Rosie Dart, Alumna 2016

At just 22 years old Queen Anne’s alumna Rosie Dart has an impressive CV. Recently graduated from Durham University, she showcased her work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August and is about to take on the crowds again at the Vault Festival in London. Rosie looks back at her school days and tells us about the busy life since graduating.

“My interest in drama and acting started at school and it just grew each year. I went to the Dolphin Prep School which was hugely creative and I loved all the arts opportunities on offer. When I started at Queen Anne’s I thought that art was going to be ‘my thing’ but I ended up spending more and more time in the drama department. ‘Metamorphosis’ in Sixth Form was one of my favourite shows. I performed alongside my best friends, which really made it meaningful. They’re still my closest friends today and we share happy memories of our time at school together. 

After school, I won the Vice Chancellor’s scholarship for Drama at University of Durham where I read English Literature. I immediately became involved in the drama societies and over three years I took part in almost 30 shows! You have to be focussed on managing your time and it obviously has to be something you are truly passionate about. 

In my third year at university I started a children’s theatre company and co-wrote a piece with a friend called ‘Tappuccino’. The short interactive musical follows the story of a coffee bean that is harvested in the Amazon rainforest and explores topics such as deforestation in a fun and child centric way. Its funny and unpredictable performing a show for children. You just never know what they are going to say! 
We performed the show at the Edinburgh Fridge Festival 2019 and were blown away by the response, which included a 4 star review from the festival and being listed in “The Top 10 Best Family Shows to see at Edinburgh”. At the end of February (2020) we will perform the show at The Vault Festival in London, which again is a real achievement. 

My other show ‘We’ll have Nun of it’ has just been shortlisted for the Pleasance Award for Edinburgh Fringe 2020. It is such an honour to be included in such a prestigious award and I’m excited at the prospect of returning to Edinburgh. The festival has a fantastic atmosphere and you just want to take in as much as possible. Some days you are seeing 10 shows and that’s on top of rehearsing and performing your own show. Its hard work but I can’t wait to get stuck in!” 

Rosie returned to QAS in 2021 to talk to the Lower 6 about her career in casting