A day in the life of an Applied Theatre student

Molly McDermott is a current student of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire who studies BA (Hons) Applied Theatre. She describes to us her typical Tuesday routine and her daily schedule which requires her to attend singing sessions, drop-in to zoom gatherings with the acting school and a little coffee-catch up with her peers. 

My Typical Tuesday

Like most university students, the start of the week is always the hardest when it comes to getting out of bed. My Tuesday starts at 7:30 am, it is a struggle, but I get some coffee and food in me and I'm good to go! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, no argument necessary, and I like to make myself something semi-healthy to prepare my body for a day of practical work: my personal favourite is smashed avocado on toast. Once I’ve fuelled myself up I drag myself back upstairs to get myself ready, before beginning my commute into Birmingham. 

During these freezing winter mornings, I try to get a lift from my parents whenever possible, however, that’s not always an option so I’m stuck with the bus. Traffic can be such a nightmare, as well as the constant road works, so I have to make sure I’m prepared for any delays with lots and lots of layers of scarves and woolly jumpers. I honestly remind myself of a primary school child travelling into school on a snowy day.

Once I’ve made it into the Conservatoire, my friends and I all usually meet up in the common room before going into class. We have a little catch-up and spill all the tea (gossip) that’s happened over the weekend. We are all so thankful that we can still have face-to-face teaching with Terina on a Tuesday, it usually starts with some fun games to warm us up and get us prepared for a full day. Snack-time is important for keeping the energy up in our group, it’s one of my favourite times within the day, and we always end up grabbing a coffee from the Curzon Building and drinking it as fast as possible to make it back in time. After our session with Terina, it’s time for singing. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we have to either go into groups or a 1-1 session, thankfully nobody’s been deafened by my awful singing voice just yet. Each session I go in with full of butterflies thinking I’m about to cry, but it’s never as scary as it seems, I’m just being a drama queen. 

Most of my days are the same, apart from Fridays, where there’s usually a Zoom drop-in session for people in the acting school; people just attend to joke around and lighten up the mood, it has proven to be a great alternative to going out at the moment. Although there are so many restrictions, I love going for walks around Birmingham with my friends, showing them where I grew up. The canal is so beautiful at night, some people skate around which is always a laugh; especially when they try to teach me how to skate, I’m definitely not suited to it. I just have no balance!

After a full day of lessons, we usually grab food and we find somewhere to sit and eat it all together. One of my favourite spots are the stairs by St Martin’s Church. Sadly, there’s not much we can do at the moment, so we go for a little walk before heading our separate ways to go home. I usually get a lift home, as I finish around 17:00 pm which is when rush hour starts; it can be such a pain, but definitely worth it. Once I’m home, I make sure I’ve done all my work that’s been set and brainstorm any ideas for my upcoming assessments. I do try to stay healthy with my dinners. I typically make myself chicken with rice and broccoli, and it’s so tasty! The TV show ‘I’m a Celebrity...’ is such a lifesaver at the moment, it helps me keep track of the night, otherwise, I’d end up working until 3:00 am. I try to make sure I’m in bed ready to sleep by 21:00 pm.