‘Wolfblood’ Actress Advises Solihull Students

‘Wolfblood’ Actress Advises Solihull Students

Shorelle Hepkin who plays Kay in CBBC’s hit drama ‘Wolfblood’, has taken time out to give her top tips for a successful career in TV, film and theatre to local Solihull students.

Ms Hepkin’s workshop, held at Grace Academy Solihull, was designed to give students a genuine insight into life behind the scenes on a TV set including how the cameras get the best shots, stage direction, what real TV scripts look like, and how to find an agent.

As well as appearing in CBBC’s ‘Wolfblood’ series and many musical theatre productions, Ms Hepkin, has also appeared in a series of webisodes for ‘The Dumping Ground’, and recently filmed the groundbreaking E4 TV drama ‘Banana’ written by Russell T Davies.

Speaking about her TV and film experiences Ms Hepkin said:

“On my first day on the ‘Wolfblood’ set I had no idea who I’d been cast with but now we are like a family. I wanted to get across to the students what really happens on a set, the process you go through before you arrive, and the things you need to know such as how to hit marks and know where to stand. I had to learn all of this on the job but having even the slightest knowledge beforehand will make the students appear professional when they get on set for the first time.

“I would advise anyone going into this business to always be prepared because you never know who is going to be at an event, and first impressions really count. You will get knock-backs but you have to look to the future and not take things to heart. You will be criticized but you need to use this to make you a stronger person and not let your emotions get the better of you.

“This is my first visit to a school and I really want to give something back and share my knowledge to help the students on their way in this industry, and show them how to decide their chosen career path in musical theatre, acting, TV or film.”

Morgan Leigh Danks, one of the Year 13 students taking part in the workshop said:

“This was incredibly important to me. I want as many opportunities as possible to find out more about the industry and to know as much as I can about how to get into drama school. You might want to go on one path, but this workshop has shown me there are so many options open for me to pursue.”

The ‘Wolfblood’ series won the 2012 RTS Award for Best Children’s Drama and is now shown in over 70 countries worldwide on the Disney International Channel. Among the many theatre productions Ms Hepkin has appeared in are Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, Little Shop of Horrors, Grease, Godspell, High School Musical, Sweet Charity and the Wedding Singer.

Adam Hepkin, Artistic Specialist Educator for Grace Academy, added:

“We were delighted that Shorelle gave up time in her busy schedule to work with the students at Grace Academy. It is of vital importance that students continue to raise their aspirations and work with industry professionals is one such way that this is made possible. Our students benefited greatly from the workshop and went away with a realistic but positive outlook on the television and film industry.”