Kambua is Junior Bath Young Actor

Many congratuations to Kambua Hillman who has won the prestigous Bath Young Actor award 2020 in the junior category.  Here she reflects on her acting journey.

Hi, my name is Kambua and I am the ‘Bath Young Actor. In this piece of writing I will be explaining to you the process I went through to get where I am, and I hope to encourage more young actors to express themselves and persevere through the wonderful world of drama. So, I started by doing small Mid Somerset Festival competitions, and joining in in young theatre groups, succeeding in most of them. Earlier this year, I was put forward by my drama coach to have the privilege of competing for the title of ‘Bath Young Actor'. In order to do this, I and thousands of others would have to compete in two categories in the Mid Somerset Festivals, and when performing, someone from the crowd would observe each and every one of the participants and would choose just three out of thousands. Luckily, I was one of those three. I won my duologue and came second in my monologue. Due to this, I had to perform in two concerts across the whole competition. 

I had to choose a theme, for which I chose entitlement because, coming from a black family, I have had to deal with a lot of unfairness and unkindness in my life and want others to be able to find who they are and be proud of that person. I also chose this theme because drama isn’t all about rainbows and sunshine, so, for my three pieces linked to my theme, I chose ‘the power’, ‘the stepsister speaks out’, and my favourite, ‘strange fruit’. Due to the fact I was so passionate about my pieces, I lost sight of winning and competition and only looked to spread the message of entitlement.

So, to all the young aspiring stars out there- well, this is where I don’t know what to say! I have no words to describe how much you will regret it if you don’t put your everything in, try your hardest and shoot for the stars.

I wish you all the best with your undying dreams, may they always have a spark keeping them going, and in the words of Robin Williams, ‘You only have one spark of madness, you mustn't lose it.’.