A local schoolgirl looks set for stardom as she secures a number of high-profile acting roles.
Katie Proctor, 14, began acting at the age of eight after discovering a love for performing in school plays.
After honing her talent at YAFTA, the Yorkshire Academy of Film and Television Acting, Katie has appeared in a range of productions, including Casualty and CBBC’s Creeped Out.
Katie has always loved performing and decided to take acting lessons to feed her passion. After a few years at stage school, she decided to pursue different kinds of acting and joined YAFTA so that she could turn her focus to film and television.
Acting is something that comes naturally to Katie and she loves nothing more than having the chance to be someone else.
Katie said:
I love being a character that someone created and seeing them come to life.
From the first draft of a script to filming the final scenes, Katie loves every aspect of acting, although the industry is not without its challenges. Katie says the audition process is the most challenging thing.
Katie said:
Over the years and through the support of YAFTA I’ve learnt to accept knockbacks but that doesn’t mean I don’t find some particularly hard to deal with. It’s a very tough job to be in and it can take a while to get used to.
Head of YAFTA, Charlotte Armitage said:
Katie has always been so dedicated to her acting career, she puts in the extra effort required to succeed and is mature and professional in her approach to training. Katie is a bright and determined student who has a bright future ahead of her. It’s a pleasure working with Katie. With such success already we are all excited to see what the future brings for her.
A pupil at Gateways School in Harewood, Katie admits juggling both school and acting can be hard.
Katie said:
It’s difficult, especially when I’m filming or have scripts to learn for auditions but I have to use my initiative.
I prioritise school as much as I can and work hard to catch up on any work I miss. I’m lucky to have really supportive teachers too.
YAFTA specialises in delivering industry expertise and knowledge to its students across a wide range of acting, screenwriting and TV and film production disciplines.
Based in Harrogate, Katie believes the number of acting opportunities in Yorkshire is increasing massively. However, she may have to travel for her dream acting role; she says she would love to have any part in Doctor Who, describing it is her “favourite TV show in the whole world”.
In the future, Katie would like to go to drama school to further pursue her acting career. She would also like to do some scriptwriting.
Katie said:
I can’t see myself ever moving away from this industry.
