Graduate Profile: Educating Katie

Since actor Katie Elin-Salt graduated in 2010, she’s been busy performing on stage and screen and has already achieved her ambition of working with Ruth Jones. Katie is currently starring as the eponymous Rita in Clwyd Theatre Cymru’s touring production of Educating Rita. We caught up with her during her Cardiff dates at Sherman Cymru.

Tell us about what you’ve been up to since leaving RWCMD

My first job after graduating was with National Theatre Wales, in a play called Love Steals Us From Loneliness by Gary Owen. I did it with two friends from the same year as me at RWCMD, and it was in Bridgend which is my home town – all roads lead home! I also filmed Ruth Jones’s Stella with Catrin Stewart who was also in my year. After that I moved to London with my RWCMD friends and did a play in the Lyric Hammersmith, played “LV” in Little Voice in Bolton Octagon, and before being offered Educating Rita with Theatre Clwyd, I played “Phebe” in their production of As You Like It -a part I first learnt for my Shakespeare monologue for my RWCMD audition.

Katie Elin-Salt in RWCMD’s production of August: Osage County

How has your training at RWCMD prepared you for this role, and for your other roles since graduating

Royal Welsh College helped prepare me for my professional career in so many ways, both practically and mentally. I think what makes College training so special for me is that it embraces you as an individual, giving you confidence in who you are as a person and what you have to offer, creating a great base to start building a character from. It’s also given me a discipline that has really helped me in a professional working environment; I still practise the voice work I did at RWCMD before and during every performance. It’s helped me immensely in being able to sustain my voice during long runs when I don’t stop talking for two hours.

What did you enjoy about your training and are there any elements you miss, or carry with you, now that you’re a professional actor?

There is so much about RWCMD I miss. The training, the tutors, the building – and Cardiff. But what I miss most is the sense of community. It was an incredible, supportive, warm environment to be a part of – you feel like you’re part of a family and you are so well looked after and supported during your time there. I made friends for life at RWCMD and we have all stayed very close; it really was one of the happiest times of my life! But what I love most about College is that you can instantly walk into the bar or the theatre as an alumnus and still be a part of it. It is an incredible place that I still feel privileged to be a part of.

Katie Elin-Salt in RWCMD’s production of Hello Again

Do you have any words of advice for the actors who are about to graduate?

It sounds like a terrible cliche but my advice would be ‘remember it’s a marathon not a sprint.’ No matter what position you’re in when you graduate from RWCMD, it’s hard to leave such a brilliant environment which has nurtured you for three years, without feeling like you’re jumping into the abyss! But I would say take every day and every experience as it comes, and don’t panic! Lots of us have done it before and we are ok I promise! It’s important to embrace every minute of your last term of College with friends who you’ve been through so much with. And don’t forget that you’ve just completed a very intense degree and lived to tell the tale – and that is definitely a cause for celebration so try to enjoy it!