CPR was the deciding factor in my choosing to study Performance at Aberystwyth University. I participated in many workshops with international companies and artists that CPR has hosted which have been such rich experiences and has been vital in the formation of the path which I am now on. The archives also helped me to explore what paths are on offer; reading around in the text archives, the visual and audio documentations and the sounds and actions of the past (which are also texts that an institution like the CPR can help us learn to read).
I also attended CPR conferences “Towards Tomorrow’ and ‘Giving Voice’ at which I was able to meet the people who write the course text books. They gave life to and enriched what I was reading, and brought the research up-to-date. Richard Gough and Judie Christie were very generous to me in times when, as a student, I couldn’t afford the summer school or conferences. They allowed me to participate on a ‘bursary barter’ basis: I was able to work for them in exchange. Being able to participate, not only in the international gathering of performance artists and academics, but a little in the day to day running of CPR were extremely enriching experiences.
It would be very sad for future students not to have these wonderful opportunities that have been central to my education and training. I am now preparing to work with an international company that I met through CPR. Without them, my practical knowledge of the international performance work would be nil. Without them, perhaps I wouldn’t have come to Wales but would have stayed in England. I am so glad that I was in Aberystwyth learning more about our close neighbour from having known nothing. I would love to see Wales grow as an international cultural landmark. It would be sad to see this fade as it would with the decline of CPR.
Yours truly,
Naomi West
(BA 1st class hons Performance Studies and English Literature, Aberytswyth University)
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