Cody Mitchell, from Gretna Green, spent the pandemic developing his craft, as well trying a spot of presenting and interviewing, writing film reviews and judging.
Furthermore, he has lined up a part for this summer and landed a place on a prestigious acting course.
In March 2020 the 13-year-old was performing at the Sands Centre in the touring production of ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ when, on his last night, the country went into lockdown and subsequently the remainder of the tour was postponed.
Cody then found out that the Annan Academy show, in which he was cast, was also cancelled due to covid
However, he was soon too busy to dwell on any disappointment and was instead attending virtual meetings as a Youth Advisory Council member with Into Film Scotland, where he learned about film curation, film content, and also wrote film reviews.
Next, Cody was asked by the Scottish Youth Film Festival to be a jury member, which included watching and scoring films for their virtual festival in October, at which he was asked to present two prizes.
He thoroughly enjoyed the young presenter role and the experience of watching films made by people of his age or younger.
Into Film Scotland and the Scottish Youth Film Festival both praised the youngster for his professionalism and attitude and, as a result, he was selected to be a young presenter and co-host on a live Q&A with James Bond and Hollywood producer Barbara Broccoli. The interview was live from Barbara’s hotel in New York and they discussed her life as a producer and if she has received any stigmatism as a woman.
More recently, Cody has landed a spot with the British Youth Musical Theatre company and will spend four weeks at Taunton School in the summer, then will perform in their production of Peter Pan at Powderham Castle, Devon in August. The experience will earn him a Trinity grade 8 in musical theatre.
Meanwhile, Cody has also gained a place as a junior actor at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he will attend on Sunday’s during term time.
He said: “I have been very fortunate that I have been really busy during lockdown and I have taken part in some fantastic opportunities. I really enjoyed my young presenter roles, especially the Barbara Broccoli interview, and would love to do more in the future – but acting is what I really love.
“I am looking forward to attending the British Youth Musical Theatre and starting the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.”
