“I love theatre, and I love photography”, Charlotte Conybeare - half second year English student and half ADC devotee - tells me. Most commonly finding roles that keep her behind the curtain, from lighting design to scriptwriting and directing Charlotte has a pretty health Camdram profile. Not to mention her new role on the ADC committee as Club Publicist. But, it was her love for both theatre and photography independently that led her to her first, and most frequent credit: photographer.

“The world of Cambridge theatre can be a bit exclusive and hard to break into if you don’t know anyone there and missed the train of fresher’s shows”, Charlotte commended. She tells me about an acting-fuelled time at school, which then rapidly slipped away in the chaos of Fresher’s week. Skipping past the CUADC’s stall on Parker’s Piece to reach the Dominoes truck for a half a slice of slightly soggy but very much free pizza is completely understandable. Before you have time to gawp at the ADC’s what’s on page, the fresher’s shows of Michaelmas are up, and ADC cliques are formed.

“Before you have time to gawp at the ADC’s what’s on page, the fresher’s shows of Michaelmas are up, and ADC cliques are formed”

Charlotte had a brief stint as a lyricist for the Musical Theatre Society’s 24 hour musical in her first year, which inspired a brave, post-fresher’s venture behind the scenes at the ADC. Thus, we reach the start of Charlotte’s photographic career in Cambridge. She tells me that although the first show she photographed here never actually went ahead, it left her yearning to apply for more; a Camdram advert for show photographer for last Easter’s The Seagull solidified Charlotte’s entry into the world of the ADC. In spite of the higher time commitment forged by demand for “several rounds of headshots, quite a few rehearsal sessions and then the dress”, Charlotte tells me how much she loved working on the show. Not only that, but she was subjected to “inhaling chlorine and bitumen fumes for many hours due to the lake on stage”. I decided not to enquire further about any potential risk assessments done. I’m sure they were plentiful.

“You wouldn’t dream of just asking a mate to direct a show without opening for applicants first, but with photography I’ve noticed that this does happen a lot”

“The difficulty with the photographer role is that it’s not super established in the way directors or producers are”, Charlotte muses. “You wouldn’t dream of just asking a mate to direct a show without opening for applicants first, but with photography I’ve noticed that this does happen a lot”. The fragility of the photographer’s role acts in complete dichotomy with its necessity for publicity material. The posters adoring the rails and sideboard of Cambridge and the streams of Instagram content from Cambridge’s thespian community rely entirely on ADC photographer. Charlotte is hoping that in her new role as Club Publicity officer, this can be reformed.

Over and over again, I notice how frequently Charlotte mentions the many different teams that she’s collaborated with on each of these shows. Most recently, she’s been working on the photography for Christ Chapel’s Made of Light, which they describe as “a real privilege”. The experience reiterated to Charlotte the potential to capture “an incredible team” and their work on a “wonderfully crafted and written show”.

Charlotte holds the role in great esteem, and is on a mission to make sure directors and producers, alongside Cambridge’s non-ADC-motivated inhabitants, take it equally seriously. I’m told tales of manic last minute headshots, getting lost on her way to shoot locations, being pulled into operating spotlights on show night, and having to design a whole shows soundscape in a matter of hours. Charlotte’s time behind the camera has facilitated an initiation into a community that grants opportunities few other societies in Cambridge can. “And getting people who hate having their photo taken say ‘that wasn’t too awful’ is sort of one of my favourite things”. With that, Charlotte joked that she was off to “rustle up a week’s work in one afternoon” in an attempt to buy back some of the time she’s spent at the ADC this week.