Proper Job Gradcast

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Beth Fox about being a Team manager at the Cliffs Pavilion theatre in Southend-on-Sea. Beth only finished her degree a couple of months before this interview – and, indeed, was just two weeks into the job – so it offers a fascinating insight into the very start of a career in theatre. She talks about building up a network of contacts despite not coming from a privileged background or a showbiz family, and gives good advice about making your own luck. She also looks forward to where her career might take her in future, whether into actor training or seeing where her current job might take her. As if that wasn’t enough, you’ll also hear about the highlights of her first fortnight working in theatre, from drag queen lunches to meeting the legendary Paul Chuckle.

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Ben Haigh about being Head of Client Services for SINE digital, where he markets big theatre shows using the magic of the internet. As well as talking about how he got from graduating to a great job in the creative industries, there’s some discussion about creating the right visual image to sell a show, or as Ben puts it, ‘Making that world before you even get into the theatre.’ He also talks about how to harness Facebook and Instagram to attract the target audience, and there’s some interesting nerdy chat about the immersive theatre show Doctor Who: Time Fracture.

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate EM Williams about being a non-binary ‘actor/ movement director/ theatre maker/ Arts-Council-grant-successful-person’, who has worked for, among others, the National Theatre, the RSC, and Dinosaur World Live at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. They talk about such fascinating topics as their ‘self-tape game’ going up during the pandemic, finding their ‘clan’, and playing a motion capture Puck in a live online performance called Dream for the Royal Shakespeare Company. There’s some great advice about the importance of ‘following your joy’ to navigate your career path, and they end with some thoughts on how a career in the arts means thinking about what you do in your every waking moment.

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate San Malhi about her work as the Production Administrator at the Kiln Theatre in Kilburn, London. San has so many useful things to say about managing the transition from university life to the world of work, giving great advice about taking up opportunities, networking and valuing yourself enough to dare to ask for what you want. She talks passionately about the importance of improving inclusivity in the arts, how an organisation called Creative Access got her a crucial placement at the National Theatre, and she reflects on the fact that she’s never worked for free to get her foot on the ladder.

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Bruce Langley about how he landed a prime TV role just three years after graduating. This episode will be of particular interest to anyone who wants to become a professional actor, not to mention to Amazon Prime series American Gods, based on the Neil Gaiman novel, in which Bruce plays the role of Technical Boy. He gives a vivid account of how he started out in acting, constantly working on developing himself and taking up every offer that came his way in order to maintain what he calls ‘momentum’. He talks about how busy he was while studying Drama at Kent, in what he saw as a safe environment to gain experience. He talks about speaking on panels at Comic-Con and what it’s like to see fans cosplaying as him. He finishes with excellent advice for would-be actors.

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate George Weightman about his long career as a jobbing actor. He explains how he turned pro after graduating, talks about the years of doing profit share theatre tours before starting to work in films, and doing voicework and recording audiobooks. He talks about how studying Drama at Kent helped him develop the skills he uses in his job, and how a penchant for doing voice has got him work – and helped him out in life, particularly during an incident at a protest march! He also talks about how he's kept his career going through lockdown, including installing a recording studio at home. He finishes this bumper episode with great advice about how to find your own unique qualities that will help you establish your own career in the arts.

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Ogo Anokwuru, who got a job as an Assistant Producer/ Researcher/ Presenter with local TV station KMTV just weeks after graduating in the summer of 2020. She talks about how doing an internship as part of her Drama degree directly led to her current job, and how her experiences at university helped to equip her for the world of work more generally. She finishes with some excellent advice for current students, which is sure to encourage and inspire you.

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduates Kaya Brown and Mia Facca, who have just started their own animation company. StigglyPop makes animated videos for young children for YouTube, and Kaya and Mia trace their creative partnership back to their first year core module. They also talk about how to cope with the difficult transition from university to the world of work after graduating, and the importance of diversity in children's entertainment.

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Laura Lexx, a comedian and writer. Laura talks about appearing on Live at the Apollo, and getting a two-book deal after her Tweet about Jürgen Klopp went viral. She explains how she developed her stand-up career alongside various day jobs, and how becoming a full-time comedian has recently allowed her to buy her first house. She reflects on how her time at Kent prepared her for her future career, and how learning about Restoration theatre helped her to deal with the stress of lockdown. Laura is a really inspiring person, and you’ll learn a lot about confidence and resilience by listening to this episode. You can find out more about her comedy at: http://www.lauralexx.co.uk

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Storme Toolis, an actor, writer and soon-to-be drama teacher. Storme talks about being a cast regular in New Tricks, becoming the first disabled actor to play the title role in a West End production of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, and she gives great advice on dealing with the rejection that’s an inevitable part of being a jobbing actor. She also recalls a pivotal moment from her time at Kent that influenced her future career, and explains why she’s about to become a drama teacher. She finishes by giving possibly the best answer so far to the question, ‘What would you say to people who think studying drama won’t get you a proper job?’ You can find out more about Storme on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storme_Toolis

Tom Brace is a professional magician who tours theatres with his family show. In this episode, he explains how he discovered magic and built his career to the point where he was able to make a living from it. He also talks about how he draws on things he learned while studying Drama at the University of Kent in his performance, and recalls the path that led him to magic after graduating in 2015, via a brief career in theatre marketing. You can find out more about Tom Brace at www.tombracemagic.com

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduates Sam Pacelli and Tom Livingstone from everyone’s favourite improv comedy troupe, the Noise Next Door. Sam and Tom talk about how the Noise Next Door got started when they were at the University of Kent, and how they started earning a living from it once they graduated – by a combination of hard work, networking and building their audience. They reflect on how what they learnt at Kent helped them become ace comedy improvisers, and offer advice to those who might want to follow in their footsteps. As a bonus, there’s also a clip of the Noise Next Door in action, recorded during a four-night run of their tour show In Charge at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. You can find out more about the Noise Next Door at https://thenoisenextdoor.co.uk/ and more about studying Drama at Kent at https://www.kent.ac.uk/arts/subjects/drama-and-theatre

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate TD.Moyo – Tendai to her friends – about her work as a theatre director and playwright working at such prestigious venues as the Royal Court, the Barbican and the Almeida, where she is currently a Resident Director. She talks about the particular challenges facing black students, the importance of networking, and dealing with people saying ‘no’ when you’re trying to establish yourself as an artist. She also comes out with the BEST one-liners, telling us that, ‘The plan is as an activist is to take over’, declaring, ‘I’m not leaving this space until I am artistic director’, and advising us that, ‘You have to enter the space and just do it.’ Her ambition is, if not to change the world, at least to change South London. TD is on Twitter @RealFrankT and more about studying Drama at Kent at https://www.kent.ac.uk/arts/subjects/drama-and-theatre

Olly Double interviews Kent Drama graduate Faith Austin about her current work as Technical and Production Manager at the Half Moon Theatre. Working at this legendary children’s theatre is never dull, as it caters to anyone from babies to teenagers, and Faith talks in detail about just how varied and stimulating her job is. She then explains how she went from graduating in 2013 to being appointed at the Half Moon in 2019, a journey which involved taking up every opportunity to do freelance technical work – which she started even as an undergraduate – working with anybody from comedians like Omid Djalili to the puppets of Little Angel Theatre. She stresses the importance of networking, telling us, ‘I basically just kept putting my name out there.’ Finally, she explains how studying Drama at Kent equipped her with the skills she uses in her job today, and offers some advice for those who want to find work in the creative industries. You can find out more about the Half Moon Theatre at https://www.halfmoon.org.uk/ and more about studying Drama at Kent at https://www.kent.ac.uk/arts/subjects/drama-and-theatre

In our first episode, Olly Double from the University of Kent interviews Drama graduates Kristin Bacheva and Luke Stokes of GOLKK Theatre, one of our Graduate Theatre Companies. They explain how they came up with the name GOLKK before discussing such varied topics as becoming established as a company, their music-driven physical theatre style, getting development money, starting to tour, and, er, Bulgarian folk dancing. You can find out more about GOLKK at https://www.golkk.com/ and more about studying Drama at Kent at https://www.kent.ac.uk/arts/subjects/drama-and-theatre