Cram Collective

ming it all in!

How four Flinders graduates are making their mark on the Adelaide theater scene fresh out of student life.

Connor, Ren, Aarod and Melissa are talented and hard-working humans that many current Creative Arts students will recognise. The dedicated group of actors, filmmakers, writers and directors founded CRAM Collective before some of them have even put their graduation caps on! Lucky for our readers who may be staring into the piercing eyes of graduation with fear and self-doubt, the CRAM team has kindly shared their story to inspire us all.

Hello creative and inspiring humans at CRAM! Let’s start by talking about what the CRAM Collective is and what it hopes to achieve?

CRAM is an arts collective founded by four grads from Flinders Drama Centre. We aim to create new work for young people and redefine what we expect from theatre. We’ve just debuted our first show and we’re about to release a whole season of new shows for 2022.

How did the group initially come together?

We all met one another at Flinders Drama Centre where we all shared a passion for creating our own work and noticed gaps within Adelaide’s art scene that we wanted to fulfil. Three of us - Aarod, Ren and Melissa were all part of the same year level and had discussed the idea of a theatre company over the years of training. Having seen Connor’s incredible directing work within the program and his love and drive for theatre, we four formed together early 2021, which lead to the creation of CRAM.

How did you find the confidence to form something like this so soon after - or for some of you, before graduating?

During our training we were taught to make our theatre shows and films off our own backs - the producing, the marketing, set, props & costumes, stage management, we did it all. We learnt to write grants. We came away with the skills and know-how. And we were told from day one that if we wanted to work in this industry, we had to make our own projects. Our confidence, I think, comes from the necessity. There is no time for self-doubt or indecisiveness, we simply must go out there and make work for ourselves. Plus, we love doing it - the theatre runs in our veins. And who better to make theatre with than 3 of the most hard-working and passionate people you know, who also happen to be 3 of your best friends?

How would you respond to naysayers who might suggest that you’re too young to start a fully-fledged company?

The four years we’ve spent studying at Flinders University’s Drama Centre have encouraged us to be driven, self-sufficient and brave. We’ve all been creating and making from incredibly young ages, and this desire to share our projects has only grown. We’ve been inspired by some of the fantastic alumni that upon leaving Drama Centre formed their own companies, taking Adelaide and Australia by storm. There’s no such thing as too young. Young people across the globe are doing incredible, groundbreaking things and this should be celebrated. CRAM seeks to bring new, emerging voices to the table, and we can’t wait to embark on this wild and exciting journey.

What is your advice to Creative Arts students nervous about navigating the world of creative careers after university?

I’d be lying if I said none of us are nervous with every choice we make as a company. We’re never sure whether what we do will be a success or if we’re making the ‘right’ choices, but the truth is that no one really does. As creatives we’re all just playing and experimenting and seeing what works.

You are the founding members, but as a collective you are also building a creative team made up of many others. What kind of talent is featured in your team and how were you able to connect with these creatives?

We are all about cramming a large variety of artists into a space, building up our Cram Fam. It is so exciting and riveting seeing art that merges together all types of art forms and this is exactly what we want to create. Our first show ‘New World Coming’ which was devised over 5 days, incorporated dancers, musicians, writers and actors. Creating the look for

CRAM we teamed up with graphic designer Emily Savage, Pamo Boutros with photography and Aiden Smith for cinematography. All these different artists within our CRAM Fam we were able to connect with through social media, working with them in the past and having seen their work in shows. We want to create a real hub of artists and performers, and through our website - make it accessible for these artists to be found easily and recognised.

What is your advice for students who hope to be a part of collaborative spaces and teams like yours?

Just go for it. Do not think, do not doubt - feel the fear and do it anyway. And make sure to work with, and surround yourself with, people you love and people you gel with. If you can’t imagine climbing Mt. Everest with that person, you probably can’t start a company with them. And be open to anything, to all possibilities and options, be open to collaborating and compromising. Work with joy and curiosity. CRAM COLLECTIVEHow can students support CRAM? There are so many different ways students can get involved with and support CRAM. The whole vision of the collective is to engage and work with a wide range of creatives, and we are constantly looking for new artists to join us in the CRAM FAM. This is a community of creatives who have played a crucial role in CRAM and the projects that we make. We’ll be doing a call out for creatives who may be interested in joining the CRAM Fam very soon, so get in touch if this sounds like something that interests you!

Most importantly, you can support us by engaging with and coming to see our events. After a sell out season with our debut show, New World Coming, we are so appreciative of all the support and have big things planned for 2022.

Follow us on our socials @thecramcollective to keep up to date with new projects, see other creatives we support and stay tuned for our 2022 season launch.

Interview by Jessica Rowe, Photos supplied by CRAM Collective