2007 Awardee: Gayle Rankin

The money will be a tremendous help in funding my education in New York and will make my life so much easier .... It is a great honour and means so much to me to be recognised by the Dewar Arts Awards.

Biography

Gayle Rankin has long had an ambition to study drama at the Juilliard School in New York. This year she achieved her goal when she was one of 18 successful candidates – out of an estimated 3,500 worldwide – to be accepted this year. She was the only successful candidate from the UK and is, possibly, the first Scottish drama student ever at Juilliard.

For the last two years, Gayle, who hails from Kilmarnock, has been studying musical theatre at the Dance School of Scotland, Knightswood, where she was noticed as a truly talented performer excelling in acting, singing and dancing. Recently she was winner of an international fellowship award to study in Australia. She performed in the staging of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, with Siobhan Redmond in the title role.

Gayle has been offered a scholarship-funded place on the 4-year drama degree course at Juilliard School.

How the Award Helped

The Dewar Arts Award will help towards the considerable expenses to study in New York.

Since the Award

After four years of Dewar Arts Award support, Gayle graduated from Juilliard with a degree in acting. She writes of that experience “Juilliard’s rigorous, four-year training program has changed my life and my career forever and has unquestionably been the most significant experience of my personal and professional life thus far….I am very excited to be at the beginning of a career here in the States and have found really great representation here.” As for us, we hope to see Gayle on the stage back in Scotland in the not-too-distant future.

The money will be a tremendous help in funding my education in New York and will make my life so much easier .... It is a great honour and means so much to me to be recognised by the Dewar Arts Awards.