The 2010 Genesis LAMDA scholars have been selected!

The Genesis LAMDA scholars for 2010 have now been selected and we can announce that the two students receiving support from the Genesis Foundation in order to fund their studies at LAMDA are Ryan Donaldson and Sam Mc Avoy.

John Bashford, Vice-Principal (Vocational) at LAMDA says:

“What impressed us all was the potential that the candidates showed, the specificity of their choices and raw passion that we believe can be nurtured to fulfil its potential during their training at LAMDA.”

In order to be considered for the scholarship, potential candidates were required to submit a supporting statement, extracts of which are below.

Ryan Donaldson

I am eighteen years old and I have just finished my final year at Methodist College Belfast completing my A levels in Drama and Theatre Studies, English Literature and History.

Having researched the Genesis Foundation, I can only stress how appreciative I am to be considered for this prestigious and valued scholarship and would like to thank the Genesis Foundation and John Studzinski for giving me this opportunity.

I remember when I first knew I wanted to be an actor: I saw Observe the sons of Ulster marching towards the Somme when I was twelve at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast and I was immediately smitten with the world of acting.

Dreams are free, reality is not however. I have lived on a small farm in Northern Ireland my whole life and although I have no experience of paid employment, I have been helping my father in the fields for as long as I can remember. As I have matured, I have adopted a more active role on the farm and work before and after school to help my parents.

The dream which I have held for so many years now has been partly realised by the offer of a place to train at LAMDA. Although my parents have done their utmost to help me pursue my ambitions, the cost of supporting me through drama school is a cost which they have not had in the past and one which they cannot afford in the future. Undoubtedly, without this scholarship, my efforts to embrace the world class training offered at LAMDA will be diluted by the necessity of undertaking extra work to enable me to live. 

This scholarship would allow me to focus totally on the work required and make drama school more viable for me. It would allow me to commit heart and soul to the training at LAMDA, enabling me to fulfil my dream for the future and to pursue my career as an actor with all the commitment and passion I can bring to it. It is everything to me. I am very honoured to be considered for this scholarship and grateful for the opportunity it affords me.

Sam McAvoy

I am seventeen and I have recently been accepted for the Three Year Acting Course at LAMDA, starting in September 2010. I was thrilled to receive this offer of a place and I am very keen to begin the course. To be offered a Scholarship on top of this is not only an honour and an encouragement, but it would provide me with valuable support to achieve my potential and focus fully on my training.

From an early age, people around me noticed that I had some talent for both music and drama. These skills have been developed through my school career and given a disciplined foundation in ‘The Riding Lights Theatre Company’ in my home town of York.

At the age of thirteen, I auditioned for National Youth Theatre and was accepted as a member at the youngest age possible. I was invited, in my first year, to take part in a new contemporary drama, White Boy at the Soho Theatre, London (summer 2007), which proved to be an extremely successful production. Experiencing this intense process helped me to understand the focus and commitment needed to progress as an actor and creative artist.

From this point on my drive to seek professional training was heightened and has resulted in my application to LAMDA. I am at a stage now where new challenges fuel me and increasing my experience and versatility as an actor becomes more important to me every day.

As I am still in education and not yet earning, the financial support of a Genesis Foundation scholarship would help launch my acting career and provide greater security in these uncertain financial times. I would like to thank LAMDA for nominating me for this Scholarship, and the Genesis Foundation for considering me as a candidate. I feel both humbled and excited by this prospect.