Performance Practices MA students are busy rehearsing for what will be the first time many of them have performed in front of a live, in-person audience since the pandemic started.
Their original theatre piece, Lighthouse, is an ensemble performance representing all aspects of life and emotion through a range of disciplines, including drama and dance, that are explored on the De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) postgraduate course.
Students collaborated with their tutors, bringing Lighthouse to life through a series of interactive sessions during which they improvised, worked through dance scores, did some creative writing and explored movement.
A focus on storytelling, without set characters and a linear narrative, will encourage the audience to reflect on their own lives and experiences.
As well as creating and performing the piece, each student has taken on an additional role to broaden their skills and experience of theatre production.
Noah West and Jess Newton-Lawrence are responsible for marketing Lighthouse across various social media platforms and through promotional posters.
“I’ve focused on content for our Instagram page. Outside of my course I do some work as a social media influencer, so I’m used to that aspect of marketing, but it has been a nice challenge to promote a piece of art which is a very difference experience to selling a product,” said Jess.
“We’re the only team within the project because everyone else has individual roles such as rehearsal director, script editor, production manager and stage manager. It’s a big job to market and promote the production, so it’s been really nice to work together with Noah and we’ve been supported by our lecturers as well.”
Noah added: “Working with Jess has been brilliant, we’ve been on the same wavelength about how we wanted to approach promoting the show. I had done some volunteering in the past so knew a bit about social media marketing, but it’s been nice to strengthen my skills in that area. I also designed the poster as I had some existing knowledge of graphic design.”
Both Noah and Jess completed undergraduate degrees at DMU in Dance BA (Hons) and Drama BA (Hons) respectively. They decided to pursue the MA to broaden their skills, while also focusing their interests in queer theory and feminist satire theatre.
As well as being drawn to the course content, they both chose to return to DMU because of its leading performance facilities and their positive experiences with the academic team.
“I know I can go to my tutors for support whenever I have an issue or problem. They are so approachable and really want to hear about what you’re struggling with and what you’re enjoying,” said Noah.
Jess added: “The lecturers are really invested in us as people and you don’t feel like you’re just a number to them. They have all been so invested in Lighthouse and have even booked to come and see the performance.”
“For those coming along, I would say keep an open mind and an open heart. It’s a chance to think about your life experiences and I hope there will be moments when you’ll connect with the performance and feel nostalgic.”
Lighthouse will be performed at the DMU Campus Centre on Tuesday 7 December at 7pm. Due to Covid-19 guidelines, pre-booking online and wearing a mask is essential (unless exempt), and tickets will not be available on the door.
Posted on Friday 3 December 2021