There’s nothing like a new cohort of freshers incoming to make you feel old. I feel like my fresher days were a lifetime ago, but also somehow yesterday. I blinked my eyes and now I’m going into third year, but I’ve also grown hugely as a person in that time, particularly in my confidence. However, the start of a new academic year doesn’t just induce profound if slightly macabre and panic-inducing musings on the passing of time and fleeting nature of youth, it also stirs up some fond memories. For me, one of the fondest is of my introduction to the Cambridge theatre scene. I always knew I wanted to be a part of it, and it has gone on to be a major aspect of my student experience. It all started with one show, back in the middle of my very first term. That was a freshers’ play, called Almost, Maine.

Many moons ago, I spoke a bit about my Cambridge theatre debut in this play for Varsity. Writing in the Easter term of my first year, I was truthfully still quite new to it all, but even then I was grateful for that first opportunity that presented itself to me (which I could look back on then with all the wisdom of two more terms). That gratitude has only grown now theatre has been in my life for two years, and I am aware how much more difficult it would be for me to make a blind start in my third year. This is why I am here again to say how important I think freshers’ plays are, and how important it is to get involved.

I can think myself back to the show nights for Almost Maine quite easily. It was in the Corpus Playroom, and that was the era when one of the dressing rooms had a mould problem and was consequently out of bounds. All of the large cast of that play were therefore packed into the other, meaning there wasn’t a square inch of floor space that wasn’t covered by a person or their belongings. Moving across the room was an agility test. However, I do believe these close quarters built camaraderie. The scenes in the dressing room during the shows started to resemble more and more the scenes you might find in someone’s college room. We chatted. We shared snacks. We shared music. We played Uno.

“The scenes in the dressing room during the shows started to resemble more and more the scenes you might find in someone’s college room”

All of this was very much facilitated by the fact that the play was a series of distinct, two-hander scenes, all with different characters, so it was easy to relax around your time on stage. I can remember very vividly how it felt to sit on that dressing room floor in my costume, listening in to the tannoy, preparing to share the nod with my scene partner and lug the ironing board up towards the stage.

This was absolutely formative. It was what made me fall in love with Cambridge theatre specifically. That first acceptance when you’re offered a part, and that first experience of being on a Cambridge stage, is what gave me the confidence to think I could be some small part of that world. It really is the perfect way to make your start – everyone around you is in the same boat, and you’re all learning together. None of you are yet a ‘name’ in the theatre world, with a million Camdram credits to your name. You’ve all just decided to try this thing because you think you’ll enjoy it. And then, just like that, you’re initiated. You’ll never have to do a first show again. You’re on Camdram, you know some people, and you know how it all works.

As I alluded to in that earlier article, it was serendipity that I ever ended up being in Almost, Maine. Not only did I have no plans to audition for that play, but I had no idea that it, or freshers’ plays in general, existed. By pure chance, auditions were happening in the ADC Theatre while I was on a tour, and I was invited to a drop-in slot. In a moment of bravery I’m still grateful for, I did it.

It might, however, have been better if I had actually known about freshers’ plays in the first place. From my own experience, I don’t think they’re publicised enough to freshers, or maybe the auditions are just at risk of getting lost in the chaos of freshers week. I’m doing my bit by saying that if you’re an incoming fresher and you have an interest in theatre, you should absolutely get involved.

“You should absolutely get involved”

If you’re not a fresher but you end up having a conversation with a fresher who has an interest in theatre, then remember to tell them. It’s easy to forget when you’re in deep with the Cambridge theatre world that not everyone knows how everything works. I think that, just as small children find it easiest to pick up languages, freshers find it easiest to learn about the theatre world – before they have learned to find it intimidating.

None of this is to say that it’s ever too late to make a start with theatre. It’s always a good time to pursue your passions. Freshers plays are actually for anyone who is new to Cambridge theatre, of any age and stage. If you fit under this category, I strongly suggest you keep an eye out when Michaelmas rolls around.