Liverpool University Drama Society

About us

Established in 1970, Liverpool University Drama Society is one of the UK’s leading student theatre companies, winning the Society of The Year Award 2006-07. L.U.D.S. stages six full-scale productions each academic year, ranging from classical to contemporary.



This year 2007-08 looks to be a busy one, as the Drama Society aims to get more members involved than ever before, as well as raising the society's profile within the University.



As well as this, we will still be putting on weekly workshops, which currently run on a Tuesday evening 7pm - 9pm in the McAusland Lounge in the Guild, although please check the website each week for an announcement. We are also going to be running more and more Theatre trips this year, as well as keeping up with the Socials!


This year there will be more chances than ever to get involved in different capacities within the society. Alongside the workshops and the 4 productions that will be running in the first term, we are offering members the chance to produce Shoestring projects, as well as staging our second annual Halloween Ghost Tours. We’re also looking at ways to join in the Capital of Culture ’08 celebrations.


We feel we cater for all students with a complete range of experience, from National Youth Theatre members to students who have never acted before joining the society. Some of our members have gone on to pursue drama after leaving university, with previous members going on to drama schools such as Guildhall and Mountview. Furthermore, our alumni include Patricia Routledge (Keeping Up Appearances) and BAFTA-Award winning Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House). However, the society is not just for those who wish to pursue a career in drama with many of our members going on to a wide range of careers such as doctors, barristers, and clinical psychologists.


Last academic year was highly successful for us, bringing in our biggest ever audiences on record with our productions of: Claxons, Trumpets & Raspberries; A Midsummer Night's Dream; Crime & Punishment; The Tragical History of Dr Faustus; How Love Is Spelt; The Picture of Dorian Gray; Blasted; Wind In The Willows and Port. Followed by a critically acclaimed production of Moonlight at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2008, the reviews of which are in our Media section. On top of this, we involved even more students than the previous year, in a variety of roles, from plain old acting, to marketing, to backstage work. We offered members a free workshop with the director of Shiverpool Ghost Tours and our weekly workshops got up and running. This has provided us with an excellent starting point for 2008-09 and we look forward to meeting all of the new faces who will help push this society forwards.


To join the society for this year, sign up at the BASE or now you can sign-up ONLINE! Just go to http://www.lgos.org/membership fill in your basic details, follow the instructions, and then scroll down and tick Drama Society. Membership costs just £5, and will allow you to take part in the society's activities, and getting you discount off the shows.



Committee 2008/2009 Hopes and Plans for the coming year...

We hope to allow 2008/2009 to be a year which involves as many people as possible, is enjoyable, allows extensive creative freedom and expands the outlook of Drama soc through communication and collaboration. This will be achieved by continuing successful past ventures and introducing some new ideas!

• Plays:
o The number of plays per term will be decided upon by the number of pitches and availability (venues/financial) so budding Directors please pitch the play/plays you would love to direct and we’ll see what we can do.
o You can also pitch a play that you would like to produce if you can find someone who would like to direct it.
o We’ll aim for around four plays per term.
o Plays will receive good support from the committee.
o Shoestring plays can be pitched at any time and are only limited in their number by financial feasibility so there is no excuse for putting off the project you really want to do, budgets will be minimal so get creative.

• Events:
o The highly successful ‘Sticky floor’ comedy improvisation group will continue to perform fortnightly and will be re-recruiting in 2008/2009 so if you have a talent for comedy find out more.
o The sell-out, award-winning ‘Halloween Ghost Tour’ event will be expanded and relations improved with the outside professional company; Shiverpool. Lots of fun to be involved.
o We hope to continue to do successful collaborations:
 Secretary as a ‘charity rep’ to liase with the guild charity rep.
 Shoestring plays are able to be collaborations, for example if you also wish to promote a charity.
 Communications with LUST (Liverpool University Student Theatre) to be improved (joint meeting to be arranged before the end of term).



• Socials:
o LUDAAs (Liverpool University Drama Annual Awards) will be held at the end of academic year 2008/2009. Dust off your tux for the much anticipated Drama society version of the Oscars.
o Fresher’s Social
o Socials to be arranged to coincide with the event ‘Sticky Floor’
o Joint socials with LUST
o Monthly theatre trips
o Mystery Nights to be pioneered at peoples’ houses; fun, informal, dramatic, probably drunken...

• Groups and Workshops:
o Give it a go! Workshop involving new members
o Rota to be developed for weekly workshops.
o Devising group/Writing group will be an informal group for those with an interest in writing. New writing developed may be pitched as a play or a shoestring play. So get involved if you are writing something and would like to discuss it with fellow playwrights-to-be.

• Publicity:
o Integration of new members is very important
o Halls reps
o Buddy system to stop people getting bored or isolated at the start of term.
o 1st term directors to meet and encourage new members, they might end up your perfect lead actor or an invaluable stage manager.
o We need to clarify the distinction between LUDS as a Drama society which does non-musical productions of all types and LUST as a society which puts on musical performances to all new members of either/both societies.

• Auditions:
o We will continue to give Directors creative freedom with auditions.
o It is acknowledged that auditions are really scary and directors should continue to make an attempt to help actors feel at ease at auditions.
o Directors should be prepared to offer feedback to unsuccessful actors if this is wanted.