At the end of May, Studio Brunel held its first annual Theatre Festival, completing a trilogy of firsts for Studio Brunel, which began earlier in the academic year with a Scare Maze and its first annual Film Festival.
Studio Brunel is a student run production company, supported by Brunel University and staff advisors. It’s a cross-discipline creative endeavour welcoming students from the Theatre, Film and TV and Music programmes to collaborate as directors, producers, writers, musicians, actors, designers and more.
The theatre festival featured three original pieces by Brunel students which showcased storytelling, music, creativity and ambition. All three performances ran for between 20-35 minutes in spaces transformed to create immersive experiences for the audiences.
The first piece was Woman!, a dramatic play written and directed by 3rd year student Guste Skrupskaite starring fellow 3rd year student, Eliya Yankova. Performed in ANTR 103 - which had been transformed into a cosy restaurant with soft, coloured lighting, wine, snacks and music -Woman! explored the stories we create and the people who walk this world.
The second performance was Picture This, a comedic musical theatre piece written and performed by second year student Elise Marra. Picture This is a new musical comedy thriller that follows stop motion animation filmmaker, Mary, as the animated figures she’s created come to life and start controlling her. ANTR 001 was transformed for this performance which featured original music, monologue, and a high-speed remote controlled car chase at the end!
This third and final piece of the Festival was Burn, Feminine. Burn, a contemporary piece written to challenge the hegemonic role that women are assigned within society. This piece was written and directed by 2nd year student Rhona Jack and starred Johanna Wiess and Ed Townsend, who are also in their second year at Brunel.
This evening attracted more than 80 students and staff members. To learn about upcoming Studio Brunel events and how to get involved you can follow Studio Brunel on instagram @studio_brunel.