TV star inspires the next generation of performing arts professionals

: Created: 24 May 2021

Known for her roles in TV dramas such as The Pact, Grace, Black Mirror, Noughts and Crosses and Anthony (for which she is a BAFTA 2021 nominee), Welsh actress Rakie has been performing since she was just 8 years old.

Rakie’s theatre roles have included Hermione in the West End production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Royal Court/ NTWales production, On Bear Ridge, for which she received Best Female Performance in a Play at the Black British Theatre Awards 2020.

The 16-18-year-old BTEC Level 3 students lucky enough to attend the lecture are all on performing arts courses, specialising in various creative subjects including acting, dance, musical theatre and production arts.

Rakie spoke to the students for an hour about her own inspiring journey, giving tips and advice about pursuing an acting career. The students were then invited to ask questions, providing a fantastic opportunity for them to speak directly to a successful professional actor and find out first-hand about what it's like to work in the industry.

Following her talk with the students, Rakie said: "After such a tough year for the arts, it is wonderful to finally see the industry returning to life. For the many young people planning careers as performers, it is now time for them to regain the confidence and excitement that is needed for success.

"I am delighted to have shared my own career story and experience with this aspiring group of performing arts students. Helping fresh and new talent to flourish is so important - they are indeed the future of our industry and have many exciting opportunities ahead of them.

"I wish every student the very best in their future performing careers - there really is no limit to what they can all achieve."

Gary Watson, Creative Director, London College of Performing Arts in collaboration with London South East Colleges, says: “We are absolutely delighted to have had Rakie join our students for such a fantastic talk.

“Hearing directly from a successful industry professional is such an inspiring opportunity and it provided great insight into the world of theatre and screen.

“Pursuing a career in the arts is challenging and requires absolute dedication - but everything is possible and Rakie’s words today have certainly shown our students that they can achieve their dreams.”

Performing Arts, Level 3 students Laura Caw-Gearing and Freedom Osagie, both aspiring actors were very impressed with the talk and took away several pearls of wisdom from Rakie.

Laura said: “I found the talk very uplifting and inspiring, especially the message about having a positive mindset and being fully committed to all that you do. 'Remember that you are an actor, you are not in the business of being rejected - some jobs you will get and some you won't'. Thank you for the opportunity to listen to such a professional, I really enjoyed it."

Freedom said: “I felt very enlightened about the industry after listening to Rakie. I found her technique on how to bring your own ideas and stamp your mark onto a character very useful and I intend to put it into practice when building a character.”

If you think you have what it takes to become a professional dancer, actor, set designer or screenwriter/director and build a successful career in the theatre or film and TV industries, we’d like to hear from you. We have a great range of courses to get you started. Come along to one of our forthcoming open events.