Emma Thompson named Patron for Performing Arts School
Emma Thompson named Patron for Performing Arts School
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Academy Award-winning actress Emma Thompson has taken on a new role as Patron of Edinburgh College’s Performing Arts School of Scotland (PASS).
The Nanny McPhee actress says, ‘Edinburgh College’s Performing Arts Studio of Scotland is an exciting, high octane, cutting edge centre that will attract much of the wealth of talent in Scotland and beyond. I’m very proud to be patron.’
Former students of performing arts courses at Edinburgh College include Scottish actress Karen Gillan, who starred in BBC’s Doctor Who.
Thompson was introduced to the studio by former Scottish Youth Theatre (SYT) student John Naples-Campbell who is now an acting and theatre performance lecturer at Edinburgh College.
He said: “I first met Emma when I was 18 years old at the SYT. She came along to the theatre to hold a Q&A session with SYT students and after listening to her talk about her career in the industry, I felt driven to continue with my career in performing arts which is why I am an acting and theatre performance lecturer today.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have Emma Thompson as patron as this means that our training at Edinburgh College is truly recognised by the very best in the industry.
“We look forward to welcoming her to our productions in the college’s theatre wherever possible, and we hope to work around her schedule to hold workshops with our students.
“Emma is an inspirational person, not only because of her many Academy Awards but also because of her work as a human rights ambassador.
“Her tremendous work on stage and screen gives hope to any young person wishing to pursue a career in the arts and I know that having her as our patron will motivate and inspire our students to reach their full creative potential.”
Emma first came to prominence in 1987 in two BBC TV series, Tutti Frutti and Fortunes of War, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her work in both. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End. The following year Thompson garnered dual Academy Award nominations, as Best Actress for The Remains of the Day and as Best Supporting Actress for In the Name of the Father.
In 1995, Thompson scripted and starred in Sense and Sensibility, a film adaptation of the Jane Austen novel of the same name, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role among other awards. Other notable film and television credits have included the Harry Potter film series, Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Wit (2001), Love Actually (2003), Angels in America (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), Stranger than Fiction (2006), Last Chance Harvey (2008), An Education (2009), Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010), Men in Black 3 (2012) and Brave (2012). In 2012, Thompson authored The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the publication of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
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