Still Water - Hannah Kennedy

Today we are speaking with Hannah Kennedy, a current student on Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media, MFA.

What are you going to talk to us about?

Still Water, my debut play, which will be performed at the Guildford Fringe and also at the Encompass’ Festival at the White Bear Theatre. it’s a soft sci-fi story about plumbing, queer love and time.

How did you get involved with this?

This project is in collaboration with Tramp, a company that put out a call for new writing which I responded to. This project began before I officially started at Central but, due to COVID-19, it has been delayed a couple of times. It’s interesting to see how much has changed since the first time I sat down in lockdown to write it.

What made you want to get involved in this project?

As a writer, it’s sort of the dream to have a professional play performed. I’m really excited for people to finally see it. I wanted to write something that had to be live and spoke to the isolation we were feeling but without ever mentioning ‘COVID-19’. It was my own personal rejection of the idea that the lockdown would be indefinite and a way to cling to the hope there would be space for a play like Still Water again.

What have you been getting up to?

Between working on my Sustained Independent Projects (SIPs) and other course work for my MFA, I’ve been submitting for competitions. So far this year, I’ve been fortunate enough to be a semi-finalist in the Killer Shorts competition with my short screenplay, Sweet Cyanide, and to be shortlisted in the Alpine Fellowship Theatre Prize with an idea I developed through my time on the course, Recording the Rain.

I’ve also been involved in a lot of digital theatre over the last year which has been great fun. It’s allowed me to collaborate with people all over the globe.

How has this programme related to your coursework?

I’m on the Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media, MFA because I have aspirations of being a writer. While not all these projects are directly linked to work I’ve created at Central, the tools I’ve been given have certainly allowed me to explore independent projects outside of the course with more confidence: and it seems like other people are enjoying them as well!

Recording the Rain has been a work in progress that began on the course and I’ve brought to many Writer’s Groups with my peers. I’m really grateful for all the support my fellow students have given me over the last year.

What has surprised you most about your experience?

I think that development is continuous and how quickly you grow as an artist. While I don’t feel like I’ve changed much as a writer, when I look back on the work I was producing even just a year ago, I can see a marked improvement in what I am creating. I feel more confident in approaching collaborators, producers and agents now. I wasn’t expecting to have grown so much and quite so quickly.

How did you find out about Central and decide to study with us?

I attended the Gap Year Diploma a few years back and, while I no longer wanted train as an actor, I decided that I would like to return to Central for my other studies. I was particularly drawn to the Central course for Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media, MFA because, while I had a strong background in theatre, I wanted to explore TV, Film and radio.

I’ve been able to do that on the course and, right now, I am working on my first ever game through the course and learning to code and design games which is so exciting. I hadn’t completed an undergrad degree ahead of completing the course and so wasn’t entirely sure I would even be accepted, but I am so grateful to have a space now where I can meet and collaborate with new writers and hone my craft with their support.

What are you planning to do after graduation?

Hopefully, I will continue to write! For my SIPs I am working on a play called ‘Godmodders & Powerplayers’ which is about online literate roleplay communities. This is likely something I wouldn’t be thought to explore without the course but I am grateful I have a safe space to try out this idea. It was born out of completing a group research project about fan fiction which completely realigned by perspective on writing and fan creators.

I am also working on my TV pilot which is about when a cowardly alien running from an intergalactic war hides on Earth, she must enlist help from a WW2 officer, a 21st century human and an android to avoid capture by alien hunters on earth and court-martialling from her own alien race. If either of these were to be produced (if Netflix or the National are reading, I would love to work with you), that would be wonderful but realistically, if I am creating, writing and collaborating and able to make a living from it, that would be incredible.

If you want to keep up with Hannah you can follow her on Twitter @hckennedy_, Instagram @hckennedy.

If you would like tickets to see Still Water, it will be performed as a part of the Encompass’ Festival at the White Bear Theatre.