Ruairi McClean

Outline your past achievements and interests:

I have been exploring my passion for acting since a young age, participating in school shows and taking classes outside school. I especially love comedic acting, physical comedy and playing colourful characters.

What was been the highlight of the drama studio course so far?

My highlight has been the Comedia Dell’ Arte workshop where we learnt about this ancient Italian style of comedy. It was such a unique and immersive learning opportunity where I got to push myself doing a style of acting I love. We were all trying something new together and crying laughing with each other which was a great memory.

What are your future goals? Is this course beneficial in helping achieve these?

My goals are to go to drama school and become a working actor. The drama studio has been incredibly helpful for me because I have gained so much confidence and drive and it has completely reshaped how I think and feel about acting. The drama studio teachers have given me strong tools for approaching monologues and auditions and given me endless advice about choosing the right path.

Why did you choose to do the Drama Studio course?

I chose to do this course as a stepping stone to drama school. I wanted to push myself and become a better actor to develop my acting techniques. I felt doing this course would give me a more varied experience of different styles of acting and allow me to figure out who I am as an actor.

Does the course differ from any preconceptions you may have had?

I was anticipating this course being very intense, intimidating and competitive in a stressful way. However, I have found that although I work very hard in this course, it is always enjoyable as there is such a friendly, collaborative atmosphere where you can get things wrong and then you’re shown how to improve. I wasn’t sure how my own strengths and interests in acting would be dealt with in the course, but there is such an emphasis on individuality and valuing what each person brings to the room which means we all support each other and become confident in our own acting.