Personal Statement

Theatre, in my opinion, is a unique tool to explore, express and push the boundaries of
modern day life.
I was introduced to theatre at an early age. My first experience of theatre was when my
parents surprised me with tickets to see The Lion King in London. This was, for me, the
first time I had witnessed anything so spectacular, full of amazing music and stunning
lighting spectacles and really made me think about live theatre and how much I would to
be on that stage performing. From that moment on I knew that performing was all I wanted
to do in life and would do anything I could to achieve my dream. I had taken part in ballet
and tap lessons at a local dance school from the age of 4 but I knew that I wanted to study
drama and singing alongside dance. This led me to start attending stagecoach where I
developed my confidence when performing and also gained the basic skills needed when
singing, dancing and acting. Whilst at Stagecoach I widened my knowledge of different
dance styles and learnt ballroom, street and jazz dance. I carried studying performing arts
at Scala school. Whilst at Scala I had my first experience of performing on a stage in a
theatre in front of a large audience. This spurred me on to achieve my dream of studying
Drama and Musical Theatre at school, college and university
Not only am I interested in the performing side of this industry, I also thrive in the technical
and directing side which I was first introduced to at Oscars College college of Dramatic
Arts in Huddersfield. In my third year at Oscars, I was given the role of musical director for
their annual cabaret. This meant that I had to learn all of the songs included in the cabaret
on the piano and also arrange harmonies for the groups. This gave me the opportunity to
develop my teaching skills with different age groups ranging from 4 to 16. This has made
me an efficient leader, good listener and a great team player. I attended every Saturday
and was very committed and would always see that everything was completed to the best
level.
I have been the assistant director for various productions whilst studying at St Wilfrids
Catholic High School. The first of these being a production of The Tempest. This
increased my knowledge of directing in a practical situation rather than in a classroom. I
was at every rehearsal and would be asked to give notes at the end of a rehearsal. I was
also the co-director for one of the annual school productions Jesus Christ Superstar in
which I also played Judas. I thrive in the technical side of a show which I explored when I
was the sound and lighting designer for a devised piece by a group of year 13 students.
I studied Performing Arts in which I achieved a distinction* and Music in which I achieved
A*. I thoroughly enjoyed these subjects which caused me to carry these on to A-Level
where I picked up Dance and Drama and Theatre Studies. I am predicted to achieve
Distinction to B in all of the above subjects. I partake in weekly singing and piano lessons.
I am currently working towards my grade 5 in piano and grade 8 in musical theatre in my
singing lessons.
Over the past two years I have been introduced to various theatre companies that I admire
for their ability to push boundaries and oppose the social norms through drama, song,
dance and music. One example of this is Kneehigh Theatre Company who tour all over the
UK with original performances. One of their most recent productions was Dead Dog in a
Suitcase (and other love songs) which tackled the issue of corruption in Russia

incorporated original text and music to create a piece of hard-hitting theatre. Another one
of my favourite companies are DV8 which also tackle everyday issues such a
homophobia and racism through mediums such as verbatim, using real peoples
experiences to produce a production that causes the audience to think. I am very
passionate about this type of theatre and believe that it should be used more frequently to
convey a message to audiences young and old.
My strength has always been singing but since I have been studying at St Wilfrids Sixth
Form I have developed my skills in both drama and dance studying various practitioners in
both disciplines. It is my future to perform, and I have already begun to gather a resource
of skills and knowledge which will only be enhanced by further study and practise. The
unique opportunities of an acting or musical theatre degree will be instrumental in
achieving my goals of performing and I look forward to the unique challenges and rewards
ahead.