Paying a visit

This week sees the arrival of vast multitudes of banners, tents, stalls, signposts and the like, all awash with colours, demonstrations, talks, guides, student ambassadors, members of staff, and, most importantly of all, visitors, as the University hosts its summer Open Days – with all the festivities to be repeated again in September for those who can’t quite make it!

Casting my mind back to when I was considering where to apply, I can remember finding it fairly tricky to distinguish between all the fantastic choices on offer, but I located some student blogs on the Electronics and Computer Science website from which I got a great impression of just what life was like here and, crucially, the sheer homeliness of the University which, being from a significant distance away, was an important factor for me.

I therefore knew it was a place I just had to visit, and I can recall quite clearly the first time I did so: on a September Open Day. With it being my first visit to a University I was relatively petrified when I stepped off the train and, alone and many miles away from home, I had nightmarish visions of being stranded in the city without a clue of where I was supposed to go - or how I was supposed to get there!

So I was relieved to find that, exiting the station, I was greeted by an army of friendly, helpful faces who guided me onto the right bus for where I needed to be, Highfield campus, and chatted to me about what I wanted to get out of the whole occasion. The weather was glorious, and the wonderful sunshine was reflected in the beaming faces of everybody helping out. I can remember being bowled over by just how active, and positive, the campus seemed – the day really inspired me.

I was also enraptured by just how much world-leading research the University produces, the impact of which was apparent in my first year here when I had a lecture on a programming language used worldwide - by a professor who invented that language! Needless to say, it received a glowing review when we were asked, as an aside to the coursework assignment, to “describe our experiences” using it!

But most importantly of all, visiting the University, and all of the other universities I went on to apply to for that matter, gave me a real sense of the ambience and atmosphere of the place and, in the case of Southampton, it was some form of instinct or gut feeling that told me it was going to become my home – despite the considerably lengthy train journey! It’s very difficult to describe, but it was a crucial factor in my decision that I couldn’t have divulged without going along to the day and, a few months later, a follow-up visit day; things just felt right.

Two years later, I’m certainly glad that they did! Even my brother, who had been working in Southampton at the time having already graduated and went along to the visit day, said he wished he could’ve applied – a rare concession in the sibling rivalry stakes!

So I find it quite wondrous that, given how critical open days were in taking me to where I am today, events seem to have come full circle this week, as I’ll be on the other side of the student ambassadorial line. Both Jo and I have had the incredible honour and privilege to be invited to participate in the Pro Vice-Chancellor’s talk on why prospective applicants should choose Southampton, which takes place twice on both days in the Nuffield Theatre (my own favourite venue!) and promises to be a rich demonstration of what makes life here great.

During the course of the talk, we’ll be describing our own personal journeys during our times in Southampton, focusing particularly on how the University has directed, fuelled and assisted our lifelong ambitions (which you can share with the hashtag “#myambition” on Twitter!). Personally, doing the talk alone is enough evidence of this in me – without the skills and confidence I’ve picked up during my time here, I’d have run a country mile rather than take part! But we’re both very keen to get across just how rich life here is as a student, and we’d love to meet you all in person and answer any questions you might have – so if you can make it, it’d be fantastic to see you!

But regardless, if you’re around in Southampton this week, or you’re considering paying us a visit in September, I’d really encourage you to come along, make the most of it, and enjoy your day! There’s no substitute for getting to know the University in person, and what you find might just make your decision easier, as it certainly did with me.

Who knows? It could be the start of something quite special!

Robin

Another year older. Another year wiser?

I believe that the older you get the less exciting birthdays become. Without party games and party bags (and more importantly, someone else organising and arranging the actual party), I just don’t see the point. They serve as a reminder that I am getting old far too quickly - and thoughts like that alone make me sound like my grandmother.

But, a birthday when you have just moved to a new country was going to be even worse – I know I sound super gloomy – but I must admit that any excitement for my birthday was quelled by the knowledge that the whole day would act as a reminder of what I’d left behind.

Some things in my life never change – one of these is being awoken by my sprightly grandma extremely early in the morning singing happy birthday to me. Despite the hour however it was comforting, the familiar sounds of home. My family had been surprisingly organised and I had been given a bag of cards and presents to take out to Amsterdam with me – none to be opened before the day of course.

During the day I got a lot of hasty phone calls from England, wishing me well, telling me that they were thinking of me. I was thinking of them. I am not sad in Amsterdam, I enjoy my life out here and I am glad I came, but for the first time it all seemed a bit hard. Moving countries for a job like this is not the same as moving countries as a student or with a group of people all thrown into the same experience – in those environments there’s the intensity to make good friends quickly. However I was trying to infiltrate the lives of people who already had lives; they already had jobs and friends and a routine and so yes, it was harder.

However, I have to say that when you are in that frame of mind, that “I won’t enjoy myself today, I just know I won’t” frame of mind, then it’s pretty much a self-fulfilling prophecy. So, I tried to be positive and you know what – I actually had a really nice day.

People at work were lovely and considerate, giving me plenty of birthday cups of coffee. They have a nice tradition of celebrating birthdays with cake and presents, which will occur next week. After work I received my present from the city. As I was walking to meet a friend I came across a crowdeed canal; people were sitting on the banks, on the bridge and out of their windows. As I got closer I could hear what a glorious present Amsterdam was giving me. A gorgeous choir was singing on a boat – it was a gentle, precious moment which I was so happy to stumble upon. It reminded me that the city is a wonderful one, one that I should be thankful for every day.

Afterwards I met some friends and we went for some drinks because you can’t celebrate a birthday without gin. Again I was reminded how lucky I should I feel. My friend kept pestering me to go to the toilet with her (which I didn’t really understand because she is 26); however, in the end I accompanied her. The table on our return was covered with balloons and a cake – I was so touched. Perhaps it was the amount of gin I’d consumed but I was slightly overwhelmed by how lovely everyone had been, considering I had known them for such a short amount of time.

Me and some of the cake…

After much gin and cake I stumbled home, only to find on the steps of my apartment a massive bouquet of flowers from my sister. Again I felt overwhelmed. I have two sisters; one lives in New Zealand and the other was in America for my birthday but both remembered me and so it seems that wherever you are in the world the people you love are never so far - they’ll never forget you on your birthday at least.  I think that with this whole aging lark, in new found maturity, that; at least, I can embrace.

Overall, a pretty good birthday!

Florence

Girl in the big city

Back at the beginning of my time blogging for Life at Southampton, I discussed the odd sensation that students experience, of having two different homes. You split your life between your student house or flat, with its quirks and questionable fittings, and your ‘true’ home, where you can enjoy home comforts and a little TLC to get you back on your feet. Even worse is the first time you call your uni house ‘home’ in front of your parents.

However, as well as learning to live alone upon becoming a student, I also had the task of adjusting to city life. When I’m not at uni, I live in a very quaint and picturesque village, where the average age of the population is about 85, and the main concerns of the residents are the upkeep of the village shop, the church, and the local greenery.  It’s incredibly quiet, with the only noise coming from people in their gardens, distant barking dogs and the occasional car driving down the road. We are surrounded by woods, fields, and we have a river with a medieval bridge. Our buses come once every 20 minutes or so (a huge improvement on what used to be every thirty minutes!) and we have no train station. In other words, it’s a world away from the city life I was to experience when I started university, wherever I ended up!

The view from the fields near my home – plenty of countryside (and sheep!)

Southampton isn’t the biggest city in the country. In fact, after a quick Google, it is smaller than Plymouth, Sunderland, and Wolverhampton. As someone who is a bit geographically challenged, I didn’t know that these cities were so big! However, moving from my home village to Southampton was a bit of a shock to the system. Everything was at the tip of my fingers; I could go into town from my halls, Orion’s Point, with only a fifteen minute walk – unlike the twenty-five minute bus ride I had to endure at home. I was also only five minutes away from any social venue, be it a pub, club, café or park; when the nearest pub to me at home is a ten minute drive, and the clubs require a twenty minute taxi ride.

The amazement I felt at being the most independent I had ever been thanks to everything being on my doorstep was also coupled with a little intimidation.  I was suddenly met by noise, lights, busy traffic, and people everywhere. Now, I’m not ignorant; before I was a fresher, I had been to London countless times. I knew what a city was like. But I was immediately hit with the ‘fog’ that people from sheltered areas might experience. You automatically think that everyone walking at night is out to get you, and you’re bound to be robbed within weeks of being in a city. However, just to reassure you; this is incorrect!

The quayside at Southampton on my first day at uni, back in September 2009!

Cities are obviously going to have crime – they all do! However, it was simply the shock of going from a sedate village to, what seemed to me to be, a bustling city, which made me extra nervous. Within a week of settling in, I was reassured and relaxed into my new lifestyle. This was down to getting used to my new life, being sensible, staying with friends, and being kept up to date by the University and local police on their twitter account, which is ideal to make sure students live and study safely! Although you need to look after your safety (avoiding walking home alone, not leaving valuables near open windows…) it’s also important not to get carried away with the idea that you’re at risk at all times.

Now, after nearly four years of calling Southampton ‘Home’ (sorry Mum!) I am looking at moving back for good in September after my dissertation deadline. I will need to revert back to living a quiet life; I will need to drive again in order to get anywhere quickly; my nightlife will dwindle (not that I go out much anyway!) and I won’t be able to visit friends or go shopping at the drop of a hat as easily as I would at Southampton. It will be another adjustment, but I am sure I will get used to it in no time!

The walk between Highfield and Avenue campus is really stunning in all seasons!

The main reason I relaxed so well into city life was, I am sure, the University of Southampton’s campus. It really is lovely; so green and lush in the summer, with streams, resident ducks, trees and it’s not far from the common. It’s a space where you don’t mind just ‘being’, even if you’re not heading to lectures. What also drew me to the university when choosing my options was how ‘safe’ I felt. I wasn’t bold enough to go to a university that was based in the city; that would have been a real shock, and I like boundaries. However, I wasn’t keen on a campus that was so enclosed that you felt caged in, looking out at the ‘real world’. Southampton’s Highfield Campus, to quote Goldilocks, was ‘just right’. It has boundaries; the buildings are all in one area; you have shops, cafes, pubs, theatres and even a cinema; but there are no restrictions. I felt as if it was an excellent transition between the secure life I had lead at sixth form, and the great outdoors where I would be heading when I graduated. I loved it when I visited, and I still love it today; it will be very sorely missed when I do leave in a couple of months.

So, Southampton has given me a taste for the ‘real’ world. I love city life, and though my village home is very pretty, quiet, relaxing and comfortable, I hope one day to live in a place where you can order pizza at 3am from a place three minutes down the road; where you can go for a jog around the park without having to travel for half an hour; and where you are only moments away from friends for a quick trip to the pub. Home will always be home for me; but I look forward to regaining some of my city-girl independence as a graduate in the near future.

Joanne

Moving out, in and on

This time of the year traditionally sees much of the student body descend back upon Southampton for a few days in order to bid (hopefully!) fond farewells to their residences and move their bases of operations elsewhere, with cardboard boxes, cleaning products and removal vans commonplace among other things!

It’s fairly startling to think that it was just a year ago that I was making the move from the relative safety and comfort of halls of residence into my second year student house, given the sheer quantity of events and changes that have occurred since, and yet the time seems to have gone by in a flash. It’s been an incredible twelve months, incorporating a truly rich academic year on many levels, and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a more homely area, or indeed better housemates (I hope they’re not reading this!), with which to see it through.

So although there’ll be the usual excitement which accompanies moving into a new home, this one significantly closer to the library (with one eye on our third year dissertations!), it’ll be slightly tinged with sadness amongst us all as we depart a house which has served us well over our time there.

As is the case with most properties, it’s not been without its faults: there have been broken toilet seats (or indeed no toilet seats at all!), occasional water temperature changes giving whoever’s in the shower a shock, and a garden now strongly resembling a rainforest to name but a few! But these nuances contributed largely to the whole experience of living in the place, and I’ll remember them just as fondly. Having said that, I wish the house’s future tenants the very best of luck with the shower lottery – don’t worry, you’ll soon get used to it!

I’ll miss living on the top floor of my second year house, if only for the great vistas!

Of course, when moving home, even if it’s just into halls, there tends to be quite a lot to sort out, requiring you to be organised and, with boxes and furniture to lug aplenty, have some brawn to boot! There are numerous checklists online which I found last year were worth a glance to make sure everything was covered, but at a bare minimum, I think it’s important to take your time with the process and remember to manage your finances, including facilitating rent payments both to the old and new property, be sure to take readings and inform the appropriate service providers and, crucially, look over and verify that all contractual obligations and demands, particularly those affecting deposits, are upheld.

This usually necessitates a long day (or two, depending on the state of the house!) of solidly cleaning bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens and any other communal areas to try and leave the property as you initially found it, but it can be critical when it comes to reclaiming as large an amount of any deposit paid as possible. So although I’m less than excited about the prospect of tackling the upstairs bathroom in particular this week, unfortunately it’s just got to be done!

And once your old home is newly vacated, it’s time to get set up again in the new property, with necessary steps including organising payment of rent and bills (and agreeing on this methodology with your housemates), taking an inventory (possibly with photographs) of the new house, and re-establishing business with service and utility providers, amongst others.

It’s then up to you to make the place feel like it’s a home, a task which I’ve always tackled by blu-tacking up copious posters around my room (be sure to check out the brilliant on-campus sales at the start of the year which offer a great variety of pictures at bargain prices!), photographs and other personal memorabilia. I also, from time to time, add homeliness by leaving a couple of dirty dishes on the kitchen side – or at least that’s the excuse a few of us use to procrastinate washing up!

I always feel that, with the home moving process complete, an old chapter closes and a fresh one opens. Personally, although most people tend to return to their homes for the summer, I’ll be sticking around Southampton for a while yet, as rehearsals for the Theatre Group production being taken up to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, Hanging Bruce-Howard, kick off again at the beginning of the month. This should, in theory, give me a chance to start work on preliminary research of my dissertation field, before the rehearsals culminate in on-campus preview showings at the end of the month. With the show now featuring in the official event programme, the reality that we’ll soon be part of the largest international performance festival in the world is beginning to set in!

Fingers crossed our entry might attract a few wandering audience members 

whilst we’re up there! (Credit: Jed Marshall)

Looks like, in July, I’ll be moving out, in, and on!

Robin

A week at work…

I have been in Amsterdam for over a month now – which is crazy because the time has just flown – but nonetheless, I thought I’d offer a slight insight and share two excerpts of what I got up to last week at work.

Now I arrived at my internship with no preconceptions over what I’d be doing, which with hindsight might seem a little foolish, but I just had no time to really pay it much attention.

Work has, however, been awesome!

I began last week by spending time in The Hague; attending a Parliamentary Seminar my employer had organised to discuss the situation in East Congo. This was great for me because I got to go inside the Parliament, I got to listen to passionate debates and then interview the speakers. 

This was a pretty intense day – it seems that public transport hates me regardless of the country – I missed the train with my colleagues and so I had to go it alone. This meant I arrived in The Hague with no clue how to find the Parliament – thankfully, my epic sense for democracy led me in the right direction! 

I felt so lucky to be trusted so readily in my position to attend such events and have so many new experiences. On the train back I even saw genuine windmills in the countryside!

Something which was really exciting at work, and had been talked about since I arrived was the outing – it was an office trip that no one knew anything about.  As a newbie to the family I approached the outing with a mixture of excitement and utter dread.

And as the most inflexible person alive (probably) my fears were realised when we turned up outside a yoga hall. Instantly a ripple of dissent went through the crowds, there were grumbles about bad backs and stiff limbs. But the more mature to the outings were not so easily fooled – me, who believed that when everyone said the weather would be 35 degrees, that it would be 35 degrees – well I was gearing up and channelling my inner zen. 

Speaking of Dutch weather – I am slowly learning how it operates: it is unpredictable and generally annoying. So it makes sense that after a week of sunshine that on the day of the outing it is torrential. Typical. 
But no, instead of yoga we were all boarding a boat and leaving Amsterdam.
  

So finally, after much suspicion and wild guesswork the wait was over – we were told where we were going – Pampus! Pampus is an island fort that was once part of the Defence Line of Amsterdam, a system designed to defend the city by means of flooding. Pampus, an island the size of a football pitch – but also a UNESCO World Heritage site – was interesting…

A hidden island off Amsterdam that I would never have otherwise seen.

(The weather lies in this photo – there was definite rain!)

After lunch and a tour of the island we hopped back onto the boat, sadly the wind and the rain had picked up in true Dutch style and even the most noble of us who tried to withstand the bad weather were forced to retreat inside. The original afternoon activity of rounders on the beach was abandoned due to the poor weather and thus a contingency plan of finding the nearest bar was put into action. Let me just say it was a long, but good day – I definitely got to know my colleagues better!

My weeks at work seem to always be full of surprises; I am tested, I learn and I have fun. I think these next 5 months are going to be very enjoyable.  

Florence

WSA – Showcasing the University’s creative souls

As thousands of final year students handed in essays and finished exams over on the University of Southampton’s Highfield Campus, final year Arts students were working hard to complete their final projects at Winchester School of Art (WSA), ready for their Degree Show –  three years of work culminating in one final exhibition, celebrating their achievements at WSA.

As one of the university’s satellite campuses, WSA is sometimes, unfortunately, overlooked by many students at Southampton. The Winchester campus is where all the Arts students of the University of Southampton can be found – with courses such as Graphic Design, Fine Art, Fashion Marketing and Illustration available, amongst many more. The University of Southampton has so much more to offer than the courses found on Highfield or Avenue campus.

WSA is an utterly inspiring place to be when the exhibitions are on!

I have posted previously about my trips to Winchester; at only a 7 minute train ride away, I’m simply moments away from a change of scenery and a few hours in a very beautiful city. WSA is somewhere that all Southampton students should become familiar with, and with future sabbaticals at SUSU hoping to forge an even closer relationship with the campus in the next year or so, the connection between Highfield and Winchester should become closer than ever. Excellent news for any future students reading this!

Winchester School of Art campus is picturesque and peaceful!

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to support some of my graduating friends at last year’s WSA Degree show as I was finishing my undergraduate degree, but this year I was free and went along to have a look! I was able to meet my friend and ex-Wessex Scene Editorial Team member Bronwen Rees, whose work was exhibited, for a bit of guidance and a chat before I made my way around the exhibition.

The exhibition was spread across the entire campus, which really emphasised the idea of it being an event for the whole University, combining all areas of art which might otherwise stay separate. I could really see that a huge amount of work had been put into each project that meant that each one was highly individual and reflected the artist’s or designer’s personalities wonderfully. There was far too much to really go into detail about on this blog but I took photos of a few personal favourites.

Bronwen’s piece discussed the effect of Twitter on language and spoken and written word.  She had created a Twitter page, @LossOfLanguage,  to discuss the effect Twitter has had on communication and speech, and had altered a selection of books to ‘spoil’ them for readers, emphasising the effect it has on literature too.

Bronwen’s piece, which she said: ‘Is about how we use twitter and how 

it is impacting our ability to write and form sentences, as well as how it impacts literature’

As a fan of Twitter and social networking myself, I loved her project. The small details of her work, which was not only incredibly interesting but very easy on the eye, really stood out and demonstrated how many different methods of graphic design there are. I feel very honoured to have such a talented friend, and it was so great to finally see what she had been working on!

I also chatted to two Fashion Marketing students who were kind enough to talk me through their work and explained what drew them to studying the subject.

Fashion Marketing student Julia Camwell with her project ‘Move to your Own Rhythm’

Julia Camwell’s exhibit demonstrated her work on the famous fashion brand French Connection, which focused on transforming ‘the tired French Connection brand into a compelling, premium, contemporary. edgy and innovative fashion brand’ (quoted from the magazine produced for the exhibition). She explained how she didn’t even know that this course existed until she visited another university to study fine art, where she stumbled across a talk for this subject. She found that WSA was the best place in the country to study Fashion Marketing, and has never looked back!

Aphrodite Koupepidou, who also studied Fashion Marketing, with her project ‘The Urban Artist’

I was also able to talk to Aphrodite Koupepidou about her work; she had taken the popular fashion company Urban Outfitters, and experimented with the store layout, enabling the customers to produce photographs, graphic designs and paintings to be displayed alongside products, forming a strong relationship with the company’s target market. I thought her display was incredibly attractive and professional.

As a student who has spent her university life with her head buried in books, it was inspiring and refreshing for me to see what else is possible with a university education – it’s not all about essays and reading lists. These people are incredibly motivated and passionate, and this is even more obvious when you see all their work together in an exhibition like this one.

Fashion design examples on display, with catwalk videos and portfolios out for visitors.

I enjoyed seeing the huge range of work on show; from chunky unique knitwear and modern menswear, to mesmerising installations; from film and paintings, to innovative marketing ideas and skilled fine art work. I was able to spend two hours walking around with something new around each corner. For me, I was definitely looking at the work of future successful designers and artists. And as someone who studied fine art at A Level, and Textiles at GCSE, it brought back memories and made me wish I could experiment with art once more.

Graphic Arts student Jacob Coy’s exhibit was stunning… 

and smelt delicious thanks to the coffee beans!

I previously visited the John Hansard Gallery on Highfield Campus. What with that, and the WSA campus, there is so much local art and design available for everyone to see and experience.

More design examples which really caught my eye!

Some installation art on show

I felt that the event could have been better advertised across the University – I only knew about it thanks to having a number of friends at WSA. I’ve had some amazing times at the Winchester campus and I think, when the new Student’s Union is finished, it will be more inviting for Highfield students to visit – and more WSA students would be invited into Southampton! There is definitely an exciting future to look forward to. WSA is a fantastic place to be on its own, but its connection to our Southampton campuses just makes it that much more special.

The WSA Degree Show is only on until Sunday 23 June, so I recommend if you have a spare hour or so to pop along and take a look while you still can! Entrance is free and it’s open to the public, with some items on sale. There will also be a show in London at the end of July.

I had a fantastic time immersing myself in the world of art and design at WSA and hope that many more of you enjoy it while it’s still on show. Congratulations and good luck to all the students, too!

Joanne

The 24 Hour Show

During my two years at the University of Southampton so far, I’ve found that, from time to time, an experience comes along which is so surreal, so unique and so fun that you’re reminded you’re at University and you just know you’ll carry memories of it forward with you.

A few weeks ago, when I admittedly probably should have been revising, I went along to audition for Showstoppers’ (the musical theatre society) annual 24 Hour Show, a production raising money for charity which is exactly what it sounds like – one famous show, two performances, and only 24 sleepless hours in which to pick up lyrics, lines, dances, characterisation, blocking and using the set. Given how I often struggle to learn musical numbers in 2 or 3 months of rehearsals, this seemed like a natural progression!

So I was extremely happy when, by some stroke of fortune, I later received an email telling me to be ready for 4pm on Saturday 8 June, when I’d be told the name of a show, and that I should be prepared to learn it!

With the name of the show a close-guarded secret amongst the inner Showstopper circles, rumours were rife in conversations, with great titles such as Oliver, The Wizard of Oz, The Lion King and many more bandied about. But, thanks to a quite brilliant set of false trails laid by the crafty production team (each of whom armed themselves with a different name to “leak”!), nobody was entirely sure leading up to the day, and the suspenseful anticipation leading up to the day was palpable.

And so on Saturday 8 June, armed to the teeth with sandwiches, pasta, salads, water bottles, crisps, sugar-filled boosts of various descriptions, Haribo, drinks and much, much more – not to mention a change of clothes and a toothbrush (we’d been warned to prepare in case we couldn’t make it home!) – the thirty or so cast members descended on the Annex Theatre and waited in nervous whispers for the news.

Slowly but surely, the clock ticked by until it reached 4pm... and the 24 Hour Show 2013 was revealed! And so onwards we went, with rehearsals starting at 5pm on the 8th and the show itself 5pm on the 9th, all in the name of charity.

After a quick talk about the format of the 24 hours, and a couple of ground rules (use breaks for learning not sleeping, and no caffeine on the premises to avoid sugar crashes – a challenge for the nocturnal Computer Scientist within me!) it was time to get cracking: we were given our show clothing, an hour-by-hour schedule of the next day (and night!) and packed on our way with score and scene excerpts to be learned and memorised.

And so began the most intense, and yet probably the most fun, rehearsal period of my life, as thirty of us struggled to learn melodies, rhythms and, most impossibly of all, lyrics, within a 24-hour period! After only five hours, approaching ten o’clock, many of us felt completely exhausted – at three o’clock we were heading towards positively delusional!

The state of the green room fourteen hours in – 

clearly sustenance was high on the agenda for members of the cast!

We were split into groups depending on our parts, with myself a member of the Ensemble, and taught songs in short spurts of note-teaching before blocking the movement to these songs which, in some cases, included my dramatic arch nemesis: dancing! Ahhh!

But the joy of the 24 was in the spirit of just trying to do your best. No audience really goes into a 24 Show expecting a polished end product, and the knowledge that we would be performing almost entirely devoid of pressure at all, with the crowd on our side willing us on, made the process incredibly fun and surprisingly stress-free.

By the time we were allowed to head home at four in the morning, all relevant melodies encountered (if words not learned at all!), many a surreal moment had been and gone – groups randomly bursting into the Monkees’ I’m a Believer in music building corridors, pretending to be a member of the mafia, attempting to learn the most intricate lyrics I’ve ever encountered, and learning how to salsa dance in a particularly risqué manner at two or three in the morning (this was as hilarious as it sounds, though we definitely got into it more as tiredness set in!) – it was a night to remember!

Two hours’ sleep and a couple of school costumes pieced together later, we reconvened at eight to learn the final scene. We then just about had time for a quick run of the entire show, and were unbelievably surprised by the incredible standard of the show after only seventeen or so hours’ rehearsal – it made us wonder why we struggle with six-week rehearsal periods!

But we weren’t the only ones working throughout the night. The magnificent staging and technical society, StageSoc, were also in on the act, with their own 24 hour target of rigging lights, setting up soundboards, aligning projectors and constructing one of the best sets I’ve ever seen in a student show. Working non-stop throughout the night, they painted an individual “block” for every letter in the alphabet (with some reinforced ones comically combining to represent “S O F A” or “B E D” or “T V” as part of the set), a process which took many hours but looked brilliant – I can’t sing their praises enough!

24 hours’ worth of solid work produced...

... a set worthy of any West End show!

And so, the time came round to perform at last. The whole experience was so surreal that in many ways, we all felt quite ready for what was to come – well, except if the audience was expecting us to know the words, that is! The musical featured many a crafty (some might say verbose!) turn of phrase or rhyme throughout its songs, so learning the lyrics was somewhat of a nightmare. Various tactics were adopted – in one song we had to sing, we all added a cheeky glance to our arms into the choreography because one phrase escaped us every time, and several members of the cast managed to smuggle scripts onto stage in the guise of various props (such as notebooks and registers). Alas, my own efforts to learn words didn’t go so well!

Surprisingly, I couldn’t read this on stage! 

(Credit: Amy Fitzgibbon)

So how did the two performances go? Quite wonderfully, they were complete disasters!

Special effects didn’t work, people broke character, props were misplaced or tangled, people fell over, many songs were supported by offstage ensemble members holding scripts, and the vast majority of it seemed to be improvised – particularly lyrically!

And that was the most fun thing about being part of the 24 Hour Show: nobody cared. At the end of the day, just staging the show was achievement enough, and anything on top of that was a bonus. The directors, producers, cast and technicians had gone all out and were now determined to just enjoy themselves, and the audience played off it and seemed to have a great time, on our side the entire way through and always in the knowledge that the show was for fun, not for effect (although hopefully it achieved both), and all in the name of a wonderful charity, the Rhys Daniels Trust.

As I mentioned, the entire experience was so surreal, based on an absolutely mental premise, and yet ended up being the most fun show I’ve ever been a part of. I can honestly say I’ll never forget the mind-warping lyrics, or salsa dancing like a Dad would on stage, or holding one half of a ‘swing’ (a plank of wood!), or trying to remember the words to particularly difficult songs (annoyingly word-perfect the morning after!), or, finally, just bouncing up and down in the finale like a young schoolkid, humming the melody with no idea of a single lyric but embracing the moment.

A particularly troublesome number, where we had to hold up our letter 
at the correct time whilst singing and dancing! Ahhh!

(Credit: Mike Frost)

Learning to salsa was so enjoyable, I’m tempted to carry it on next year! 

(Credit: Mike Frost)

Finishing with a flourish of a finale – happy faces abound! 

(Credit: Mike Frost)

I simply cannot thank everyone involved with the production enough. Times like those of the 24 Hour Show remind me just how fortunate I am to be here, in Southampton, with these people at this time, with amazing chances like this.

Robin