Rosa Higgs studied MA Theatre for Young Audiences, and graduated in 2022. We caught up with Rosa and asked her to share her experiences of studying at Rose Bruford College and how her education has helped her to succeed in the industry.
What did you like most about studying at Rose Bruford College?
The energy on the campus is amazing. It’s a beautiful place. Because of the type of courses the College does, it feels creative. Not just one type of the arts, it crosses boundaries. It feels like a hub of creativity. Professional but fun and creative and welcoming. I’ve worked with students on other courses, which was great because you got to feed off other people’s talents as well as your own.
How has your course helped you to get to where you are today?
I’m now a part of Little Angel Theatre, a children’s puppetry theatre in Islington. I design and deliver workshops and perform for them. The role combines all of the skills that I learnt on the course. Great links with children’s theatres were also cultivated during time at college for example with visiting lecturers, which provided me with amazing contacts for when I graduated.
What has been the highlight of your career to date?
My company, Boots and Moon were invited to perform at Norwich Puppet Theatre and Theatre Alibi in Exeter. It was such a great opportunity.
Through Little Angel I was also asked to develop a baby show, Persephone- A Tale of the Seasons which I have performed a run of. And next year I’m taking it on a UK tour including to the Chichester Festival Theatre.
It was lovely to be asked by the artistic director to be a part of this. We had a very equal say in the content, it was truly collaborative. I found it amazing to perform in front of new and different audiences, the youngest of which was only two weeks old! We had lots of first birthdays and seeing the impact on their parents was incredible. It was great to see young ones engage in theatre in this way. I remember having a visitor from Norway who was a child therapist, who said the show was amazing and ticked all of the boxes developmentally for children and their families. It was incredible to hear this.
I’ve also guest lectured at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama on their Applied Theatre Course, and next year I’ll be supporting a course with MA students at Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
So many highlights to date!
How have you stayed connected to Rose Bruford College since graduation?
I’m still in contact with my course leader and keep him up to date with what I’m doing. I meet Rose Bruford College lecturers who directed the shows I was in at events. It’s a small world. I always like to keep an eye on social media to see what my classmates are doing and I’ve even had contact with other alumni working for other theatre agencies that we collaborate with. I have a theatre company with two other alumni called Boots and Moon. I met my partner at the college too!
What would you say to a student who is thinking of applying for your course today?
Do it! You have to be passionate about why you’re doing it. I was always passionate about making work accessible. I stumbled upon the course by accident, but thought it ticked all the boxes and sounded like fun. It’s given me so many opportunities. Do it because you care about the course and are passionate about creating work for young people. Theatre for young people and families is growing in popularity, it will surprise you the amount of amazing theatre that is out there.
You can make some really beautiful work in this genre and it’s such good fun. Plus, it’s a really small world so there’s a family feel to it.
Pick three words to describe Rose Bruford College
Creative
Inspiring
Passionate
Find out more about Rosa
@rosahiggs
@bootsandmoon