Helena Rimmer is the third recipient of the Brian Weaver Fellowship which provides an aspiring young actor with professional, paid work at Derby Theatre.
Helena, who lives in Duffield, Derbyshire, beat 16 other hopefuls to the Fellowship. She graduated from the University of Derby in 2013 with a first-class theatre arts degree. During her time as a student and since graduating, she has performed with professional companies including New Perspectives, Uncontained Arts, Hush Hush Theatre Company and Forward Theatre.
Helena will perform in two professional productions at Derby Theatre including Alice in Wonderland at Christmas 2016. She will also get professional mentoring and free access to some theatre-related workshops.
She said, “I’m absolutely over the moon to have been awarded the Brian Weaver Fellowship. I’m so grateful for this incredible opportunity and am very excited to start working with Sarah Brigham and the rest of the team at Derby Theatre. The biggest thank you goes to Doreen Weaver for making it all possible. I can’t stop smiling!”
The theatre’s artistic director Sarah Brigham said, “I’m absolutely thrilled with the talent we’ve discovered since we launched the Fellowship in 2013. Due to Doreen’s generosity, we’ll see another aspiring actor from our region develop their talent and career. Helena’s enthusiasm and talent shone through at the auditions.”
The Brian Weaver Fellowship was the result of a donation from Buxton resident Doreen Weaver in memory of her late husband Brian.
In 2014, the first recipient was Adam Horvath who appeared in Mike Kenny’s version of Homer’s The Odyssey and Neil Duffield’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol at Derby Theatre.
Second-year recipient Jake Waring was in Paul Allen’s adaptation of Brassed Off and Mike Kenny’s Cinderella.