Meet your officer candidates and find out about their plans for the year.

Vice President of Postgraduates

Rachel Coates

Rachel is on the MA Creative Producing course.
Have a question? Contact Rachel at [email protected]

Who are you and why would you be good for the role?

I love the expression ‘stop existing and start living’. We have all made the decision to come to Central and I believe that by proactively following our passions and engaging in the community we can build a career in a craft we enjoy. I am also a big believer in the idea that it’s never ‘too late’. One of my biggest regrets at my undergraduate drama school was not engaging with the people around me, in other years and other courses. In our industry, everyone is a network and though you don’t need to befriend everyone – you never know who shares your interests and who you could go on to work with in the future. Central’s network of students and teachers, combined with its proactive attitude and self-awareness means that right now we are in a microcosm of the creative industry that we have the power to make our mark on and shape for the better. As a producer, I am in regular practice of being a point of contact for all creatives. As a newly grad, I also have an open network with other students across the various postgrad and undergraduate courses. Coming straight from an undergraduate course at a different drama school I can bring a deeper understanding of the challenges that students can face in their academic and social journeys. Having an understanding of the social climate at two different top-ranking drama schools can help me to identify and combat potential problems. I can then advocate for the needs of my fellow postgraduates to work to create a more inclusive and supportive community. My experience as a producer has equipped me with leadership, organisational and networking skills that will enable me to fulfil the role in the most efficient way, ensuring I am accessible to any and all postgraduates as a point of contact. I am dedicated to ensuring all postgraduates are supported, inspired and connected and that we all have a vibrant and thriving community here at Central.

What 3 goals do you think you could make happen in a year?

I want to ensure that postgraduates are seen as an integral part of the school community and that our voices are heard by the institution, its staff and our fellow students. My main effort is to ensure that every Postgraduate has the chance to maximise on the learning and network that studying at Central Provides. To achieve this, I have developed a series of policies that aim to bring postgraduates together and bridge the gap between the different courses within the school. I will ensure that Bi-monthly meetings are open to specifically Postgraduates to socialise, network and benefit from each other’s skills, interests and passions. These will be operated under the Postgraduate Society (Information can be found on the Facebook Group ‘CSSD Post Grad 2023′ ). These would also act as a space for people to speak with me directly about any thoughts or concerns they may have. Within this, I will also address the physical distance between postgraduate courses by creating shared spaces. This may include a dedicated postgraduate study area, or lunch room for people to come together outside the classroom. (With support from Héléna Bissada Bloch I already have set up the Postgraduate Society and am finalising when these meets can happen.)
To address the gap between Postgraduate and Undergraduate Courses, I will encourage joint events and collaborations between the two groups and work with the SU to ensure these events are accessible and appealing to postgrads. I have had undergraduates voice interest in having an opportunity to get to know the postgraduates and our areas of practice. Our experience gives us a unique insight of the industry to be shared with the undergraduates, and their experience gives us a chance to stay connected with other generations of talent entering the industry. These networks are mutually beneficial and once this barrier is broken, it’ll serve to strengthen the inclusivity and community of the school and expand upon networks beyond our initial reach.
I am aware of how intense our MA and MFA years are, and so I’ve highlighted the importance of ensuring the well-being of all Postgraduates. As a part of the Post Graduate Society, I am open to creating dedicated spaces for postgraduates to meet with me, or me and a small group of others who might also be struggling, just to vent or unpack the stress of that day or week in an accessible and informal way. As for academics, I would keep in touch with course reps across all postgraduate courses to ensure that I continue to reflect the wants and needs of the community while also ensuring that the institution registers and acts upon the needs and opinions of our group.

Emily Moran

Emily is on the MA Creative Producing course.
Have a question? Contact Emily at [email protected]

Who are you and why would you be good for the role?

My name is Emily, and I am a student on the MA Creative Producing course. I grew up outside of New York City regularly participating in and watching live theatre. During my undergraduate degree, I realized a career combining my business and theatre majors was possible. I want to be Vice President of Postgraduate students because I am passionate about the student experience. As an undergraduate student, I worked closely with student affairs staff as a Resident Advisor and the general chair for our First Year Orientation Committee. In these roles I supported first year students as they adjusted to life on campus both academically and socially. I also love getting to know my peers in other courses and think there is so much we can learn from each other. As VP of Postgrads I will connect with peers from all courses at Central to best represent the student body and forward their interests.

What 3 goals do you think you could make happen in a year?

The first change I would like to see at Central and think can easily be tackled in a year is improving connection between courses, specifically postgraduate courses. In talking to other postgraduate students during and since induction week, many of us are excited to work together but were concerned about finding forums to share information and projects with each other. A postgraduate society is already in the works to help connect students, but I think more can be done. One additional solution would be to set up a monthly postgraduate newsletter that students could submit projects, questions, or calls for support through.
The second change I would like to see at Central is more postgraduate targeted induction events. Many of the students I spoke with during and after induction week felt unsure if postgraduates were welcome at induction events and then struggled to connect with other postgraduate students at the event. The specific postgraduate pre-induction networking session and the course meetup for postgraduate students were very successful. I think another event for postgraduate students, maybe with more structure or off campus, would be a great addition to the induction schedule.
The final change I want to implement at Central involves improving the communication of induction schedules. Many of my peers and myself struggled to ensure we had all of the induction week events in our schedules because the schedule was broken down by event and then further by course. Additionally, the SU induction events schedule was completely separate and not referenced in the academic inductions schedule which made the SU events hard to find. I was also one of the many students who did not receive the student union’s first few emails due to a technical issue. I think changes that would improve students’ understanding of induction schedules involve collaboration between the student union and academic leaders. These changes could start by simply creating a link to the student union induction website on the official academic induction schedule. Additional changes may also be useful but would best come out of conversations with students and faculty.