Just Add Milk (JAM) are pleased to announce the winner of The Luke Westlake Scholarship 2022. Kindly supported by The Foundry Personal Management, the winner was announced at last night’s annual ceremony at the Lyric Hammersmith Studio Theatre.
Winner Sol Taibi.
Eight finalists were chosen from over two hundred applications received from across the country. Following graduation, all eight of these finalists will be eligible to apply for The Prince William BAFTA Bursary, thanks to Just Add Milk’s new partnership with British Academy of Film and Television Arts. This bursary is a fund that financially supports early-career creatives.
This year, the winner of The Luke Westlake Scholarship is Sol Taibi. Taibi now receives over £6,000 in financial and developmental assistance. Prizes include a one-year spotlight membership and lunches with leading industry professionals such as Becky Paris (Head of Casting at The Globe).
Sol Taibi grew up in working-class Middlesborough and discovered a love of acting at the age of 16. While studying for a BTEC in Acting, followed by a one-year professional acting course in Newcastle, he supported himself by working part-time at Sainsbury’s.
Whilst auditioning for drama schools, Sol Taibi began cutting his teeth in the industry by performing in theatre in education tours and pantomimes. It wasn’t until April 2021, after applying for drama schools on six different occasions Sol was awarded a place Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
First launched in 2019, The Luke Westlake Scholarship was set up by the charity JAM for working-class actors in their second year at either a drama school or university in the UK. Now its fourth winner, Sol Taibi, will join former winners Ayomide Adegun, Melodie Karczewski and Madison Stock, in having his acting career supported by The Luke Westlake Scholarship.
Panel
- Ian Aryeh (Resident Director for the BAFTA Rocliffe New Writing Showcase)
- Mary Burch BEM and Scarlett Maltman (for Industry Minds)
- Faye Timby (Casting Associate for Sophie Holland Casting)
- Luke Westlake’s parents Brigette and Lee Westlake
- Liam McLaughlin, Kristian Wall & Kyle Rowe (for Just Add Milk)
Prize List
- 1yr The Stage subscription
- Full headshot package with Andy Brown
- £100 Nick Hern Books voucher
- Tax return from Theataccounts
- A True Edge Stage Combat Standard level course
- Showreel from self-tape.co.uk
- Voicereel from The Bespoke Folk
- £100 theatre tickets from Stagedoor
- Westend Theatre Tickets from Hartshornhook Productions
- Wellbeing Package from Industry Minds
- 6-month fitness coaching plan from Onset Fitness
- 2x massage treatments with Massage Repair
- 3x Pilates sessions with Kiri Louise
- £500 towards rent/bills after graduating
- £250 voucher for Just Add Milk (JAM) workshops and courses
- Lunches with leading industry professionals: Becky Paris (Head of Casting at The Globe); Faye Timby (Casting Associate at Sophie Holland Casting); Rob Kelly (Casting Director at Rob Kelly Casting); Gavin Mills (Agent at Olivia Bell Management); Tom Jeggo (Agent at Insight Management) and two 1-to-1 sessions with Emma Dyson at Spotlight (Performer Careers Consultant)
About The Luke Westlake Scholarship
The Luke Westlake Scholarship is an annual award that provides an actor with financial and developmental support worth over £6,000 in their final years of training as they graduate from university or drama school and begin to navigate their way into the industry. The scholarship was established in 2019 when the team behind JAM realised many actors were being priced out of their career once they left training. After spending upwards of £30k to simply study, actors then need to purchase database subscriptions, materials for marketing themselves, and more; they often work zero hours jobs so they can duck out at short notice to attend auditions and can lack the contacts to get their foot in the door. The acting industry frequently notes the lack of working-class talent, but without support it is near impossible to get started. By reaching out to contacts and industry organisations JAM is delighted to continue to build the scholarship with yet more partners and prizes, to alleviate the financial burden and set another graduate up on a stronger footing for their first year in the industry.
To find out more about The Luke Westlake Scholarship, visit here…
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