Abbie Louise Cook

Why did you decide to pick this course?

When I was little, I joined a youth theatre where I live and did a bunch of different musicals through them - such as Scrooge, Greece, Addams family - and I kind of just knew that's what I wanted to go into. It's very much a career that, because of how challenging it is, you have to know you want to do it. It naturally came about that that's what I wanted to do, I kind of just knew!

What is your favourite thing about the course?

I think just how many opportunities there is with the course - you get opportunities to learn and at the end of each unit, you get to showcase what you've learned. You have an end goal where you learn all these skills and then you get to show them off and be like 'I've learned this, I can now do this'. It's very rewarding.

Has there been any stand out or memorable moments from your course?

I'd have to say when we did ‘Fame’ the musical, as we hadn’t been performing because of the lockdown and the pandemic, but we got to do the full performance back in March. I was nice to be back on stage again. It was still to a brick wall, as there was no audience, but it really made me think back to 'this is what I want to do'.

What do you like about the campus?

It's very accessible, so it's quite easy to get to. It's very close to the city centre so you've got everything - you've got the hills behind you and then you can go into town, which isn't too far of a walk, so it's all very accessible.

What are your plans for after you finish your course?

I plan to stay here for another year and continue to the HND and then see where life takes me after that.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about studying at UHI Perth?

Definitely, do it. It's a risk to come and study musical theatre, specifically because it's not all glitz and glamour and jazz hands! That is part of it, but it's a very mentally draining subject but it's so worth it and coming to Perth, it's such a beautiful location, I would just do it.