Students have an exciting opportunity to get involved with a major performing arts festival, which will be hosted on campus at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) this year.
The National Student Drama Festival (NSDF) welcomes hundreds of young people, established artists and local audiences to a week-long event featuring productions and workshops led by practitioners and industry professionals.
NSDF launches this weekend with an opening ceremony and a number of performances and workshops.
Jack Wilkin, a third-year Drama and Creative Writing student, is one of a number of students working as ambassadors at the festival.
He said: “Being an ambassador will involve helping people around campus and helping out generally, as well as some vlogging and taking photos.
“We also get the opportunity to attend performances and workshops and I’m looking forward to going to a contemporary performance workshop, which focuses on strengthening your skills as a performance maker.
“I think it’s really important to show the variety of work created at DMU and at other places, as well as being able to hear new things and listen to new voices. I think that’s why it’s important to have the festival here on campus.”
The festival has a mission to empower and inspire young talent and ambition, help launch careers in the industry and offer access to the professional theatre world.
There will be a discussion every day, where the entire festival audience is invited to gather and discuss the work they've seen, and wider social and political issues in the arts.
Tracy Cruickshank, Associate Head of the School of Visual and Performing Arts and Head of Drama, said: “NSDF provides a fantastic platform for showcasing and celebrating student work from around the country and it is great to be able to welcome them to DMU.
“The festival offers a full and vibrant programme of performances, workshop and events for participants, giving them access to industry specialists and space to develop their own networks.
“It also offers students from across the school exciting and valuable opportunities to gain experience in festival management and production."
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Bex Woodford, a third-year Drama student, will also be part of the team of ambassadors. She said: “As a performer looking to establish myself as part of a devised theatre company I believe it’s important to make the most of every opportunity to better understand the industry and to expose myself to new styles and work, which could possibly inspire my own creativity.
“I am most looking forward to seeing the variety of different performances, and discuss my ideas and thoughts with peers.
“I am also hoping to discover how I can establish myself as a performer and how I can get to a point when I'm producing work for audiences.”
The Campus Centre will also be open every night running a number of fun events including bingo, open mic sessions, a quiz and a disco.
NSDF 2018 will take place 24-30 March 2018 in partnership with DMU and Curve Theatre. Tickets are available and can be booked here.
Posted on Friday 23 March 2018