Welcome to the final blog post of the academic year. This is where the Head of Department – me, Jenny Hughes – writes something to celebrate the past academic year, focusing on the achievements of the graduating students, timed to coincide with the graduation ceremony.
Except that … this year … like last year … we haven’t had a graduation.
The university took the difficult decision back in March to postpone graduation ceremonies. Given current government guidance to exercise caution, and the need to consider international travel for students with families and friends overseas, this looks to have been the correct decision – albeit really disappointing. The good news is that in-person graduations for Spring and Summer 2022 are being planned. Speaking on behalf all of the staff here in the department, I really hope that as many graduates from Class of 2021 and Class of 2020 are able to come along to these in-person graduations. They promise to be very special events indeed.
I feel like we’ve reached a point in the pandemic where the words we use to describe its impact are worn out from over-use, wrung out, tired and exhausted. I’m certainly finding it difficult to find the right words for this blog. You’ve heard them all before – unprecedented times, uncharted waters, extraordinary, extraordinarily difficult times – demanding what we’ve come to call an ability to be ‘creative’ in the face of constrained circumstances, demanding us to demonstrate our ‘agility’ and ‘resilience’. These difficult times. These very difficult times. In these difficult times, in these times like no other times, we’ve turned constraints into opportunities. Et cetera.
All of these words and their meanings are true. We have seen some extraordinary student work over the course of the year. I believe that we have – staff and students alike – really made the best of the opportunities for learning presented by the pandemic. I’ve seen some incredible work from students over the course of this year – and not just produced from the formal curriculum side of things, but also as part of student-led extra-curricular activity.
I’ve been grateful, repeatedly grateful, for the Class of 2021 – the group of students who received their degrees this week. You have been generous, open-hearted and open-minded, critical, creative, caring and imaginative – it’s been a pleasure to work with you. From the first lockdown, you’ve supported each other and you’ve worked really hard. As I said to those of you attending our virtual graduation celebration today, let’s stay in touch. You’re transitioning to the status of graduate and of alumni, but you will always be a member of this department.
Student prizes
As I’ve said, we’ve seen some great work this year cross the board. As a staff team we tend to feel conflicted about individual prize-giving. We’re a discipline that relies on collaboration and team effort. More than ever, when there has been so much great work produced, it feels odd to single out individuals. But we spent so many years in graduation ceremonies listening to prize-winning confirmations from other departments, that we eventually gave in!
That said then, here are the prize winners from the Class of 2021 (the prizes are named after esteemed academics who taught in the department in the past, and esteemed alumni): –
The David Mayer Prize for Outstanding Dissertation or Research Essay goes to Eleanor Marsden for her Dissertation, titled ‘Liberated Woman: Exploring the treatment of mobility and freedom in the French road film’ (described by the first marker as ‘an outstanding dissertation from the first sentence to the final full stop’).
The Viv Gardner Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement – for the student with the highest overall degree mark and highest average in the year – goes to Thomas Valerio. Thomas was also nominated for his practical work this year in the area of live performance, which explored themes of presence, liveness and documentation.
The Tony Jackson Prize for Outstanding Student Citizenship is shared by Natalie Hillman and Sophia Rosen-Fouladi, for their leadership of the student-run Drama Society this year. The prize is given in recognition of the immense logistical and imaginative effort to produce an online festival of original work, and for being pro-active in addressing concerns of anti-racism, both through commissioned projects and online content that celebrates the work of Black and Global Majority artists.
Highly commended in this category were Cathy Wippel and Billy Harvey Munro for their inspiring student activist work as part of the SAFER campaign, and to Neil John for his work as a peer mentor and coordinator.
The Meera Syal Prize for Outstanding Practical Work is shared by Patryce Richter and Oscar Cloud.
It is awarded to Patryce for her piece, ‘Black Joy Collage’, produced as part of the final year practical Contemporary Theatre-Making course, and to Oscar Cloud – for his practical research essay on alternative approaches to film scoring and practical project for the ‘Falstaff and Gandalf Go to the Movies’ course.
Highly commended in this category were Daisy Jones for her Dissertation practice, which developed a piece of zoom based theatre-in-education exploring resilience, and Jonah Rossiter – for his practical project for ‘Falstaff and Gandalf Go to the Movies’.
Very well done to all of these students.
“You will find that your voice and your energy is needed more than ever”
I know that I haven’t yet found the right words to describe the impact of the pandemic on me – personally or professionally. I think it will take time to understand, and to find the right words to express, the impact of this particular period on the generation of young people who have worked towards educational qualifications this past year, from school to college to university.
The word that keeps reappearing for me, as I write this, is ‘relationship’. I’ve been grateful, repeatedly and consistently grateful, to be working with these people – these particular colleagues, this particular group of students – through this time. And for our ability to find a way through by staying in touch with each other – listening, talking, checking-in, working things out, saying things out loud to listen to how they ring in the air, to see if they chime, trying things out through conversation and discussion, reflecting and assessing together, working it out all over again … I think also that we’ll need to keep this word, ‘relationship’, in mind, as we continue to work out and work through the longer-term impact of this moment on our ability to learn, develop, and to continue to thrive.
Whilst I continue to try to find my own words – I want close with the words of Professor of History here at the University of Manchester, David Olusoga (quoting directly from his comment in the Virtual Celebration for our graduating students):
“Congratulations on reaching this landmark against the backdrop of events that nobody predicted and that no living generation have endured. The resilience that you’ve shown to get through your studies during such a period will stand you in good stead for the years ahead. And you are graduating at a moment of momentous change. The one thing about which there is broad agreement is that we cannot, and will not, return to the old normal. You as young creatives will find that your voice and your energy is needed more than ever and that you will be at the centre of the needed transformations that lie ahead. And I want to wish you good luck in the next chapter of your lives”.
In case you missed it, you can watch the virtual graduation celebration here
Keep in touch with the university’s plans for in-person graduation ceremonies here
Class of 2021 – don’t forget that you still have access to the university career service. More information here
Manchester Drama 