ALUMNI PROFILE – ANGHARAD (HARRY) WARREN – A CAREER IN THE PERFORMING ARTS 

In the latest of our semi-regular series of alumni profiles, we recently caught up with Angharad (Harry) Warren, student at Richmond School and Sixth Form College from 2011 – 2017. Harry is currently based in Newbury, Berkshire, working as a Project Lead for Careers in the Arts. She works closely with secondary schools in West Berkshire and North Hampshire, local authorities and community groups, as well as freelancers and industry professionals, sharing the project between two theatres: The Corn Exchange and The Watermill Theatre, Newbury. 

Harry was kind enough to answer our questions in great detail, giving us a fascinating insight into her journey through the world of the performing arts, but realising quite early on that her place was not on the stage as an actor. 

Read on! 

RS: Describe your time at and your memories of school / college. 

HW: I joined Richmond School at the start of Year 8 and stayed all the way through until Sixth Form. When I first started, I felt quite shy as I had never been to a school that big before! Throughout my time, I took part in various school productions including the Sound of Music and Wizard of Oz. I was also a member of the Sixth Form Drama Company in Year 12-13 and performed in various performances at the Georgian Theatre Royal, as well as my exam performances as part of GCSE Drama and A Level Theatre Studies. 

I also had the opportunity to run and teach a drama club for pupils at the Methodist Primary School across the road, which was great fun and really helped me develop skills I still use in my job now. Alongside my day job, I freelance as a Drama Facilitator and teach youth theatre groups. I had no idea this was an actual job until I was doing it – so it’s nice to look back and think that I was already doing this job when I was at school without even realising it – just for fun! 

I was a prefect when I was in Sixth Form and often shadowed or assisted in drama lessons for the younger years – I also did my Year 10 and 12 work experience in the school’s drama department – in fact, I spent most of my school years in the drama and music rooms! I absolutely adored Miss Southworth-Gedye and she really encouraged me to pursue my passions in theatre and acting, as well as supporting me through challenges and tough times. Sometimes, it felt quite a lonely place being the “drama kid”, especially as it always felt like people were telling you to “have a back-up plan”, or to “keep it as a hobby”. The drama department, however, always gave me the confidence that I could pursue my passions and help me to appreciate my own abilities and craft. 

Apart from drama, I really enjoyed my English lessons, particularly at GCSE with Miss Weston and A Level English Literature with Miss Montgomery and Mrs Wand. Although I remember feeling mildly terrified before lessons, especially when handing in essays or getting them back. Looking back, they were the most fun and memorable lessons and taught me a lot about my abilities and how to push myself academically. 

At GCSE, I got 4 Cs, 6 Bs and 1 A and at A Level I got 3 Cs. I accepted quite early on that I wasn’t the strongest academically compared to a lot of my friends (who were the kind of people who could get A*s with seemingly minimal effort!) but my strengths were when it came to practical exams or coursework – I would often get full marks! 

RS: What did you do straight after college?  

HW: Straight after my A Levels I went to the University of Winchester to study a BA (Hons) in Drama. I originally wanted to go to Drama School to study Acting. When I was auditioning, however, I realised quite quickly that it wasn’t the environment for me. When I auditioned for Winchester, though, I knew straight away that this would be the place for me! I was very lucky to receive an unconditional offer. 

University was phenomenal and absolutely the right choice for me. I threw myself into every opportunity I could: working for my Student Union as a Front of House Assistant, volunteering at Open Days, getting involved with the Acting Society, performing with local theatre companies and so much more! I was also learning about drama in a completely different way, and it thoroughly broadened my understanding of the subject, as well as allowing me to form my own opinions on what topics I did and didn’t like. It was during this time I was really thankful I had done four essay-based A Levels, as I was able to write academic papers and form critical analyses at a stronger level than others in the cohort – for the first time ever, I was the high-flyer of the class! 

I graduated with a 2:1 degree (1 mark off a 1st!); however, my third year was cut short by a few months due to Covid. I had always planned to go into the theatre industry in some capacity; however, when Covid hit and the Government were advising people in the arts to re-train, I was terrified that there wouldn’t be an industry to go into. So, I decided I would broaden my horizons and decided to embark on a Master of Arts course in English Literature at Winchester. 

Although I did not complete my MA fully, I came away with a Postgraduate Diploma and got a Merit. Looking back, doing this MA wasn’t the best path for me; however, it did make me realise that my opinions (even in the academic sense) matter and I was eloquent enough to voice them effectively. For someone who spent most of their school life accepting that they weren’t the strongest in an exam sense and would struggle to achieve A / A*s, my university experience was invaluable as it made me realise that there was nothing wrong with me, I just needed a different format to succeed. 

Alongside all my university adventures and extra-curricular activities, I also worked in a tea shop up in Muker, or in a petrol station in Hawes when I came home for the holidays. Doing this made me develop those ‘soft skills’ – talking to people, problem solving etc. – and also built up my confidence. 

RS: What did you do next? 

HW: I was offered my first full-time position towards the end of my master’s, working as a Programme Administrator at the university’s Performing Arts Department. I didn’t quite realise I was a very organised person until my dissertation supervisor saw how I worked and told me: “You’d make a great administrator!” I was responsible for all the administration for five of the Performing Arts degrees, including Drama – so it was weird to have my university lecturers become my work colleagues! I also took on other projects and responsibilities working for the arts faculty, sitting on different committees and organising a range of events for the students. 

After a year of being an admin, I was fortunate enough to be promoted to the Department Co-ordinator, so was responsible for running the entire Performing Arts department, including looking after the budget – that felt very daunting!  

However, it was at this time I realised that I wasn’t doing what I wanted to do with my life. I was told by many people that I showed a great deal of potential as I had been promoted at such a young age and within only one year; however, I couldn’t help but feel that even though I was making progress, I was on the wrong path! My passion had always been theatre and from the age of 11, I knew that’s where I wanted to be – and I wasn’t there. 

I started looking for other jobs but realised very quickly I had no idea what jobs there were in theatre other than being an actor. That’s when I found a position called ‘Careers in the Arts Project Co-ordinator’. I had no clue what that job meant, but after doing some research, I realised that the Careers in the Arts project was about educating young people about all the roles available to them in the theatre sector and tackling the misconception that you can only work in theatre if you’re an actor. Honestly, I felt I needed to be educated by the project more than actually co-ordinating it! However, I knew I had the skills from my previous admin and co-ordinator jobs so sent my application in (in secret!) and was shocked when I got an interview and then got the job! 

After doing the job for four months and successfully getting this new project off the ground, I was promoted to Careers in the Arts Project Lead, and I’ve been here for the last 2 years. 

RS: What are you doing now? 

HW: Within my role as Careers in the Arts Project Lead, I am responsible for organising and planning (sometimes delivering) all the opportunities and activities we offer to young people. I work very closely with all the secondary schools in West Berkshire and North Hampshire, as well as the local authorities and community groups. I also build relationships with freelancers and industry professionals, who deliver our workshop content. I get to combine my creative and organisation skills by coming up with new opportunities and then figure out how we deliver them. The project is shared between two theatres, Corn Exchange Newbury and The Watermill Theatre, so I get to work across both teams and get to experience what working in two theatres is like! 

Our project covers many areas including careers fairs, school assemblies, school workshops, after school workshops, work experience, traineeships, early career provision and open day events. One of our most successful projects was us taking part in Discover! Creative Careers Week where in the space of one week in November 2024, we visited 8 schools, delivered 22 workshops to 301 students (I personally delivered 10 of them) and attended 3 careers fairs which were attended by 4,300 young people. I organised the whole week: establishing the content of the week; getting in touch with all the schools; organising the timings; contacting, booking and paying facilitators; ensuring all the safeguarding / photo permissions were in place; organising risk assessments, workshop materials and then driving to all the places and supporting the actual delivery – a very tiring but very rewarding week! 

As we are a funded project, I also have to help with the reporting of numbers, statistics and feedback from our participants as well as working out how we gather that data in the most effective way possible. This job has helping me develop my strategic thinking, especially when it comes to making financial decisions and decisions that will impact the project in the long term. 

It is an incredibly rewarding job, as I get to help young people who were in the same position as I was when I was their age. 

RS: What are your plans for the future?  

HW: I have no clue! At the moment I am very happy with my job and with the people I work with. My project is funded until September 2025, so the course of my career will very much be determined by whether or not our funding continues. However, I know that I will stay in the theatre industry and look for opportunities working with community engagement or in creative learning / outreach with young people. 

RS: Looking back, what advice would you have for our current students?  

HW: Do what makes you happy! We place so much pressure on ourselves from such a young age, whether that be to achieve certain grades or to have figured out what it is we want to do with the rest of our lives / careers. It’s absolutely okay – completely normal in fact – to not have anything figured out! Do things that make you happy – the rest will fall into place.