Hi Elise, great to meet you! Can you start by telling our readers about your role at WJEC?

Absolutely! I have been Subject Adviser for Music and Drama since April 2023, but I have recently changed roles. I am now the Subject Officer for Drama at WJEC, and my role is to oversee the running of each of our GCSE and A Level qualifications in England and Wales.

Is Music and Drama something you were interested in from a young age? What led to this current role with the WJEC?

Yes, it was, I have always been involved in theatre in some form. I did Drama and Music at school and then went on to study Music & Musical Theatre at the University of Chichester. After that, I trained to teach as a secondary Drama/Music teacher; after several years teaching I decided to study a master’s in musical Theatre at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the move to Cardiff for my MA is what led me to WJEC.

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama

For readers who might not know, what exactly does the WJEC do?

WJEC is the Welsh Joint Education Committee. As Wales’ largest awarding body, at WJEC we provide trusted bilingual qualifications, straight-forward specialist support, and reliable assessment to schools and colleges across the country. With more than 75 years’ experience, we are also amongst the leading providers in both England and Northern Ireland.

When it comes to Drama, how do you go about choosing which plays are selected for study — is there a selection process? Are certain plays more popular than others with teachers?

There is a process we must follow, and this process is informed by our regulators (Ofqual in England and Qualification Wales in Wales). Any update to the specification must be approved by the regulator and the suitability of texts are tested and questioned to ensure each text we choose is right for teachers and learners.

Do you see your work as part of supporting Welsh arts and culture, especially when it comes to studying Welsh writers and creatives?

Absolutely, as the largest exam board in Wales, supporting Welsh culture is at the heart of everything we do. We work hard to ensure that Welsh language, Welsh theatre, and Welsh creatives are represented through our specifications. We do this through running dedicated Welsh medium events, producing all our resources in English and Welsh, promoting Welsh playwrights and composers through our specifications, and ensuring we have representation from Welsh speakers in our examining teams, senior examiners, and question paper teams (to name but a few of the ways!)

Welsh Playwrights feature in the current WJEC Drama specification. Resting Restless by Bethan Marlow is one of the current WJEC, GCSE, Set Texts. Face to Face by Meic Povey and Lovesong by Abi Morgan are part of the AS/A Level Set Texts, how is the Welsh work chosen, are the writers or their Estates involved in anyway?

Our Principal Examiners work with the Subject Officer to choose a selection of texts suitable for examination, and we must seek permission from the writers to use their work.

What’s the part of your job you most enjoy, and why? My favourite parts of the job are working on resources for teachers and attending CPD events.

I love finding an area where teachers need support and creating something to help.

What do you wish more young people knew or understood about WJEC and the work you do?

I think it important to know that everyone working at WJEC, in each subject and each department is a real person; at the end of the phone, an email, working on question papers, marking candidates work is always a human! Also, the subject Officers and Subject Advisers are all teachers, so we have specialist knowledge and specific experience that informs each area of our roles.

Have any recent trends in Drama or Music (like digital theatre, new Welsh writing, rap or experimental music) influenced your thinking about future syllabuses?

Trends and advancements in theatre in Music is certainly something we are considering all the time. For example, in Music we ran a CPD event a couple of years ago that focussed on DJ, Rap, Sequencing and beatboxing as we have seen an increase in learners choosing these paths in their GCSE Music course and we want to ensure we are supporting teachers to facilitate that.

If you could pick one piece of advice for someone aged 18–30 wanting to pursue a creative career in Drama or Music, what would you say?

For creative careers, or ‘industry-based’ careers, my advice is to make your own work. It gives you a portfolio (especially when auditions or freelance work is…sparse!) you find out what you like and which areas you want to put energy into, and you never know who you’ll meet. It is, however, also important to remember there are countless careers that aren’t ‘industry based’ available to you too, where you are still working within your field and working collaboratively and creatively with your peers/colleagues.

Looking ahead — are there any exciting plans or changes at WJEC that you’re buzzing about?

We have just released a new GCSE Drama specification for schools in Wales which is very exciting!

The Awards Panel volunteer their time to score, shortlist and choose the winners of each category, They come from a range of backgrounds including, Get the Chance volunteers, Disabled Creatives, Lectures and Arts Professionals . You can find out a little more about the panel below.

Samiya Houston

I am an aspiring educator and creative practitioner with a deep commitment to inclusive arts. Alongside a strong voluntary background supporting children and young people in various schools and charities, I recently completed a rewarding internship with Cardiff-based charity UCAN Productions. During my time there, I facilitated creative workshops across Wales for blind and partially sighted youth, which truly reinforced my passion for helping people build their confidence through creativity.

Currently, I am training to become a teaching assistant, with future plans to study either primary education or the performing arts. My ultimate goal is to bring more accessible, confidence-building creativity into classrooms and ensure that learning is as fun and inclusive as possible. I am so excited to be on the panel for the second-ever the Get The Chance Cultural Impact Awards – I can’t wait to discover and celebrate the amazing projects that are using creativity to make a real difference in our communities! Outside of my professional goals, I’m an avid musical theatre fan, a keen baker, and a self-confessed foodie who loves reading and spending time with friends.

Dr Barbara Hughes Moore

Dr Barbara Hughes-Moore is a writer, poet, and lecturer. She teaches law and literature, with a focus on criminal law and the nineteenth century Gothic. Her poetry has featured in These Pages Sing, Horror Scribes, Roath Writers, The Birdcage, and The Folks.

Jak Rhys Birch

Jak Rhys Birch Is A Celebrated Writer, Artist, And Multi-Award-Winning Entrepreneur Based In Cardiff, Wales. With A Deep-Rooted Passion For The Arts, Jak Has Made Significant Strides Across Various Sectors, Showcasing His Versatility And Dedication. His Extensive Knowledge And Experience Have Inspired And Educated Budding Artists And Creatives In Wales.
Jak’s Commitment To Fostering Creative Talent Led To The Founding Of Galwad, A Not-For-Profit Organization Dedicated To Nurturing And Empowering Welsh Creatives. Through Galwad, Jak Aims To Turn Artistic Passion Into A Viable Profession, Providing Invaluable Support And Opportunities For Emerging Talents In The Region.

Jak Rhys Birch’s Unwavering Dedication To The Arts And His Entrepreneurial Spirit Continue To Make A Lasting Impact On The Creative Landscape Of Wales.

Rhys Payne

This award will be presented by Rhys Payne, Rhys, is an educator and critic, he runs Rhys Reviews which is an entertainment blog/theatre review page which puts new and emerging musicals in the spotlight!

Hannah Goslin

Hannah currently works at the National Theatre as the Operational Support Manager for the Customer Experience and Commercial Operations department. She has been part of Get The Chance Wales from the early days of it being known as Young Critics when she was studying her undergraduate in Performing Arts in Swansea and her masters in Events Management in Cardiff over 10 years ago.

Hannah was the first London correspondent for Get The Chance Wales and has continued, since joining all that time ago, to review in London, Scotland and Devon. Half Welsh, she is fiercely proud of her Welsh roots and has a deep passion for Welsh theatre that she feels is unlike any other theatre in the country. Alongside the NT and Get The Chance Wales, Hannah is an all round theatre professional; performing, creating, producing and marketing productions and currently, separately trying her hand as a novelist.

Nicola Parsons

Nic Parsons is an artist and arts & health practitioner. She has an MA in Arts, Health & Well-being and is a qualified F.E tutor. She began her career as a scenic artist working for Welsh National Opera on theatre and opera sets that were shared across the globe.

She has worked within the community on a wide variety of funded projects as an arts tutor and arts development officer, bringing together a variety of creatives to work on exciting and innovative workshops and exhibitions, with an aim to supporting well-being and providing a platform for community members to showcase their artwork to a broader audience.

In her own practice she embraces nature as her muse. Exploring natural forms and colour palettes through a variety of mediums such as illustration, paint and textiles.

Barrie Llewelyn

Barrie Llewelyn is a writer and an academic researcher at the University of South Wales. She teaches undergraduates and supervises post graduate students. Her research interest is broadly writing for wellbeing with a special interest on the benefits of creativity to those seeking sanctuary in Wales.

Hi Gwenllian, great to meet you, can you give our readers some background on yourself and your career

Hello! Great to meet you too. I’m an actor based in Llanharan but originally from Llanwinio in West Wales and I’ve been working as an actor for about 16 years. I trained at Rose Bruford College and then stayed in South East London for many years after graduating. As an actor I’ve had some wonderful experiences and opportunities and in recent years I’ve also been fortunate enough to work as an acting tutor which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.  

Rose Bruford College

Viv Goodman, lecturer on the AS and A Level Drama & Theatre Studies course across Coleg Gwent. Recently employed you to work with her students. Were there any teachers or youth group leaders who supported your route into the arts?

I have to say that I was very lucky growing up in a community that generally valued culture and the arts.  I had a wonderful drama teacher at Ysgol Y Preseli, Eirian Wyn Jones, who inspired many of us to pursue a career in the industry.   She was incredibly supportive and encouraging.  I was also a member of Aelwyd Crymych and under brilliant leadership from people like Kevin Davies and Eleri Mai Thomas I had countless invaluable experiences with the choir, drama club and ‘Gwersyll Gwaith’. 

Viv Goodman, lecturer on the AS and A Level Drama & Theatre Studies course across Coleg Gwent.

You recently supported the delivery of a unit called Women in Drama, at Coleg Gwent. What did this entail?

I joined Viv for a class at the start, middle and end of the unit so it was really interesting to follow along with the students on their journey through the process of creating devised pieces. It was great to talk all things women with them and having just had a baby I felt extra passionate about chatting about the highs and the lows of my experiences as a woman working in theatre.  The students were taking inspiration from The Paper Birds Theatre Company and so were keen to collect real stories to add as verbatim so a couple of the students in particular were interested to find out how my career was going as a new mother. I also supported and looked at the physical storytelling in one of the devised pieces and then there was a piece that was using some Welsh language too so I assisted with the shaping of that piece. 

The Paper Birds, theatre company

Viv often supports practising creatives to deliver activity with her students; do you feel this has value?

It has enormous value.  They get an insight into the reality of what being an actor, writer or director really entails which might not always be what they expect! Viv invites a variety of artists too so they get a different perspective from each and meeting practising creatives allows them to see that following a similar career path might be possible for them too if that’s what their goal is.  Viv creates a supportive and collaborative room which is brilliant…by inviting us in she places emphasis on creating industry connections which is really useful and motivating for the students and a thought provoking and inspirational experience for myself. 

The cultural sector is dominated by middle-class white men. Has the work to improve diversity for women had an effect? What more needs to happen?

 I know a lot has changed over the years but I think so much more needs to happen.  Arts funding has been cut time and again over the past 20 years so it feels like a very difficult time for the whole sector and a lot of the issues women face does come down to lack of funding but I think that we really do need to create more opportunities and open up space for more women. We should also focus on supporting and mentoring women during all stages of their career.  Women are probably more likely to have care responsibilities and without support it becomes really challenging to work within the system.   Also, in general far more girls take up drama in schools and yet this isn’t reflected in the cultural sector …it’s not as if the talent isn’t there so we have to keep pushing for more opportunities.  

Is the decline in A-level Drama take up, affecting who goes into performing arts training?

Absolutely. Especially for working class kids.  With cuts to publicly funded arts youth organisations and far less opportunities for young people to access drama activities, drama in schools might be the first opportunity for young people to engage with the performing arts and knowing how instrumental my drama teacher was in supporting my preparations for auditions for drama schools I’m certain that it will have a big impact. An A level Drama course is not just valuable for people who want to pursue a career in the arts- it builds confidence, develops communication and creativity.  Skills that are essential for pretty much any career.

And finally what culture have you been consuming recently that you would recommend  to our readers?

I have a 15 month old at home who hates sleep so consuming culture is tricky at the moment!  The highlight over the Christmas holidays however was going to see the Sherman Christmas play in the studio – ‘The Frog Prince’ written by Gwawr Loader and Directed by Elin Phillips. It was my son’s first experience of the theatre! Beautiful performances from Anni Dafydd and Owen Alun enthralled us from start to finish!

The Frog Prince

I’m also really looking forward to seeing Haylee McGee’s  ‘Age is a Feeling’ in a few weeks at the new Soho Theatre in Walthamstow and hoping it will be the first of many theatre trips this year!

Age is a Feeling