Acting alumna on forging a creative practice that's entirely your own

"I'm Beck Watts. I'm an actor, and I'm currently working with Miracle Theatre on their production of Peer Gynt.

"So, Peer Gynt is this really wacky tale. It's written by Henrik Ibsen. It's all about Norwegian folklore, and it's this man who goes on this crazy journey. It's his whole life. The play originally was three or four hours long, sort of unperformable, I guess, in a way. And Miracle have taken it and they've made it accessible and approachable.

"I was really attracted to the idea of doing the BA(Hons) Acting course at Falmouth because it's based on a conservatoire model, so you get this lovely balance of this real progression from skills into performance, but you also get that uni lifestyle, and also you get so many other courses that you can collaborate with. You've got film, you've got animation, game design. I mean, being in Cornwall is so amazing, and having a uni where you have a beach on your doorstep is just incredible. It's such an amazing experience.

"Right at the end, you do a final performance, and it's just this really lovely opportunity to see exactly how far you've all come as a cohort from the start. It all comes to fruition in this really beautiful way, and it's just progressed perfectly throughout the three years. They really encourage you to be the best version of yourself.

"I think that I've definitely come away from Falmouth Uni with this creative practice that is mine, and it's backed up by all these amazing practitioners and my lecturers and all the support I got. So, I come into this industry quite confident, I think, that I have a practice and a toolkit that I understand and that I can use in my own way.

"I got a placement at Bristol Old Vic on this year-long residency theatre maker course. And then from there, it all sort of snowballed, and I got one job that led me to this job.

"It's really lovely actually being in an industry that I thought was so closed, but really it's just people who want to work with people.

"So, Miracle Theatre have been running for about 45 years. They tend to do these performances that are just really approachable for all audiences to enjoy. We've been touring Peer Gynt across the southwest, one or two shows in each venue, and it's pretty intense. It is a lot of hard work, but hard work in a really fulfilling, brilliant way. I think it's really all I could ask for. It's just such a fulfilling life and I'm so lucky to do what I do."

BA(Hons) Acting will be renamed BA(Hons) Acting for Stage & Screen for all new students from September 2027.