By day, recruitment and talent advisor Olly Derham is a familiar face around Telford College, to staff and applicants alike. By night however, most won’t know about his brilliant work on stage as an actor.
Starting with the college in October 2024, he has made a fantastic impact within the HR team but, his career was on a different path until his previous industry’s future was hanging in the balance.
“I’ve been interested in acting since I was 8” says Olly. “I joined a theatre group before going on to study it as a BTEC in college and progressing to study musical theatre at degree level in arts school.
“I worked professionally on stage too. However, whilst touring Italy, the world went into the COVID-19 pandemic and everything shut down.
“I never got back into it as a full-time career. I’m still doing a lot of local acting, whether its groups I’ve worked with before or new groups who need a hand with their shows.”
He has been starring in the stage-adaptation of the 2009 film Nativity! playing the main character’s rival Gordon Shakespeare at The Grand in Wolverhampton. He also played the role of Mr Poppy in a performance at Shrewsbury School, as well as taking the stage at Theatre Severn, starring in Bonnie and Clyde.
“It’s all been really good fun; we’ve sold out nights to over a thousand people each time. It’s been a real learning curve; I was thrown in the deep end this year as I had to learn such a big part in weeks.
“Most of the shows have gone well. On the opening night, I started off the play by addressing the audience, asking if they want to hear a story and a heckler shouted “no!”, which is always a great start. On another show, I almost fell down the stairs which would have been a disaster!
“This is very different from what I’ve done before. I’ve always played serious parts in my previous shows, to go from a romantic lead to a comedic actor has been a really enjoyable challenge for me.
Discussing his role at Telford College compared to acting, Olly says it couldn’t be more different. “I feel acting can help you with putting on a high-energy persona to give your best to everyone you interact with, even if you don’t always feel like it.
“I love working here, I work in a great team. I’m still finding my way around, meeting new people every day and I’m hoping to form a fantastic working relationship with everyone in the college. I love the vibrant college atmosphere, and I think it’s a great place for students to grow and learn.”
When asked about tips for anybody wanting to apply for a position at the college, Olly emphasises the importance of the perfect application. “Take your time with the application form, make sure you’ve got all your details correct and don’t miss anything out.
“Also, make sure you write a personal statement that represents you best. We take our time to read every statement we get, so draft it several times and write it in a way that matches the job specification to highlight your strengths for the role.”
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