In the Spotlight is our regular feature where we meet current students from Performers College. This week we meet Jack Payton, a third-year BA Acting for Stage, Screen and Digital Media student from our Birmingham campus.
What inspired you to train in Acting?
When I was 7 years old I started to attend after school drama club and theatre schools, but it wasn’t until later when I was around 16 that I fully realised acting was the career for me. I started a BTEC Diploma that specialised in drama and loved how every student was able to showcase their talents and didn’t feel emabarrassed or shy to do so. After spending three years there I felt I had built a stable foundation for myself to be able to carry on and further develop my craft at Performers College.
Why did you choose Performers College Birmingham?
I looked at other places that specialised in acting, and while those places have been offering acting courses for quite some time, I saw that Performers was launching the Acting for Stage Screen and Digital Media course. It felt like here I could explore different ways of acting and not be bogged down in curriculum that may be stuck in its ways. I’ll be in the first year to actually graduate on this course, and it’s been exciting to experience a fresh course that lets young actors explore topics like physical theatre, screen acting, motion capture and more, to feel like I’m really learing about today’s industry. I feel like my class will be actors that can be versatile in their craft because of how forward thinking the course is.
What’s your personal highlight of your time at Performers College so far?
It was a privilidge and joy to be cast as Romeo in our second-year Classical Play production, Romeo and Juliet and work alongside amazing creatives throughout the rehearsals and pre-production, however being on stage and performing the final play was the biggest highlight. Showing off the hard work that all of the cast had put in was a proud moment, and the perfect end to second year.
What advice would you give to someone applying to Performers College?
The best advice I can give is don’t put yourself in a box before joining – dont pidgenhole yourself as a specific sort of actor just because maybe that’s what you’ve been good at so far. Be open to trying out new things in your training and dont be afraid to fail, thats what your three years is all about; trying, failing, succeeding, but whatever happens, always developing.
Where do you hope your career takes you in the future?
After our second year plays; The Sweet Science of Bruising and Romeo and Juliet I’ve figured out that stage acting is what I want to focus on after my final year, and developing my craft in the theatre. I’d also like to develop my singing skills, and an acting musical like Next to Normal is a perfect example of where I would love to be as a performer. It would be great to be able to both sing and act whilst portraying complicated and vulnerable real charactes to a live audience.
What else have you been working on?
I have been fortunate enough to have been a part of various student films and collaborated with new Midlands artists, directors and writers, some of which have gone on to win awards – such as Whistling Dixie which succeeded in winning the Best Student Film category at this years Worcester Film Festival. It was so exciting to work with creatives from the Birmingham area, including some fellow Performers College students!
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.
