Fake It till You Make It (AKA “Pretending You Know How to Write a Committee Campaign” – A Manifesto by Lauren Higginson) (part 1)

That’s a mouthful. Sorry.

Most of you will know me either from shows or class, but if you don’t, hi! I’m Lozz, I’m a second-year drama student, and I love SSOAP with my entire heart and soul. I love musicals and Animal Crossing, and that’s really all you need to know just yet.

As you may know, I’m running for two roles this year – Technical Liaison Officer and SSOAP President. If you didn’t know that, surprise!

That doesn’t mean I expect to manage both of these roles, obviously. They’re both huge responsibilities in their own right and nobody has the energy or the hours in the day for that. However, they’re both roles that I’d really be able to commit to and enjoy. More than that though, I’ve really loved my time on the SSOAP committee this year and can’t put into words how disappointed I am that it’s been cut short, and if running for two roles means more of a chance to give my time and energy to that committee in my third year, of course I’m gonna do it.

Below you’ll find my points for tech officer, and my president manifesto can be found on the RSU website under that role, but first, here’s a little bit about why I think you should vote for me to have a place on your committee, either as your president or your tech officer! I’ll try to keep everything quite short so it’s not ridiculously long to read.

• I’ve been part of SSOAP since the beginning of my first year: I don’t want to brag particularly but I was one of three-ish students who put together the entire Digby/SSOAP Haunted House in one day in October 2018, and we were SO proud of the result. I’m dedicated and committed, and once I get started on a project I do NOT stop until I’m happy, or I’m forced to – lookin’ at you, COVID-19.
• I’m used to working on a team in theatre; in my extracurricular shows at secondary school, my time assisting with the tech design and microphones for my old school, my musical theatre A Level, and my current drama degree at Roehampton, working as part of a coherent team has been absolutely essential. Even as a leader of a project I have always understood the importance of taking others’ opinions and needs into account, regardless of what kind of project we’re working on and regardless of any pre-conceived hierarchy.
• My previous jobs include a Disney princess at kids’ parties, and a Christmas elf. Not super relevant but it’s kinda cool. Also, it means I know how to keep my composure when a preteen boy tries his hardest for an entire party to pull my wig off to show his little sister that I’m not really Cinderella, and I think that self-control and ability to think on my feet is really important for a committee member!
• I have a LOT of ideas for SSOAP going forward, inspired by previous committees’ successes as well as my own in my theatre career. More about that below!

Take a quick reading break. Drink some water! Hydrate!

Technical Liaison Officer

• Experience: Of course, I had the absolute pleasure of being your tech officer this year, and like I said I’m really upset it was cut so short. I had a lot left to do! But in the time I did have, I did the tech for an amazing show called Redwater, written and directed by Jack Gray and starring such talents as Conor McGibney and Chloe Daly. This was my first time working on a show with horror elements, and I can’t say I wasn’t a bit nervous about it, but those of you who saw it will know it went super well! I got to really play around with colour in lighting as well as using sound and shadows to create a sense of dread, and I was extremely proud. I would love to work on more projects like this in the future. In addition to Redwater, I have worked on a team on the tech for production projects both in first and second year. This year I think is especially relevant, as due to everything going on, I’ve had to think on my feet of ways to display my technical ability without being able to actually physically work on lighting at uni.
• Staff connections: This isn’t integral to the role by any means, but throughout my time at uni I’ve gotten to know the tech staff really well. This means I know what they’re likely to allow and what they’re likely to veto, I know how to get them on board a project, and I know how to justify more extreme-sounding technical ideas in a way that makes them more interested than apprehensive. You really just have to respectful them and understanding that their schedules are crazy busy, and they’re likely to help with anything.
• Opportunities for others: as tech officer, I don’t want or expect to be the sole worker on the technical side of SSOAP projects. In fact, I’d love to have anyone involved, should they want to be – in Redwater, I made sure to ask around for people who had spare time and wanted to work on theatre tech, and when it ended up being only myself and Jack, Jack got to learn a lot about lighting states and Q-Lab that he hadn’t known before. Given the opportunity I really want to expand on this and realise what I could have done better – for example, I’d perhaps make a leaflet and post it in the Jubilee foyer, for anyone who wants to join me on a project. I know that the tech staff also run workshops, but as part of my role I would like to make them more publicised; often, only a select few students know about these workshops, and I’d like to spread the word a lot more.

You’ve finished the tech officer manifesto! Please be sure to check out my president manifesto under that role.

If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m active on Facebook and I’m also available via email at higginsl2@roehampton.ac.uk.

Stay home, take care of yourselves, and wash your hands. Lozz <3