The path from comedian to author

Rachel Parris on the value of just saying ‘yes’ 

From improviser to actor, comedian to presenter and musician, former Loughborough High School pupil Rachel Parris (LHS 2002) has now added ‘author’ to her list of incredible achievements following the release of her novel Introducing Mrs. Collins. We were delighted to welcome Rachel back to campus last Friday to talk to our pupils about her career, experiences on the stage and her wonderful new book. 

During our whole school assembly, Rachel spoke to the girls about the value of just saying ‘yes’ and emphasised that it is often the unexpected experiences along the way that are most influential in helping you reach your goals. She recalled her first passion as improvisation, noting how this instilled her with the confidence needed to progress into standup comedy. Having also enjoyed roles in music, teaching, writing and arts administration, Rachel credited the breadth of her experiences as the strong foundations to her career. 

I have found my way by happy accident through improvising, teaching and choir leading, administration, bookselling, comedy and acting and writing. Sometimes just through saying ‘yes’ to jobs that weren’t part of my plan, but that I thought I should say ‘yes’ to, turned out to be really useful. So, the message I wanted to leave you with today is that first of all, you might find the thing you want to do much later in your life than you think you will and that is fine.

Following a Q&A session which gave pupils the chance to ask questions such as ‘What’s been the hardest part of your career so far?’, ‘How did you learn to do standup?’ and ‘What advice would you give to those interested in writing?’, Rachel focused in on the theme of female leadership in a talk tailored to our Year 12 students. 

Rachel spoke openly to our girls about the obstacles they may face; from her experience, she explained how she still comes across made-dominated industries and that there are still moments where it’s necessary to ‘dig your heels in.’ Rachel reflected on the fact that these moments have been most influential in shaping her view on leadership. 

Leadership means empowering other women, collaborating with people that you trust and asking the advice of people that you trust. Leadership doesn’t look like how men have led in the past. Leadership can look like whatever is good for you and whatever is good for the circumstances that you’re in and that you probably have more power than you think you do.

After two highly inspiring sessions, Rachel delivered an English masterclass to a group of our Sixth Form students. Beginning with an engaging excerpt from Introducing Mrs. Collins, Rachel delved into the book writing process exploring themes such as perspective, motivation and characterisation. For some of our aspiring authors in the room, this was an insightful opportunity to learn more about the publishing process and hear firsthand about the experience of producing a novel from start to finish. 

Huge thanks go to Rachel for taking the time to inspire, talk and interact with our girls. The opportunity to gain insight into such a vibrant and diverse career journey is invaluable for communicating to our pupils the value of pursuing your goals – no matter the path you take to get there.