Earlier this autumn we were absolutely delighted that alumnae Lizzie Stables (RHSB 2005) and Ruth Morrison (RHSB 2003) were able to join our panel of judges for the Young Actor of the Year Final. Lizzie is an Actor and Artistic Director of Folio Theatre Company whilst Ruth is an Agent at Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency, so this was a wonderful opportunity for students to receive feedback from two very experienced industry professionals – albeit remotely as is the Covid-friendly way!

Afterwards we caught up with Lizzie who shared some background on her career and told us a little about being on the judging panel.

What are your memories of drama at school?

I feel so lucky to have been a student at RHS, it was such a nurturing environment and our headteacher at the time, Mr Graham-Brown was incredibly encouraging - the school was a great support when I was auditioning for drama school. I have many wonderful memories, but a particular highlight was playing the guard in the Wizard of Oz which was so much fun.

What inspired you to become an actor and what do you enjoy most about your choice of career?

I'm not sure of the exact moment I decided I wanted to be an actor. I always loved acting but I enjoyed other subjects too - I didn't even do drama for GCSE. It wasn't until I did National Youth Theatre when I was 16 that I started thinking seriously it was something I might like to do for a career. When I applied for Drama School in Sixth Form, I also applied for university courses in Drama and French - I was still open to where my future career might go. When I got into Central (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London) the process of being there for the auditions affirmed for me that I wanted to go, and I feel fortunate to have had that opportunity. It's a very hard career but I feel lucky to have had the amazing experience of doing my dream job - though that's not to say I haven't also had to do lots of less rewarding work to make ends meet sometimes!

What was it like coming back to school as a judge?

I was honoured to be asked to judge Young Actor of the Year and it was really nice to be invited back but I was gutted not to be able to attend in person! We would never have had anything like this in our day and I was blown away by the standard - all the performances were brilliant, and we had a very hard job choosing the winners. I really enjoyed chatting with the performers afterwards and hearing about their future plans.

What are your top tips for any students considering a career as an actor?

Be sure it is what you want, be brave and don't wait for other people to make your career for you, create your own path. Keep cultivating other interests, mainly for your own mental health and wellbeing but you also never know when they may come in useful as an actor!

Well done to our students for giving Lizzie and Ruth such a hard job and thank you again to Lizzie and Ruth for supporting Drama at RHSB. We look forward to welcoming you back to RHSB again soon – we hope next time in person. Rumour has it that Ruth even expressed an interest in a couple of our students so watch this space!