Richard Edwards- Full-time student + Theatre Maker = A young man passionate about storytelling, learning & balance
The Path to Higher Education
Where were you born Richard? And what was it like?
I was born in Inala, Brisbane. Lived there until I finished preschool, and then my family moved to Toowoomba. I’ve been in Toowoomba for most of my life. Growing up in Inala was interesting. Our house was on the border of three different gang territories and my brother was a kind of diplomat, making friends with a lot of members of the different gangs. So my family was practically untouchable.
What is your earliest fond memory of Toowoomba?
That would be in grade seven, when I played the lead character in the school play. It was a twenty minute game show set in space, designed for children.
Was that the reason you entered into theatre?
That was more of a recent thing. When I was younger I wanted to be a travelling author, writing about the places I travelled to. Then as I got older I started looking into sciences. Biology, psychology and physiology, neurology... For Uni I was offered a place in Acting at QUT, but chose to accept the Acting minor and Theatre Major in the USQ Creative Arts program. After my first year I ended focusing more on writing than the practical exercises of the course. Came full circle.
What’s your passion in theatre?
The storytelling. I enjoy telling stories, and to be able to make money in it, through time and learning, is the goal. There’s a lot of crap out there in theatre, film and video games. So I want to create stories I want to see.
How do you find balancing University and work?
It's a delicate process. It takes discipline and work on your part, especially when work is wanting you to be there whenever you are free. So it becomes about saying no and picking your opportunities, your times for work and your times for study.
Was finding balance always this easy for you?
Balance is hard work. You need to keep on top of it, keep the plates spinning. Segmenting friends from uni, work, and your life is one of the ways I’ve coped with it.
At the beginning I was hopeless, quit my job, because I could barely handle uni, let alone a job on top of that. But as I neared the end of my second year, I started to focus more on my work and started finding the discipline; the routine and habits that worked for me.
Once you master one of the techniques, one of the plates, you can then start on the others. A lot like learning the guitar, you master each of the strings before you start playing the full song.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Five years down the track, I have hopefully finished further training in acting or film arts. I want to do this extra study, instead of focusing solely on first-hand experience like a lot of people recommend.
So I have a solid background in theatrical technique, and I’ve filled in the gaps of the study I’ve done here; finishing one degree is just the start, you’re always going to be missing little bits and pieces that each place has in their program and studying in different institutions is the way I can fix that.