QMYOU Alumni Magazine Issue 75 | Page 23

W e caught up with Stef after recently hearing that the play ‘Roadkill’, of which she was a writer, had won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. Since then Stef has worked on a number of productions, including writing her own show ‘Falling/Flying’ (pictured below). Postcard from Stef Smith What are your best memories of QMU? Definitely working together with the other people on my programme. We formed a really tight-knit group through our practical work and collaborations and I still see a lot of them out there, working in the theatre industry. What have you been up to since leaving QMU? Most of my work has been as a direct result of my final year placement. I secured What aspects of your degree do you still use? I learned about all aspects of the theatre and the technical background to creating and running a show. So whilst I specialised in Direction, it’s really helpful that I experienced all of these other things. Everything I learned at QMU is so ingrained in my daily work that I don’t really notice it – it’s more of a solid grounding in all aspects of theatre. What does winning an Olivier Award mean to you? It’s weird because the show came out two years ago and I’ve worked on a lot of other things in the interim. It’s a great boost to win something like that though. Olivier Awards are internationally recognised so to be associated with that is a great way to have people take note of what you’re doing. Stef is currently working with the National Theatre of Scotland’s Literary Manager on some of her new creative pieces. BA(Hons) Drama and Theatre Arts (Specialism in Directing) - 2009 What made you chose to study at QMU? I had an idea of what I wanted to study at University and then I went along to the QMU Open Day and had an opportunity to meet with the staff and see some of the programme first hand. All the academic staff seemed incredibly supportive and the programme looked to give a good balance between the academic side of theatre and the more practical, active skills that you need to learn to get ahead. a placement with David Leddy’s company ‘Fire Exit’, working as an Assistant Director on his production ‘Sub Rosa’. After that finished, David asked me to stay on for a couple of other projects and it has all snowballed from there. QMYOU / Graduate News 23