On Thursday 9th October, we were joined in the Studio Theatre by alumna and actress Jess Inchbald (BGS 2015), who talked about her journey since leaving school to becoming an actress. 

Jess has always wanted to be an actress from a young age, but it has not been a linear path into acting for her. She acknowledged that getting into the acting environment is a competitive process and it took her three attempts to get into drama school, commencing her studies at the Guildford School of Acting. She thoroughly enjoyed her studies but unfortunately Covid interrupted her final year of study, halting final year productions and showcase events designed to illuminate aspiring actors to a wider audience. 

Jess was very open about discussing building her own resilience during quiet periods of work and creating a positive mindset when faced with challenges and rejection, always focusing on a ‘better yes’ in the future and continuing to develop her skills in a myriad of different areas to increase her versatility. Jess talked about the drama techniques, the differences between stage and screen acting and the increasing variety of acting style courses available, such as Acting Musicianship.

Jess finished up talking about her upcoming film premier, The Borley Rectory: The Awakening, where she plays one of the lead characters, Kitty. The film is based on the true story of what was described as the ‘most haunted house in Britain’. The film premiered on Monday and is available on most of the well-known streaming platforms thereafter.

Thank you, Jess, for spending time with our Senior School students and answering their many questions about the world of acting and concluding a week of interesting alumnae speakers.