In the Spotlight is our regular feature where we meet current students from our Performing Arts faculty, made up of Institute for Contemporary Theatre, Northern Ballet School, and Performers College. This week we meet Chloe Leonard, a second-year BA Acting for Stage, Screen and Digital Media student from our Birmingham campus.
What inspired you to train in Acting?
Acting was something I loved from a young age because it gave me the chance to explore different situations and characters that were outside my comfort zone. Acting also allowed me to develop social and creative skills which will hugely benefit me on and off-stage too.
Why did you choose Performers College?
Growing up in a working-class household in the West Midlands, I never thought a specialist college would be in reach for me. Performers College Birmingham provided access to all the professional training I wanted whilst also being able to stay local to the area I grew up in and love. When I visited the open day, the faculty and students were amazing and it instantly felt like home. They were also really helpful with the application process and made it easy for me.
What’s your personal highlight of your time at Performers College so far?
My personal highlight at Performers College would be our Contemporary play within the first semester of Second year. Being within the cast of ‘A Sweet Science of Bruising’ was a highlight as it was our first performance as a course. Our director Alan Magor created a fun environment within rehearsals, and it felt like I’d really accomplished something huge when the show was over. To see and feel that our hard work had really paid off made it all worth it.
Where do you hope your career takes you in the future?
In the future I currently hope to work within Classical plays, with Shakespeare being the main focus of my career. I love how Shakespeare is easily adaptable and can be interpreted in lots of different ways. I’d love to make Shakespeare more accessible to people who may not be able to afford to go to The Globe or The RSC due to geographical limitations. I would love to create a West Midlands based Shakespeare company touring about the West Midlands, providing shows for low-income families of all ages.
What advice would you give to someone applying to Performers College?
Be true to yourself! Embrace who you are, even if you think the industry won’t accept you. All the faculty and students at Performers College are accepting and we love everyone for their own individual personalities. I love being at Performers College as you are encouraged to own who you are. Be brave, be bold and be you!
What else have you been working on?
I am currently working on our second-year classical play, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet playing the character of Balthasar. We have all been working hard within rehearsals and it’s been so rewarding working with our director, Josh Parr. I can’t wait to show what we have been working on!
I have also had the opportunity to collaborate with the students at Screen and Film School for their directing module. I worked with two directors performing two different monologues to camera. One from the film La La Land and one from The Shawshank Redemption. This allowed me to further develop my skills when working with a director in front of a camera and provided me with footage I can use in my showreels to get jobs within the industry. Sharing a campus with Screen and Film School has been a huge benefit for everyone involved!
To discover more about Performers College, including auditions and how to apply, contact us at [email protected] or book an Open Day on our Events page.
