As the Theatre College of Scotland approaches its 10th anniversary, its founder reflects on building a leading training ground for Scotland’s next generation of performers. From creating industry-ready opportunities at home to lessons learned on The Apprentice and through Lord Sugar’s mentorship, the interview explores ambition, resilience and why young Scottish talent should think big.
1. The Theatre College of Scotland will celebrate its 10-year anniversary next year. When you look back to where it began, what are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of the people. Watching students walk through our doors with a dream and leave working professionally is exactly why we started. Seeing the college grow from an idea into a recognised training provider has been pretty surreal. I think the performers we’ve created, the team that we have build and the memories and achievements we’ve created for Scotland. I always it never gets old when you turn the telly on and your students are appearing, it’s a feeling I wish I could bottle.
2. What first made you want to create performing arts training opportunities for young people in Scotland?
I wanted young people to know they didn’t have to leave Scotland to get world-class training. We’ve got incredible talent here, and I wanted to create opportunities that kept that talent in Scotland while preparing them for the industry. We had a real lack of full time training here, but we also had a real lack of schools ran by teachers who are actually in the industry, I think the industry has changed so much in the last 15 years and we need to be teaching what is current not what happened in 1864, we teach real time industry standards and its something I bloody love about Theatre School of Scotland/Theatre College of Scotland.
3. What do you think young performers need from training today that perhaps previous generations did not?
The industry moves so quickly now. Performers need to be adaptable, create their own opportunities, build their personal brand and understand social media as well as their craft. Talent alone isn’t enough anymore. I think also we need to be prepred to be more than just an ‘actor’ or just a ‘singer’ everyone needs to be thinking of triple threat training at an elite level, and also we like to treat our students like they are their own business, we brand them and we teach them the boring stuff like tax and how to build a personal brand, years ago you rang an agent, booked an actor and the job was done but now audiences want people who are more accessible and so do casting directors.
4. Your time on The Apprentice introduced your work to a much wider audience. What did that experience teach you about yourself as a founder?
It taught me to trust my instincts. It also taught me I was good at so many things I never even thought would fall on my desk. Who knew I could cook? Who knew I could sell the way I did. You get challenged constantly, and sometimes you’ve just got to back yourself. It also reminded me that resilience is one of the most important skills in business. I think at 25 to walk away from my business and allow it to grow without me has now given me this new sense of how to be a leader and how to drive a team forward, also I met the most amazing group of people.
5. Lord Sugar has continued to provide mentorship. What has that guidance meant to you as the business has grown?
He’s brilliant at cutting through the noise. Sometimes all you need is someone to ask the right question or challenge your thinking, and that’s been invaluable as we’ve continued to grow. I also think he comes from a similar background to me, he taught me to be authentic and people buy people.
6. Finally, what would you say to a young person in Scotland who loves performing but is unsure whether a career in the arts is realistic for them?
Go for it. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s impossible. Work hard, stay curious, be kind to people, and create your own opportunities. The industry needs people who are willing to put themselves out there. Now there is more work than ever with streaming being at an all time high and there is a such a buzz about being Scottish right now. I also just think lets teach our next gen to live in an industry where things happen on a big scale, moan the Scots and lets keep pushing.