BSSC Year 12 student, Lachy McDougall, says while he always knew he was a ‘theatre kid’, the fear of actually getting up in front of others took a long time to overcome.

Despite this, during his first year at BSSC, Lachy elected to take Theatre Studies, and became very involved with community theatre.

Stepping out of his comfort zone allowed Lachy to discover these settings were wonderfully safe and welcoming spaces for a performer finding his feet and his voice.

“We have become such good friends in my Theatre Studies class too.”

One reason Lachy recommends BSSC is because the college allows students to focus on what they really want to do. Theatre Studies is his unsurprising favourite, but he’s also studying Drama, VET Music/Performance, General Maths and English.

He’s taken on a number of challenging roles during his studies at BSSC and was part of Nexus’ 2024 production of Cinderella.

He feels he’s matured, grown his confidence, and become clearer about future plans.

“My passion can be a future career,” Lachy says, “I do know it’s a risk to ‘put all my eggs in one basket’ and being the best actor in the world is still no guarantee of a consistent career.”

To maximise his chances, Lachy is taking dance and singing lessons, and plans a gap year for 2026 to continue honing his acting skills by immersing in community theatre opportunities.

“After that I hope to be accepted into Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) or Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).”

Someone Lachy admires is Jeremy Jordan, a US actor and musician who has performed in film and on Broadway and has successfully played a wide range of roles.

“I’d love to ask him about his journey, how he started and then developed his career, how he dealt with challenges in the industry such as competitiveness, and how he maintains his mental health.

“I think some people assume that if you ‘make it’ you will automatically be happy. But I think you have to work on being well-adjusted, and not depend on success to ‘make’ you happy.

“My generation are more aware of wider global issues too. Global mistrust is rising, and it feels like people are being pushed to more extremist views with less tolerance of those who don’t hold the same opinion—dividing into right and left-wing positions, raising civil tensions even more.”

In contrast, Lachy says, “At BSSC I’ve connected with a much wider variety of people—as well as those with the same interests.”

He’s also found senior quite different to his 7-10 college and a lot more like a uni. This works for him because it removes some of the structures that in the past allowed him to dodge deeper responsibility for his learning.

When it comes to studying, Lachy has found saying things out loud “takes them off the page” which, in Theatre Studies and Drama, has to happen very quickly.

“I’ve also learnt a lot by observing other people’s gestures and mannerisms. It’s those little things that can make the difference between a good and a great performance.

“In a performance you need to be on auto-pilot.”

To destress, Lachy will sometimes take a break from something challenging and recalibrate.

He’s also discovered what works in his performance subjects is transferable.

“Stretching the body helps so much because when you’re stressed mentally, your body is usually tense too. Stretching relieves this and releases positive brain chemicals as well.”

He also enjoys video games and—as a drummer—music is a both studying and a way to unwind.

Despite these practices, being able to consistently focus at school has always been difficult. He had little idea why—until this year when he was diagnosed with ADHD.

Interventions have really helped, including knowing he will have better arrangements for the exam period.

“The psychologist I saw said how disappointing it was that I’d gotten so far into my education before the issue was addressed.”

While he realises most people don’t have to navigate ADHD challenges, Lachy has realised there are lots of neurodiverse people in the theatre.

“It is a bit of a disadvantage, but if you can take control of it, it can be a superpower!”

If he could go back and give his twelve-year-old self some advice, Lachy would say this:

“Question everything and stick to what you love doing. Don’t let Covid make you anxious—turning you into a chameleon trying to be what others expect of you. And don’t have unrealistic expectations in general—they can really mess you up.

“Finally, I’d say, ‘don’t bottle things up. It just makes more tension.

“Facing things head-on and really working them through is hard, and maybe even embarrassing, but it allows you to improve much more quickly.”

Despite challenges both personal and global, Lachy says he has a lot to be grateful for.

He is also aware how fortunate he’s been to have the opportunities he’s been given and the encouragement and support to take them up—and he knows if something goes wrong, his family and friends are there for him.

“I feel really good about the life I’m living and feel like I’ve been lucky—and I want to keep on taking every opportunity that comes my way.”