Hosts Afternoon 2019

In October, Central welcomed members of the industry to the School for its 2019 Hosts Afternoon.  The annual event provides an opportunity for current students who are about to embark on their industry placements to meet with their hosts and to get tips and advice from staff, alumni and leaders in the field on making the most of their time in residence with leading arts organisations and schools.

Hosts were welcomed by Central’s Professor Sally Mackey and Dr Gareth White who provided updates on Applied Theatre – both at Central and within the wider industry – and by Central’s Dean Professor Ross Brown.

A number of Central alumni also spoke on the day including Molly Wilson, and Andy Hill and Jack Tricker who, together with classmates Federico Beard Porcel and John Scallon, received funding from Centrals’ Start Up and Enterprise Fund to establish their company Voicebox.

Dr Selina Busby hosted the event and introduced its keynote speaker, Honorary Fellow of Central and Artistic Director of Graeae Theatre Jenny Sealey MBE.

Alongside those who have been working with Central for over 15 years were new faces and alumni formerly on placements of their own who are now acting as mentors for Central students.  Some of these hosts in attendance included The Baked Bean Company, Tramshed, Jacksons Lane, Encore Theatre Company, St. Margaret’s House and Group 64 Theatre Company.

Industry connections for all students are at the heart of Central’s mission and our one-to-one, bespoke approach sets us apart from other higher education or theatre training establishments.  There are a wide variety of placements undertaken by students at Central with a constantly expanding number of partnership organisations.  An added benefit of these placements is that students graduate from Central with a broad network of industry contacts, making them better placed to advance their careers. 

To find out more about placement opportunities available to Central’s students, please contact our placements team.