Trying to condense a whole year of Theatre at York St John into one blog post isn’t easy, so we’ve condensed it into three! In this third and final year in review post we show a sample of the brilliant achievements our Theatre Students have made over the last academic year. We haven’t included everything but instead present a range of projects, events and achievements from the last academic year.

 Part 3 – Student Achievements

Graduating Student company Juniper Theatre present their work ‘The Wood between 2 Worlds’ at Deer Shed Festival in North Yorkshire. Starring graduating theatre students Lizzy Wynes, Johnny Curd & Mikhail Lim.

4^th Annual Graduate Theatre Prize

York St John University and York Theatre Royal are delighted to announce the winner of the 2014 Graduate Theatre Prize: Meander Indoors for Arthur Author

(Meander Indoors are Jonny Curd, Kym Kitching, Ben Rosenfield, Elizabeth Whynes, Charlotte Goodland and Simon Bedwell.)

The prize is awarded each year to a final year student or student theatre company studying at York St John University. As well as recognising the excellence of work produced by YSJU theatre students, the prize also represents both organisations commitment to assisting creative individual in the post-graduation transition to professional arts practice.

The Prize is judged by a panel including the Artistic and Associate Directors of the Theatre Royal. The prize winners will receive a period of artistic mentoring at the York Theatre Royal and the opportunity to present work at a platform event hosted by the theatre in autumn 2014.

Associate Director Juliet Forster said, “The company have created a piece that is both original, theatrical and precise, high production values were shown throughout and they were clear winners. Damian Cruden and myself are looking forward to working with them and seeing how the piece can develop further.”

This year, a runner-up prize has also been awarded to Jim Jams Theatre Company (Adam Waslin, Michaela Pascall and Alex Holderness), in recognition of their ambition to create high quality theatre for children. Jim Jams have also performed Little Red Riding Hood at the Deershed Festival, The York Pauline Quirke Academy, Park Grove and Lord Deramores primary schools.

Prison Partnership

final year students James Aconley and Melissa Mallin were employed on the Prison Partnership Project to deliver a summer programme of weekly drama and singing workshops with the residents at HMP Askham Grange.

Melissa Mallin was successful in her application to be the student researcher on the Prison Partnership Project.

Recent theatre graduate Lisa Thornton was successful in becoming the student intern on the Prison Partnership’s “On the Out” project working alongside lecturers Rachel Conlon and Jules Dorey Richmond.

Out Of Character

Out of Character perform with our students at the International Network Toward Alternatives and Recovery Conference, Liverpool, June 2014

99 Nauman, Recite, Loop, Shift

Theatre Students Kirsty Wolf, Jess Chaney, Jonny Curd, James Norris, Charlotte Goodlad and Orlando Wind-Cowie wrote and composed 99 Nauman. Recite, Loop, Shift in collaboration with Dr. Claire Hind.

Taking the Artist Rooms’ Bruce Nauman exhibition as inspiration, 6 students (writers and performers) composed physical, written and spoken responses to the works on display at York St Mary’s with the specific task of thinking through some of Bruce Nauman’s forms and influences.