T24: Drama Society is the principal dramatics society of the University of Kent

University of Kent

The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...

, based in Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

. Formerly UKCD, the society produces a wide variety of dramatic work throughout the academic year.

The Society History

Previously known as UKCD (University of Kent at Canterbury Dramatics), the society was renamed in 2006 to coincide with the renaming of the University. The society is renowned for its termly 24 hour drama events, in which its members take part in a full 24 hours of drama, from workshops to the production, and finally performance of scenes that have been created overnight, hence the society name. The society's efforts range from full theatre productions to experimental, political and musical theatre, showcases of new writing and frequent clubs and workshops for society members to increase and hone their performance and technical skills. A famous former member of the society is the British actor Tom Wilkinson

Tom Wilkinson

Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...

 who was the society's President.

In former years, the society has produced a number of shows, including but not limited to:

• 'Hothouse' by Harold Pinter
• 'Last Tango In Paris' (Europe's first staged version of the Brando film)
• 'Woyzeck'
• 'Look Back in Anger'
• 'Spring Awakening'
• 'Bima and Brimati'
• 'Accidental Death Of An Anarchist'
• 'King Lear's Tempest'
• 'Torchsong Trilogy'
• 'The Dead Guy'
• 'Beside Herself'
• 'Peepshow'
• The UK's premiere production of 'Wreckhouse'
• 'A Man For All Seasons'
• 'Black Comedy'
• 'Confusions'
• 'Medea'
• 'Art'
• 'The Possibilities'
• 'Women Laughing'
• 'Crave'
• 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui'
• 'Bouncers'
• 'Macbeth'
• 'The Shadow of a Gunman'
• 'Inside/Out' (the society's first original devised piece since operation as UKCD)
• 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
• 'Peter Pan'
• 'Trainspotting'

and many original works by students.

The Society Calendar

The society produces around 12 shows per academic year. The calendar for the society runs roughly as follows, although dates will vary from year to year.

Autumn Term

• One show performed in the Gulbenkian theatre on the Canterbury campus for three nights.
• Three 'free space' shows performed in alternative venues across the Canterbury campus and Canterbury itself.
• A 24 hour drama event, beginning at midday on a Saturday early in term and ending at midday the following Sunday.

Spring Term

• One show performed in the Gulbenkian theatre on the Canterbury campus for three nights
• Three 'free space' shows performed in alternative venues across the Canterbury campus and Canterbury itself.
• A 24 hour play event in which a play is auditioned, cast and produced in 24 hours.

Summer Term

• One show performed in the Gulbenkian theatre on the Canterbury campus for three nights
• Three 'free space' shows performed in alternative venues across the Canterbury campus and Canterbury itself.
• A 24 hour event known informally as 'Scrapheap Theatre' which takes placeover two days with the intention of producing new writing and performance. Day 1 consists of the formation of companies from the society, each with a number of actors, a playwright and a director. The Playwright has 12 hours in which to complete a bespoke script for the company they are attached to, and this is completed on day 1. The director and cast then have 12 hours on day 2 in which to block, learn and rehearse the script before a performance on the evening of day 2. This was inspired by the channel 4 show 'Scrapheap Challenge'

Other Events

Also, throughout the academic year the society produces several events and showcases that vary from term to term. These include:

• T:Plus - bi-weekly workshops to focus and learn new skills within theatre, whether they focus on practical, theoretical or back-stage areas.
• T:atSIX - This occurs every Friday night as a way for members to come together and play games, workshop ideas and try out performance techniques in an open environment.
• 'The Collage Show' - a showcase of short scenes, monologues, works in progress and sketches from new writers within the society and the university as a whole.
• Play It By Ear - The society's improv
  Improvisational theatre
  Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
  
  comedy troupe, who perform on Thursday nights at the University of Kent campus and other dates around Canterbury and East Kent.

Committee

The day-to-day running of the society is overseen by the society committee, elected from the members at the society AGM during the spring term. At present, the roles are:

• Presidents: Steven Laverty and Sandy Wardop
• Secretary: Tilly Berendt
• Treasurer: Aaron Watkins
• Events Managers: Ed Gamble and Freddy Waller
• Company Production Manager (CPM): Rob Auton
• Company Publicity Officer (CPO): Tom Jacob-Ewles
• Social Secretary: Abi Smith
• Non-Portfolio Officers: Sophie Gorne and Ben Langley