Cerys Jones is a second year Collingwood student currently directing ‘Wood’s spring musical, one of the most eagerly anticipated drama events of the year. She has acted in multiple plays, including last year’s musical, Witches of Eastwick, and has now gone one step further to create our very own stage version of Grease!
Hey Cerys! How is Grease coming along?
Fantastic! I have such a dedicated Production team behind me, keeping me sane, and the cast is simply incredible. We had a rehearsal today with a lot of the main cast and they’re sounding so good, and it’s only the second week. There’s a real sense of camaraderie and friendship coming through from everyone, which is lovely!
What’s the biggest challenge being the director instead of being on stage?
I would say the organisation of the whole production. Being an actor, a lot of your time is spent learning lines and making acting decisions. Directing is partly that as well, but you have so many other things to focus on too. Things like tech and costumes and props, and overseeing all the different departments and making some pretty tough decisions – it’s these that are the biggest challenges when directing. But I wouldn’t change any of it!
What made you want to get involved in Woodplayers?
I’ve been involved in drama for years back at home – it’s a huge passion of mine and I just knew I had to continue it at Uni. I knew about the Woodplayers way before I even got to Collingwood, I was so keen! It still remains my favourite society in Collingwood – the socials, the performances, the general atmosphere of fun that everyone brings to it makes it the best society in Collingwood, hands down!
Do you have a dream role you’d love to act in?
I’ve recently become obsessed with the musical ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, and Judas in that is such a cool part, with amazing rock songs to sing! That would be my dream role. I also did monologues from Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Lady Macbeth for a drama exam once, which were both incredible. Apart from that, I think I’d like to try any part where you can really get your teeth into the emotions of the character.
What’s your favourite thing about Collingwood?
The people. There’s no doubt about it, Collingwood students are some of the loveliest, funniest, most generous people I’ve ever met. It’s just such a great environment and community-feel. Everyone just helps each other out and gets involved and it’s something that’s so obvious when doing a musical – by the end, everyone loves each other like family!
And lastly, when should we be expecting Grease to go on stage?
It’s on from 12th March til the 15th March! Don’t miss it! I know everyone’s going to put on an amazing show!