Meet some of our Musical Theatre Students
🎶🕺 If you’re interested in a career in the musical theatre and performing arts industries, or within community arts, then our courses are ideal 💃🎤 Hear from some of our musical theatre students about their experience studying at Perth College UHI 👇
Why did you decide to pick this course?
When I was little, I joined a youth theatre where I live and did a bunch of different musicals through them - such as Scrooge, Greece, Addams family - and I kind of just knew that's what I wanted to go into. It's very much a career that, because of how challenging it is, you have to know you want to do it. It naturally came about that that's what I wanted to do, I kind of just knew!
What is your favourite thing about the course?
I think just how many opportunities there is with the course - you get opportunities to learn and at the end of each unit, you get to showcase what you've learned. You have an end goal where you learn all these skills and then you get to show them off and be like 'I've learned this, I can now do this'. It's very rewarding.
Has there been any stand out or memorable moments from your course?
I'd have to say when we did ‘Fame’ the musical, as we hadn’t been performing because of the lockdown and the pandemic, but we got to do the full performance back in March. I was nice to be back on stage again. It was still to a brick wall, as there was no audience, but it really made me think back to 'this is what I want to do'.
What do you like about the campus?
It's very accessible, so it's quite easy to get to. It's very close to the city centre so you've got everything - you've got the hills behind you and then you can go into town, which isn't too far of a walk, so it's all very accessible.
What are your plans for after you finish your course?
I plan to stay here for another year and continue to the HND and then see where life takes me after that.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about studying at Perth College UHI?
Definitely, do it. It's a risk to come and study musical theatre, specifically because it's not all glitz and glamour and jazz hands! That is part of it, but it's a very mentally draining subject but it's so worth it and coming to Perth, it's such a beautiful location, I would just do it.
What were you doing before you came to college?
I was in high school. I lived in France, so I was in a French high school with an Anglophone section in it - which is why I speak English.
Why did you decide to pick this course?
I picked this course because I love musical theatre and there isn't that much musical theatre in France, so I decided to come here. Also, I've never been to Scotland, and I really wanted to see what it was like.
What is your favourite thing about the course?
My favourite thing about the course is probably the people. I get to be with people that like the same thing as me and the lecturers are really helpful.
Has there been any stand out or memorable moments from your course?
I'd say every performance is pretty memorable just because it brings everyone together and you get to perform and do what you love.
What do you like about the campus?
Again, I like the people. I used to live in halls, so I met a lot of my friends there and now I live with one of the people I met in halls.
What are your plans for after you finish your course?
After I finish the course, I'm either going to audition for other schools and find a bachelor’s in musical theatre. If I don't get in, I'll probably go back to France and teach English.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about studying at Perth College UHI?
I'd say it looks more stressful than it is, so just have fun with it. Everybody makes you feel at home, all the lecturers are very helpful and everyone you meet here is going to be very sweet and uplifting.
What were you doing before you came to college?
Before I came to college, I was studying at Perth High School, and I was in my fifth year. I was going to do my sixth year but then I decided it wasn't really for me. I wasn't really excited for it, so I just decided to move on to this course and do what I love.
Why did you decide to pick this course?
Well, throughout my life, performing has been my favourite thing to do. I'm most happy when I'm performing through acting, singing and dancing. Before I came here, I wasn't really a confident dancer. I'd done a wee bit with other groups, like Ad-Lib Theatre Arts, but that was definitely my weakest skill. However, with this course, they're not expecting you to be the perfect ‘triple threat’ musical theatre student, they want you to develop all these other skills. I was a lot more confident with my singing and acting, but my dancing has definitely come a long way since being here.
What is your favourite thing about the course?
My favourite thing about the course is definitely the people on it. We have all seen each other grow over the past two years and that's made it really rewarding. I get to watch all these people that I see as really good friends of mine grow their performance skills. It's just a pleasure to watch them all and we all have great respect for each other - it's such a good atmosphere.
Has there been any stand out or memorable moments from your course?
I'd say probably our two auditions that we've done. We had one in the first year, where we auditioned for our showcase and it was great to just see us all performing, giving our best performances for the part we want. Our second one was for ‘Chicago’, that was just amazing because we've all seen each other grow and we can all see these different variations of people's characters that they're auditioning for.
What do you like about the campus?
There’s lots of different facilities and it's all really accessible. A couple of steps and you're at the theatre, and a couple steps you're at the canteen - so it's all within easy reach. There's a lot of extra space so, as a musical theatre student, there's a lot of practice rooms that I can easily go to and just practice on my own, so I don't have to worry about anything.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of college?
A lot of my hobbies and interests are to do with the course I'm currently studying, so before lockdown I was with a local Choir called Jambouree Choir and we're currently doing a summer concert which is going to be recorded online. Also, Ad-Lib Arts - which is a musical theatre drama group.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about studying at Perth College UHI?
I would say use the facilities, as they're all very useful. There's the gym, library, and all the practice rooms. Also, what's worked really well for me, is getting to know the people on your course, because when you know them, it makes it a lot easier. It makes it a lot more enjoyable to do the course you're on and you can ask them questions if you're struggling with a particular assignment or anything and you can all grow together.
What were you doing before you came to college?
I was working part-time, and I'd just finished three years at Dundee College. I was trying to figure out a lot of different things - what I wanted to do next and what area of theatre I want to look at.
Why did you decide to pick this course?
It was recommended to me by a good friend of mine, they had a lot of good things to say about the course and it was in the area, which was helpful. A lot of musical theatre courses require you to move away to Edinburgh or Glasgow and I wasn't quite ready to do that, so it was nice to have the option closer to home.
What is your favourite thing about the course?
The whole thing really, that's a cop-out but there's just so many good opportunities, a lot of passion from the lecturers on the course. From start to finish, it's been a really good fun time, so the entire course is really just amazing.
Has there been any stand out or memorable moments from your course?
Several - last year when we got to be a part of the HND production of ‘Wizard of Oz’ and just getting to work alongside them and be a part of that, was really fun and memorable. Also a lot of the opportunities we were given last year, and this year getting to showcase and do ‘Chicago’.
Have you enjoyed studying at Perth College UHI?
100%, it's been a blast - even with everything we've covered in lockdown, it's been really good fun.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of college?
I do a lot of singing, hanging out with friends, watching stuff, and I run dungeons and dragon’s campaigns for my friends.
What are your plans for after you finish your course?
I'm going to spend at least the next year working part-time earning money, trying to build things back up in terms of funds and keeping an eye on the performance industry and see how it progresses and recovers.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about studying at Perth College UHI?
Enjoy every moment, take every opportunity the college offers you, make friends and get involved.
What were you doing before you came to college?
I was at high school, but I was also part of lots of drama clubs. I was also in the professional pantomimes at the Byre Theatre in St Andrews.
Why did you decide to pick this course?
I've always been lucky in knowing what I've wanted to do ever since I was little. I've been dancing since I was two and I've always wanted to perform. I looked up online the courses that I could do here at Perth College UHI, and I just thought it was a really good fit for what I was looking to do.
What is your favourite thing about the course?
My favourite thing about the course is probably how close everybody is in the whole course. All of the students make really good friends and also the lecturers are so lovely, and we all get on really, really, well.
Has there been any stand out or memorable moments from your course?
Probably the biggest standout moment for me would be ‘Chicago’, but also just before COVID we were supposed to do a showcase. Even during COVID, I liked the way that we all just stuck together and the fact we all got on really well helped.
What are your plans for after you finish your course?
I'm hoping to progress and do my full three years to get my undergraduate in musical theatre.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about studying at Perth College UHI?
Probably just go for it and take every opportunity that you can because the lecturers give you so many and it's just amazing.
