Biography

Born and raised in a small town just outside of Edinburgh, Kari has always had a burning passion for the performing arts. For her, this was a safe place where she always felt free and was able to excel.

After studying her HND in Acting and Performance at New College Lanarkshire in 2019, Kari gained her place at The Bridge Theatre Training Company.

In her time away from her studies, she has worked in a full time role at the Scottish government, as well as with the Citizens Theatre Young Co on the show ‘Adrift’ where she took on the main role of ‘Cammy’. Kari particularly enjoyed working on this piece due to the themes of mental health and her advocacy on the subject.

Kari also has an interest in playwriting, and to pursue this she became part of the Traverse Theatre’s ‘Young Writers’.

After completion of her studies, Kari hopes to have strong foundations and relationships within both Scottish and London theatre. She dreams of one day working with theatre companies such as Frantic Assembly alongside writing and producing her own work, which she hopes to take to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

How the Award Helped

Biography

Growing up on a family farm in South West Scotland, Alyth’s introduction to acting came not from exposure to theatre, but from her granddad’s love of poetry. Aged 8, she entered into her first competition armed with Roald Dahl’s ‘The Pig’, and at that point she ‘caught the storytelling bug’. She began singing and acting classes in her local area, and in search of further opportunity she applied to join the Royal Conservaoire of Scotland’s Junior Musical Theatre course in 2014.

Whilst at RCS, Alyth heard about the Dance School of Scotland’s Musical Theatre course at Knightswood. She auditioned to study there full-time during her final two years at high school, and was successful in gaining a place. At 15, Alyth showed great maturity whilst living away from home and completing her Highers alongside a full vocational training.  She also demonstrated great promise as a drama student, and took part in public performances including two shows at the Citizens Theatre (‘9 to 5’ and ‘Legally Blonde’).

Alyth enjoyed all elements of her musical theatre training, but afer winning the Drama Award in 2016 decided to focus solely on acting at drama school.  Her passion for acting alongside the skills she had developed enabled her to gain a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama – a prestigious institution that she’d previously only dreamed of attending.

Alyth’s goal is to continue to improve her craft and develop her passion for performing in theatre and film.

How the Award Helped

Alyth received a Dewar Arts Award to support her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  She writes;

“The Dewar Arts award has provided me and so many other young people with a life-changing opportunity; to achieve things I never dreamt I would. As a Scottish student from a rural background, I had never anticipated that I’d have to pay for my higher education, and so when I was first offered my place at Guildhall I almost had to turn it down due to funding. However, thanks to the incredibly generous support from Dewar Arts, I’ve been able to continue my training at this exceptional institution, which is without a doubt everything I’d anticipated and more. I am extremely grateful. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

Since the Award

Since graduating from Guildhall in 2021, Alyth has appeared in various TV and radio productions, including Traces, Dalgliesh, and Bad Sisters. In 2022, she landed her first major TV role in Last Light, appearing in five episodes.

In 2024, Alyth makes her professional stage debut in Rona Munro’s James V: Katherine.