"Southwark College is a vibrant place where you get prepared for the world outside of education. When I was there I was in the company of good friends, I had an amazing tutor, and we were all doing what we loved to do. It was hard work but it didn’t feel like it."
The acting world can be tough to break into, but studying for a BTEC National Diploma at Southwark College has been the key to success for 23-year-old Ibrahim Shote.
With the help of his tutor, he went on to gain a place on the Young Vic’s well-known ‘Introduction to Directing’ programme after completing his BTEC, and now works as a freelance director and actor at the Young Vic and other theatres.
In Ibrahim’s job, no two days are the same. “When directing I usually arrive at rehearsal 15 to 30 minutes before anyone else, go through my plans for the day and have a chat with my Assistant Director. Once the actors arrive I do a very physical warm-up to get everyone ready and from then on it’s just going through scenes, blocking (positioning the actors on stage), doing character work – and having lots of tea breaks! When I’m acting I just have to learn my lines, do my personal character work and follow directions.
“The best things about my career are that I get to meet and work with all types of people. I also get to travel the world and show my art to people from different cultures, which gives me a great sense of satisfaction and freedom. Knowing that I’m connecting with every single person watching means there’s this kind of weird unspoken dialogue going on."
Ibrahim has very fond memories of his time at Southwark College which helped him to develop his personal skills and confidence, as well as perfecting his acting craft.
“When I’m preparing for an audition, a lot of what I do was learnt while I was at college. Things that I picked up – even simple things like introducing yourself – still help me today, not just in auditions but in daily life.
“My best and proudest memory was performing a play called ‘Posh’ as our final major project. We posed for a photo on the stairs outside after the production and I have this framed on my wall.”
