New Drama Director has designs on the future
July 17 2008
The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
has just announced that its new Director of Drama will be the
current Head of Design, Sean Crowley.
Sean has been Head of Design at the Royal
College since 1999 and is now Wales’ most prolific theatre designer
having designed over 100 productions across Wales, the UK and
Europe. Currently Chair of the Association of Theatre Design
Courses in the UK and a member of the Linbury Prize Committee, Sean
is also the UK commissioner and Vice Chair for the Education
Committee of the Organisation of International Scenographers,
Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT). In June 2007 Sean was
Project Leader for the Prague Quadrennial Scenofest - an
international festival of design and performance, attracting over
28,000 visitors and with over 5000 active participants. Sean was
made a Fellow of the College in July 2007.
‘Sean has served the College supremely well
throughout his time here, and I look forward to working alongside
him in this new role as he builds on the College’s strong
reputation and track record in this field,’ says Principal Hilary
Boulding.
Sean says of his new position, ‘I am delighted
to be appointed to the position of director of Drama at the Royal
Welsh College of Music & Drama, especially at this exciting
time as we move forward with our building development and ambitious
plans for the future. The potential the College has to offer
Cardiff and Wales as a vibrant arts and education centre will grow
significantly over the coming five years. We are working to provide
not only vocational training of the highest quality but to
contribute significantly to the life of the city by providing a
rich programme of performance, summer schools and short courses for
everyone. He continues, ‘In partnership with the Atrium and leading
Welsh arts originations we are beginning to plan major
international exhibitions and performance events to create a
programme of annual events that will enhance both the College and
the city’s profile, nationally and internationally when our new
buildings open in 2011.’
The College has been celebrating great success
in design and drama: Recent graduate Kimberley Nixon (Acting 2007),
star of Cranford, Angus, Thongs and Perfect
Snogging, and Wild Child is to star in another
feature film Cherry Bomb, out in 2009. Ruth Jones (Acting
1989) has been collecting an array of awards since co-writing and
starring in the smash-hit BBC3 romantic comedy Gavin and
Stacey, which also features Royal Welsh College fellow, Rob
Brydon. Graduating actor Craig Ritchie is playing alongside
graduate Ryan O’Donnell (Acting, 2006) in the RSC’s Romeo and
Juliet featuring Laura Rees (2001) as Juliet.
The College is renowned for its outstanding
success in theatre design with a large number of graduates working
in significant roles on Dr Who and Torchwood.
Design students have consistently been Linbury Award winners for
Stage Design since 2001 and last year Tom Scutt and Rhys Jarman
were among the four winners.
Graduating student Josie Thomas, having
achieved a distinction for her post-graduate theatre design degree,
has just won the costume society’s annual Janet Arnold ‘The
Patterns of Fashion Award,’ a rigorous competition, demanding that
each student demonstrates excellent levels of workmanship.