Stasha Dukic studied MA Theatre for Young Audiences, and graduated in 2019. We caught up with Stasha 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?
I finished my degree in Acting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo in 2012. Since then, I worked in theatre as an actress but I also worked as a facilitator with children, and I directed shows for them, with them. I was interested in finding out more about different approaches to theatre involving young people and when I researched courses to apply for, the only one that was appropriate was Rose Bruford College’s Theatre for Young People MA course, now the Theatre for Children and Young People MA/MFA.
I was very lucky as MA TYA and MA Actor-Musicianship were mostly united that year and I was offered the best of both worlds, giving me the experience of both, how to be an actor/musician and how to utilize those skills when it comes to creating work ‘’with’’, ‘’for’’, and ‘’by’’ children and young adults.
How has your course helped you to get to where you are today?
Everything I have done since graduating is because of the course. TYA community is quite small but makes some groundbreaking theatre. Our course leader Jeremy was well connected and offered us so many opportunities to learn from leading industry names who came to the College to work with us. He also helped us to get a foot in the door of this very specialist industry, which has helped me to work consistently since leaving college.
What has been the highlight of your career to date?
So many highlights to date, including winning an award (International Theatre Festival MESS, Best Young Actress) for the role of Stella in ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ and appearing in films that have premiered at the Cannes festival and won Un Certain Regard (Children of Sarajevo), and theatre show nominated for Best Children’s Show at Offies 2021 (Paper Aeroplane by Half Moon Theatre and Lots of Odds). I’ve also been the main puppeteer in the production of “Alice in Wonderland” at the New Vic Theatre, playing the Cheshire cat and the Jabberwock.
But possibly one of my greatest achievements has been the founding of my company, alongside another Rose Burford College alumni, Sarah Allwright. Jump Rope Theatre is a company creating theatre for children and young adults with the mission to bring joy and cultural understanding to young people children through innovative plays. I’ve developed a show for key stage 2 children which I take to schools who receive it for free. I wrote the show about my experiences as a child refugee.
I am currently performing in two baby shows; ‘Counting Sheeps’ with The Herd company, and ‘Soft or Spiky?’ at Polka Theatre in co-production with Half Moon Theatre. And I am an artist with PlaygroundKent.
How have you stayed connected to Rose Bruford College since graduation?
I’ve kept in close contact with Jeremy since I left college and have been back to campus to teach at the youth theatre on occasion. I also performed at the symposium on campus this year, which was a wonderful experience to be back at the lovely leafy campus in Sidcup.
What would you say to a student who is thinking of applying for your course today?
It’s a great choice because working in children’s theatre and with young audiences is brave and is an area that is currently taking risks. Conversations are being raised about it and young theatre seems to be braver than theatre for adults. The course provides a great opportunity to study the genre and provides you with an insight that can help you to enter a range of different careers. The opportunities and things you learn can be transferred to a range of community projects, and can help you to be proactive rather than sitting back and waiting for things to come to you. There is a big focus on community work, which is where the Arts Council is focused.
Pick three words to describe Rose Bruford College
Creativity, Musicality, Freedom
Find out more about Stasha
@stashadukic
Co-Artistic Director @jumpropetheatre
https://www.spotlight.com/0615-5647-7758