Pembroke Players
If you enjoy drama in any of its many guises – acting, directing, producing, working behind the scenes or being part of an audience – you’ve made a pretty good choice of college by coming to Pembroke. The Pembroke Players is probably the most active college drama society in Cambridge… and it's right on your doorstep. Although the society welcomes any university member to get involved in the productions it funds, by being a Pembroke student, you automatically have the chance to take part in a whole load of college events which not only provide taster of the Cambridge drama scene, but also are fantastic for getting to know other Pembrokians really well.
Pembroke Players offer many opportunities for Freshers to dive straight into the Cambridge Drama scene, the two most exciting opportunities being the Freshers' Play and the Freshers’ Panto, both of which take place right at the end of the first term. The Freshers' Play is chosen, directed, acted and produced by first years, and is a brilliant opportunity for getting a foot in the drama door, and gaining vital experience which can prove really useful in later ventures. If this sounds appealing to you, or if you could see yourself directing a proper, funded production (with a huge amount of support from the Players Committee, of course) get in contact with either myself, (president@pembrokeplayers.org) or our Artistic Director, Holly Maguire (artistic@pembrokeplayers.org). Even if it is just to register your interest, we would be happy to answer any questions you have. Previous Freshers’'Plays have included 'An Evening of Pinter' (a collection of sketches and a short play) and 'Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead', but some further ideas include:
- A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams
- A Doll’s House – Ibsen
- Arms and the Man – George Bernard Shaw
- An Ideal Husband – Oscar Wilde
- The Cut – Mark Ravenhill
The second key event for dramatic freshers is the Pembroke Panto – one of the highlights of the college year. The Panto is particularly popular because it welcomes students with all levels of dramatic interest and experience…including none whatsoever! Again, this is directed and performed by students, but written by first years too, and provides the chance for whole groups to get together informally and come up with a script that usually bears little resemblance to the title: (last year’s aLADin involved Pembroke Formal, a competitive game of Countdown and the College Dean appearing as the ‘Deanie of the Lamp’. Rehearsals are infrequent and a huge laugh, and again you will be fully supported by the Committee. With most of the college turning up to the one off performance, this really is an event to get involved with.
Appetite whetted yet? If so (or even if not…we’re a persuasive society…), the best way to get more information is to head over to our ‘Introduction to Cambridge Drama’ on Thursday 6th October at 7pm. We’ll be giving a few short (emphasis on that) informational talks to give you dramatic advice straight from those ‘in the know’, then following that with drinks and some comedy from some of Cambridge’s leading stand up acts. The whole committee will be there, so it’s a great chance to get your questions answered personally, as well as finding out about our fantastically successful membership scheme which provides discounts to shows and entrance to exclusive events. If you want to know more still about this fantastic society, you can check out our website: http://www.pembrokeplayers.org/, or join the mailing list by emailing communications@pembrokeplayers.org. In the meantime, welcome to Cambridge, and we hope to see you at a Pembroke Players event soon.
Michael Cotton
Pembroke Players’ President 2010-2011