students, Grace gained invaluable experience behind-the-scenes and made important contacts that will prove crucial to her career in performing arts. As part of the application process for the Award, she was interviewed, and her CV considered, and won through as the winner from the group of 70 candidates bidding for the coveted two-month internship.
Asked what set her apart from the competition, Grace commented: “I think my enthusiasm came through during the application. I’m not especially experienced or knowledgeable, but I’ll give anything a go.”
Course tutor Dr James Frieze added that LJMU’s Drama students gain a broader experience of theatre which gives them a certain confidence, often picked up by those outside the University: “A great thing about our course is that it encourages a ‘have a go’ attitude, and tends to foster confidence and a willingness to put oneself forward.”
This year LJMU’s Drama department made a massive impact on the organisers of the National Student Drama Festival, submitting a pair of devised pieces which were highly praised by the assessors, reaching the final 18 of the best 120 pieces of drama of any kind submitted to the Festival. In addition, three students attended the Festival having won bursaries supported by the MAS Faculty.
This year’s successes at the Festival is seen by the Drama department as the start of a long-term partnership which will ultimately benefit students looking to gain industry skills and knowledge to help in their career pursuits.
James added: “This will also help our current students as Grace and the other three students who attended the festival will feed back what they’ve learnt in a series of presentations.”
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