Graduating during a Global Pandemic: In conversation with Rebecca Charlton
Playing ON is creating a world in which marginalised communities are better understood.
Playing ON is creating a world in which marginalised communities are better understood.
Rebecca Charlton is an applied theatre graduate, arts administrator and faciliator who has worked with Playing ON since her placement in 2020. This week, we sat down with Rebecca to chat about all things Playing ON, the first steps into freelancing and what it’s like to be one of the unique class of 2021…
Tell us about yourself…
My name is Rebecca and I met Playing ON as I was placed with them for my third year professional placement term at Royal Central school of Speech and Drama during 2020. I am an applied theatre maker and arts administrator, having graduated from the Drama, Applied Theatre and Education course this year.
How did you first come across Playing ON?
Out of pure luck, I was placed with Playing ON for my professional placement in 2020, beginning in October and ending in December. My work at the time included assisting in facilitation, launching the new website, planning 10th birthday celebrations and taking over their social media platforms. After my placement ended, I was lucky enough to be asked to keep working with Playing ON in a professional capacity.
How has your role with Playing ON changed since you started?
After my placement, when my official employment began, I became Projects and Marketing Assistant at Playing ON. My role involves assisting Jim and Rhian in administrative tasks, taking a lead in the design and development of visual resources such as flyers and posters for our projects, and running the social media and website content for the company. Since last year, I have been able to have a lot of creative independence with the company, and many opportunities to work on various aspects of theatre company management, including fundraising research and assisting in delivery.
What has been your favourite project with Playing ON so far?
This is a tricky question! I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the projects with Playing ON so far, but I think I will have to say the Urban Tribe project in 2020, in collaboration with NHS East London Foundation Trust. It was such a unique project for me, and one that truly cemented my feelings around the importance of access to the arts, applied theatre and Playing ON’s brilliant work. There’s moments from that project that I will truly never forget.
The majority of your work with Playing ON has been online, how has it been maneuvering a virtual project?
Like everyone in this last year, when the pandemic hit, I was immediately forced to apply everything I knew about my job, and everything I’d learnt in my degree, to an online world. It was overwhelming to say the least. I had become so accustomed to so many elements of in-the-room facilitation. It really is the little things that you take for granted. Turning to the lead facilitator in the room and being able to communicate without words, feeling the level of tension in a space, being able to connect physically alongside peers - all of these things were warped when we went online. All I can say is, thank goodness for Zoom and video conferencing. Some of the most incredible creativity I’ve seen in the last year has been through a screen. It has allowed people from all walks of life, who live all across the country, to connect in ways that they never would have been able to before. You know what they say, every cloud and all of that.
Graduating in 2021, Playing ON is your first major freelance work, how has it been taking that first step into freelancing?
Daunting. I’ve been super lucky in that Playing ON have made the step from student to freelancer simple for me in many ways, but regardless, it’s really scary. I’d quite happily put off being a real adult for a few more years if it was down to me. I imagine stepping into the world of freelancing is tricky anyway, but during a global pandemic - that’s an interesting one!
Graduating from drama school during a pandemic, any tips?
Remember, literally everybody is in the same boat as you. It may feel like the boat isn’t big enough for everyone, or that the water is far too choppy to stay afloat but at least you’re together. The industry needs to recover. We know that. It’s heartbreaking to dwell on what could have been if we weren’t robbed of that year and a half, but all we can do is try to look forward and to keep as positive as possible. I’m a really big believer in what will be will be, and it’ll be for a reason. Things will kick start again, and when they do, it’ll be our turn. Until then, breathe. There’s no shame in getting a job in retail if you have to, before your dream job comes along. Make memories, read a book, hire a car and drive through the Cotswolds.
What is the most rewarding part of your work?
Without a doubt, it’s exposing people to the arts, who’ve never explored that side of their imaginations before. Playing ON are experts in this. Working with them I am constantly witness to participants playing their first drama game, experiencing their first hotseat improvisation, or leaving their first imaginary voicemail as their imagined character. What a privilege. I love to hear “I’ve never done anything like this” and “I can’t believe how much I enjoyed that workshop”. Theatre is constantly changing lives and mindsets - it’s why I do what I do.
What are the biggest challenges in the industry at the moment?
Representation. I want to see Black female artistic directors. I want to see disabled bodies on West End stages. I want to see trans producers in Hollywood. I want to see neuro-diversity at the Fringe, hear regional accents on the boards of leading drama schools, experience an industry that isn’t fuelled by the money of white, cis-gendered males. When we don’t have to go looking for these things, we’re doing okay.
Outside of work, what are some of your favourite things to do?
I love to read and I love film. I can read a book a day, easily. I’m also obsessed with Marvel and the MCU. I love travelling, I’m planning a huge backpacking trip around SE Asia - once COVID says I can go, of course.
What is your motto?
Everything happens for a reason.
What do you miss the most about living away from your hometown?
Stottie cakes (google them!). Fresh tap water. Being able to cuddle my mam and dad. Hearing voices like mine everyday. In London, when I hear a geordie accent on the tube or in a bar, my ears prick up - instant friends.
Top 3 reads, what are they?
A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara (Be prepared to sob! Huge trigger warning list with this one.)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid (So insanely beautiful!)
Circe - Madeline Miller (Again, heartbreakingly beautiful. Read if you love Greek mythology!)
Describe your dream project…
I’d love to expose the kids from my hometown to the scale of the projects that are often funded in London. In Gateshead there aren’t many opportunities in the arts for young people. There are Saturday morning franchises, of course, but no projects with companies like Playing ON. I’d like to work in collaboration with the local council and food banks in the North East to make our project accessible to all that would benefit from it. The North East, as of 2019/20, has the second highest rate of child poverty in the UK at 37%, behind only London at 38% (North East Child Poverty Commission). The project would be rest bite from home for the participants, and would hopefully inspire a production. The young people would be invited to come and see the show that they inspired performed in London. I can just see their faces now. London feels like the other side of the world when you’re at home. They’d be able to see what could be - and that would be the ultimate aim.
“The industry needs to recover. We know that. It’s heartbreaking to dwell on what could have been if we weren’t robbed of that year and a half, but all we can do is try to look forward and to keep as positive as possible. ”