Do you ever wonder what our graduates get up to? Drama alumni from the University of Manchester have gone on to have a variety of careers; our series of alumni profiles shows just a few of the directions a drama degree can take you in. All our featured alumni graduated in the last ten years – here Tie-Dye Drama tell us about the work they do and how their time at Manchester influenced them.
Tie-Dye Drama consists of:
Amy O’Toole BA Drama, 2013
Ella Peterman BA Drama and Screen Studies, 2013
Jennifer Chamberlain BA Drama and English Literature, 2013
Matilda Thaddeus-Johns BA Drama and English Literature, 2013
We co-founded Tie-Dye Drama and work as drama facilitators. Tie-Dye Drama offers young people the chance to explore social issues through drama. Working with schools and charities in the UK and abroad, our workshops are tailor-made to each group we work with. Fired by the belief that drama can change lives, our workshops focus on nurturing young people’s self-esteem and creativity whilst tackling important issues.
The thing we enjoy most about our jobs is the diversity! It might sound like a cliché but no two workshops are ever the same, which is the beauty of working with young people in a range of contexts. It’s what makes our workshops so distinctive and was the inspiration for our name; each Tie-Dye print is bold, interesting and each piece is unique! What’s more, this diversity has provided us with opportunities to develop professionally and has strengthened our skills as facilitators.
We all see our experiences at the University of Manchester as the roots to our practice. The university’s focus on applied drama has been instrumental in providing us with both the academic and practical grounding to our work. In particular, the A-Z of Applied Theatre and Theatre in Prison courses opened our eyes to how drama can be used in a variety of contexts and as a tool for personal and social change. We found that the study of ethics in relation to applied practices was really beneficial when delivering our first social drama project in Sri Lanka.
Manchester Drama 