Theatre and Performance – Impact Report

Warwick Enterprise in cooperation with Theatre and Performance Studies Department have launched a new podcast that targeting the Theatre and Performance students as well as English and Comparative Literary Students. This podcast was part of the Innovation 2022 campaign that aims to promote and improve the innovation in the various departments in the University of Warwick.

Clarke Amelia, the second-year students of English and Comparative Literary Studies, and Talya Rajagukguk, a first-year students of Theatre and Performance Studies, were behind the idea of creating a podcast that targets the current and the new performance students. The name of the podcast is Strangers by Nature and the reason behind the name as stated by Amelia and Talya: ‘’ Often times when we see new people like we do a lot in university, we just let them pass by and although that is fine too, sometimes there are opportunities we should take like this podcast for example, to get to know someone who might have just been a stranger to you and through that process, you can learn a lot.

The name acknowledged how even if we may be strangers, we are all still connected some way and somehow. that could be a close connection like friends of a friend or a more distant one like going to the same university. This connection felt quite magical. Even though it often feels natural to just let strangers be strangers, we should also put ourselves out there, reach out and connect sometimes even when it’s hard and uncomfortable’’.

In the first episode of the podcast, Amelia and Tayla have discussed what is this podcast about which is as they stated it ‘’A personal experience and the story of people of colour and Warwick University’’. Then, multiple topics have been discussed such as the rationale behind choosing Warwick rather that other universities in London. Also, talking about the reason for choosing their majors and what is the criteria for choosing them.

Tayla and Amelia said about the goal behind doing this podcast: ‘’ To provide a platform for other students in SCAPVC especially those of global majority to hear about our experiences. We hope to make people more aware of student life at Warwick and help them feel more prepared for the transition. We also want to encourage an open dialogue where people feel comfortable to approach us or guests, we bring on the show if they have questions or want to know something specific‘’.