Theatre has always been an important part of my life. Coming to Oxford I thought that I had left the drama world behind for the dreaming spires. Little did I know it would creep back up on me like a rogue spotlight. Oxford drama is one the richest communities to immerse yourself in here, whether you tread the boards for the first time in Cuppers or end up producing a show at the Oxford Playhouse. In the first term of my second year, I moved from in front of the curtain to behind, and tried my hand at producing, which is an ambiguous role to many people who've never done it before. What am I supposed to do? How do I find a team? What happens with all the money stuff?
After having decided to produce, I was incredibly lucky to find a team, one by one, who each had a wealth of technical and creative experience, and before we knew it we had cast Assassins (as pictured), secured a late term slot at the O’Reilly, got funding and were good to go! Producing is, in my mind, the most exciting job in theatre. Yes, you are responsible to everyone for everything at all times, but that also means that you get the buzz from knowing what is going on with everyone, about everything, at all times. Seeing every aspect of how a piece of theatre is put together brings a new and enlightening insight into the depths of this art form: I can’t go to the theatre now without a cursory glance of the lighting rig (although I still don’t really know what I’m talking about there).
Assassins was a huge success, at least in my head. We got great reviews and I left the show with a new group of friends and some who will be best friends for life. No sooner had I finished the accounting – a mammoth task for a first-time producer – than I was started on my next play, King Lear, taking place in Hilary term, for which I had laid the foundations whilst working on Assassins. Having little experience of Shakespeare, this project brought new and different challenges from those which I had learnt from during the previous show. Working again with a brilliant team, Lear had broken even before opening night, something that has producers dancing round the set in the early hours of the morning, and the cast were again phenomenal.
The second term also brought challenges of a different kind. Oxford University’s bidding process for venues and funding is rigorous, especially when you’re trying to bid for three different shows at once! I remember a warning from the Principal of Brasenose last year: ‘Producing is commendable but leaves little time for much else.’ At the time I scoffed, but now realise the wisdom of his words. However, reaching the Easter vacation with three bid secured, including a national tour and a Playhouse show, I can breathe a sigh of relief!
It’s clear that Oxford drama can engulf you but always teaches you something new, from how to manage a team of people who know far more about their area of theatre than you can ever hope, to how to become a wizard on Microsoft Excel! Whatever you think you’ll get out of university, theatre is most certainly one of the most enriching experiences. Whether you simply want to create a great piece of theatre during your student years or want to take on the West End as a graduate, the thriving theatre scene in Oxford is a wonderful place to start.
By Emily Lunnon (Second Year PPE student)