Ben Francis

I would love to raise interest and membership numbers for Shakesoc by bringing a new approach to workshops with regular events, and also to build on the strong festival showing from this academic year. I feel that the current talent within Shakesoc is unexpectedly versastile, and currently this is not being utilised enough. Through creating and directing 'Rattlepole!' (improv) and working as part of the company of 'Measure for Measure' in both cast and fight director roles I have been witness to so much talent, and I feel there is great scope for growth in the society. I want to channel this creative power into a steady stream of work and sharing through workshops. Through collaboration with other societies and exploration of talent both within and connected to ArtsUCL and Shakesoc I would love to run workshops to share skills and build connections. As a part of this I intend myself to start a fight workshop series (having professional experience in this field) and reach out in particular to Drama society concerning collaboration and links. As someone who is an active member of a number of ArtsUCL societies (MT, Drama, Jazz, Music) I feel that the small scale collaboration we have seen so far is the beginning of something much larger, like Shakesoc itself. As festival officer, I would love to build on the excellent work created this academic year by having confidence in the talent in Shakesoc and pushing it to a wider audience and participation circle.