Here at the New Adelphi Theatre, we’ve been thrilled to house two new Graduate Business Associates. If you follow us closely on our social media, you’ll have already been introduced to these two exceptional alumni, who have been with us from the start of February 2022. Both have deep dived into life at the New Adelphi Theatre, immersing themselves in the day-to-day.
All the way from our Graduate 2021 class of Media and Performance, Charlotte Cropper (She/Her)! Some of you may already be familiar with Charlotte from the Curio Comedy Salford Showcase, as well from being one of our Supported Artists.
Charlotte is a comedian, presenter, writer and SalFUNNI alumnus! But her amazingness doesn’t stop there – she’s been featured on Funny Women and BBC Upload. She was also the recipient of The Dean’s Award at the 2021 Create Awards and was a Chortle Student Comedy Award 2021 Finalist.
Charlotte has been connecting with students and collaborating on an eclectic mix of creative projects, including the SalFUNNI 2022 cohort. She’ll be taking them all the way up to Edinburgh for this year’s Fringe Festival. Between running the social media accounts for New Adelphi Theatre and the UoS_Performance Instagram, you can find Charlotte popping up at comedy nights across the Northwest and Midlands.
Charlotte Cropper gave us an exclusive interview about her time here at the New Adelphi Theatre.
How have you found managing social media and being such an icon at it?
Haha! First of all – thank you. I’ve absolutely loved running the UoS Performance account. I have felt totally in my element sourcing industry opportunities, creating content and showcasing the work and achievements of the Performance students. Curating my social media comms plan has been the nerdiest fun, and it’s been great to see the growth and increased engagement during my time working on the account (+145% account engagement!). It’s been lovely to be the ‘face’ of UoS Performance during my internship and get into the nitty-gritty insights of the Instagram account. I feel like more students know what the page is for and how to utilise it to showcase themselves and their creative work. And if you’re not following us – erm… what are you doing?
Charlotte does have a good point there! Find our Instagram pages here:
New Adelphi Theatre / UoS_Performance
How did you find the transition from being a student to a core team member?
It was unusual at first to wear a staff pass, despite still feeling like a second-year inside! The novelty has not worn off yet, and it has been lovely to come into work and see our performance students out and about in the New Adelphi, especially some I only met online during the pandemic. There’s been a lot of me saying, “Oh my Goodness, it’s you – you’re not just a head and shoulders!”.
Part of me still feels like I haven’t graduated (well, technically I haven’t had a ceremony yet, cheers COVID) because I’m spending my days at the cornerstone location of my university experience – that can feel weird sometimes. In other ways, however, it’s an enhancement of my university experiences; instead of performing in SalFUNNI, I’m co-producing the show; instead of doing the odd social media takeover for the New Adelphi Theatre, I’m managing the UoS_Performance account. I’m really grateful for the internship – it’s been great to see and support the behind-the-scenes of the Performance school.
If you could go back to the start of the internship, what would you do differently and why?
I would spend more time on campus, just to make the most of the resources here: the library, editing suites, the equipment store. I would also have loved to visit classes and film some behind-the-scenes and interviews with the students. Sometimes it can feel semi-parasocial to just share things over Instagram. That being said, the students have all been fantastic at taking BTS shots and tagging me into them so I can showcase it on UoS_Performance.
If you were to create a stand-up piece about your experiences being an intern, what would be included?
One-liner – When the New Adelphi Theatre asked me to be an Usher, I was so excited. I kept saying: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
Anecdote: When I was filming the Instagram Reel about the New Adelphi lifts, everyone that went past me thought I wanted to get into the lift. Some people queued behind me for the lift, some thought I was rude for not getting in the lift with them, and then, finally, when people understood what I was doing…the doors to the lifts wouldn’t close, so I was there holding my phone at innocent people like a sociopath. Lovely.
Musical Song: Please (Oh Please) Bring Jacket Potatoes Back to the New Adelphi Café.
What would you say to someone considering taking up the internship?
Go for it! The team are super lovely and super accommodating. If you like working on multiple projects, engaging your creative and technical side, as well as having fun every day in a small, powerful unit – then make sure you submit when applications open.
Thank you Charlotte for letting us have an insight into your time here – it’s been great working alongside you and watching you grow. If you don’t already follow Charlotte, you can find her Instagram here. You’ll be able to keep up to date with her latest comedy gigs and fabulous presenting work. She never fails to brighten up the office.
The good stuff doesn’t stop there – let’s say hello to our other Graduate Business Associate, Riz Ali (They/Them)! Like Charlotte, Riz is a 2021 Graduate from Theatre and Performance Practice. They identify as a queer, South Asian artist, playwright, writer, and poet. They’re an Associate Artist with Touchstones in Rochdale and currently working on their own series of workshops around heritage and culture. Their most recent projects have included Jasleen Kaur’s exhibition Gut Feelings Meri Jaan, Queer Portraits of Rochdale and was on the panel for this year’s Too Desi, Too Queer at HOME Manchester as part of the Indian Film Festival.
As well as all this good stuff, they have various publications including Centre Zine, Joyful Noise and recently, Transliteration, which are currently being sold in the United States. Riz has dived deep into producing, event organisation and even had an insight into programming shows here at the New Adelphi. You might have also seen them in the New Adelphi Building working on our live events as part of the Front of House/Box Office team. Riz has been working closely with Artistic Director Niki Woods, in conjunction with alumnus and commissioned artist Ben Hodge to curate a film and resources in solidarity of our transgender students here at the University of Salford.
They were kind enough to offer their time to give us an insight into their experiences working at the New Adelphi Theatre.
How has the internship experience supported your other creative work?
The internship has allowed me the time, space, and equipment to learn a more technical skill set, which I’ve not had the chance to do yet in my career. I’ve been able to use these skills in other practices for projects outside of my day-to-day role. It’s allowed me to focus on the next steps of my career whilst being supported by the careers team, an expert mentor and as well as all the New Adelphi Theatre staff members. Understanding the linguistics of the technical side of theatre and performance art in general can be quite intimidating, but I’ve honestly loved being able to ask questions and really dive into the deep end, knowing there is someone there to help me if I struggle. Because of all of this, I’ve been able to experience and run my own events with much more ease and confidence.
What has been your favourite project to work on during the internship?
I have been fortunate to help develop a documentary for trans students to help have their voices heard. It has been nice for someone to believe in me to start up a project and see it develop along the way. I’ve been able to really think about how this project can have a lasting impact and what it means to develop something with students in mind. I’ve found a real passion in wanting to know and understand how things are curated, placed together and are a success. It’s been the best part of this internship for me.
What have you learnt about yourself during the internship?
I have learned a lot. I think when you leave University, you’re not too sure what you want to do – that was how I felt. I had all these new skills, and I did not know where or when to invest my time or skills in. The internship has really shown me that I’m interested and good at events management. I love the unfolding of ideas, thoughts, and creation, knowing someone will take something from what you create. I also love a good spreadsheet, so it’s been wonderful to be able to do that!
What has been the best thing about working at the New Adelphi Theatre?
Being able to have a better understanding of how much the staff do. I don’t think as a student I realised how much goes on behind the scenes to make it all happen. The New Adelphi isn’t just a theatre for external companies to come in, but one filled with internal examinations and curricular programmes that are performed in the building, not to mention the conferences and award shows which continue even when the students leave for summer. We constantly have something going on. It’s a distinct experience from a normal theatre. We engage a wide variety of audiences who are students, but also help and support them as emerging artists.
Where would you like the internship to lead you to next?
I’d love to keep working and expanding my skill set in event managing, assisting, and organising. Now I’ve got some hands-on experience, it’s going to really allow me to branch out into the industry. I think my next move would be continuing with my facilitating work, curating more wonderful and weird art and continuing to write. I might even venture into the world of comedy.
Thanks for sharing, Riz! You can find out more about Riz’s work here.
It’s been great to learn how both of you have utilised your time here with us at the New Adelphi Theatre.
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Header photo credit: Ash Cox
First photo credit: Ash Cox
Second photo credit: Lee Price
