I am a freelance performer-musician with skills in composing and song writing. Whilst studying Theatre and Professional Practice at Coventry University I became interested in the use of music within performance, exploring contemporary and experimental uses of sound within theatre.
After Graduating from Coventry I, along with two other course members, created our own theatre company; Noctium. During his time with the company I held the position of Artistic Director and created and wrote the music for three productions; The Country Doctor, Animate and Hymns for Robots. Each project allowed me to explore different musical styles and further develop my playing ability and knowledge to tailor to each of the shows needs. Noctium performed around the UK on many small regional tours and took part in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018, performing Hymns for Robots for the entire month. In 2019, after 5 years, I decided to leave the company to pursue other freelance opportunities.
My time as a performer has taught me to devise, collaborate and perform as part of an ensemble as well as an individual having worked with many professional theatre companies around the UK. I also have a long standing relationship with Open Theatre company who collaborate with young people with learning disabilities (YPWLD). I was the sole song writer for their recent production ‘The Twisted Tale of Hansel and Gretel.’
Most recently I have been working on a Science Fiction podcast called ‘The People Outside.’ I wrote songs for five out of the six episodes within the first series and wrote one song for the second series, which has been released recently.
I always looks for new ways to write and create music, relish the challenge of performing in new and exciting environments and enjoy giving a show a unique sound. I specialise in guitar and bass up to a grade 5 level, and I can also play a range of string instruments, percussion and electronic instruments such as synthesisers. I am also able to use music production software such as Ableton Live.
Projects
- Game Music Composition - Udemy Online CourseFor the past 6 months I have been learning how to create and write music for video games. This has included working with software such as Unity and FMOD, writing music for mobile games, as well as soundtracks for battle scenes. During my time I have learnt how to compose ideas in a more efficient way and have been able to add diversity to my song/music writing. I am now on the look out for more work in this field. Below you will find some of the tracks that I created for this project.
- EVERYTHING: An Online Lecture Series"In early 2020 the esteemed Professor Anthony Roberts was given funding to create an entirely new lecture series that would, with the help of guest lecturers each week, explore the whole universe from atoms to stars and everything in between. Sadly the COVID-19 Corona virus changed these plans… With his crack team of experts otherwise engaged on the pandemic Professor Roberts series was on the brink of collapse! At the last minute, Bladder & String stepped in to fill the void and, with a team
- The People OutsideWelcome to Corby-on-Sea, a typical English seaside town on lock-down. Tune into the community radio station where Stephanie and her callers will be tackling the issues of the day such as: where are all the pets disappearing to, who is that man standing in the street and are the fisherfolk concerned about killer whales? Created by William Drew, Laura McGrady, Kieran Lucas, Helen Duff, Charles Craggs and Hannah-Louise Batt Original songs written by and performed by Charles Craggs Season 1 Logo
- Hymns for RobotsIn a small house’s loft, packed in hundreds of cereal boxes, lies the life’s work of Delia Derbyshire-the unsung genius behind the Doctor Who theme tune and trail blazer of electronic music. Join Noctium as they explore this unique tale of the mother of modern music. Using strange sounds and weird wobbulations, Noctium brings you a sonic experience your ears won’t believe. Hymns for Robots mixes Noctium’s unique heightened performance style of drama, comedy and Expressionism with the explorati
- The Twisted Tale of Hansel and GretelA flustered storyteller is joined by a mischievous mockingbird as he follows Hansel and Gretel deep into the forest. All is not what it seems, as the characters start to tell their own version of this peculiar adventure. Presented by Open Theatre and Metro-Boulot-Dodo. Co-Produced by Birmingham Hippodrome. Directed by Esther Simpson Co-Directed by Marlien Van Liempt Music and Songs written by Charles Craggs The Storyteller - Nicky Priest The Mockingbird - Charles Craggs Hansel - Rishard Beck
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Work history
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Song writerThe People Outside
- London, United KingdomFreelance
The People Outside was originally created at the beginning of the first national lockdown in the UK in March 2020. The original creative team was William Drew, Laura McGrady, Kieran Lucas, Helen Duff, Hannah-Louise Batt and Charles Craggs. The first season was written by William Drew and Laura McGrady and released between April and July of that year, with five out of six episodes being recorded remotely.
The first season told the story of the fictional town of Corby-on-Sea, a seaside town placed under a mysterious and largely unexplained lockdown. It did this through a radio show called Outside Time, hosted by Stephanie Wayne (played by Helen Duff). Episodes 1 to 5 featured original songs by Charles Craggs.
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MusicianTheatre Absolute
- Coventry, United KingdomFreelance
I was involved in the creation and development of a piece called 'The Unfinished City' which was specially created for the Shopfront Festival (March 2018) and integrated the use of classical, acoustic instruments, voice and electronic music. The performance included me playing along side other musicians in a very free-form, improvisational band while a monologue was performed over the music.
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Skills
- Guitar
- Bass Guitar
- Song Writing
- Ableton Live
- Soundscapes
- Electronic Music
- Composition
- Foley
- Acting Performing
- Music Making
Education
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BA (Hons) Theatre and Professional PracticeCoventry University
- Coventry, United Kingdom
"The Theatre and Professional Practice BA is a highly practical course, exploring the creative potential of collaborative processes alongside the development of the individual actor and theatre practitioner. With multiple opportunities to invent and create your own style of live theatre, this course is designed to help equip you with the knowledge and experience to enter the theatre and creative industries beyond university."
"You can gain hands-on experience of a variety of different and exciting approaches to making and performing live theatre – from scripted, collaboratively devised work and improvisational approaches to performance, to mask work and puppetry, acrobatics and stilt work, physical theatre and digital performance. You’ll also be encouraged to create a professional scale work as a final project."
"You’ll be taught by our experienced faculty, some of whom are theatre directors and applied theatre practitioners, as well as invited professional guest practitioners who have previously included Frantic Assembly, the RSC, Théâtre Sans Frontières, Mandala Theatre, Theatre Absolute, Big Brum The Desperate Men, Acrojou, and The Fabularium."