Actor Antonia Prebble basks in completing her BA

 Back in 2002 when the-then teenager had already committed to a career on screen and stage, she told herself that she would also like to undertake tertiary study and complete a Bachelor of Arts by the time she turned 30.

 That milestone rolls round next Friday and, after crossing the stage to be capped yesterday among graduates from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington, it will be a double celebration.

 “I’ve been studying quietly away one paper per year for the last few years toward my BA and now I’m basking in its completion!”

Majoring in English Literature, she says the curriculum really helped her understanding of the plays she was reading and performing in.

 Hers was a conscious decision to slowly complete her degree so she could focus mainly on her career but also simultaneously enjoy the process of getting a tertiary education.

 The star of television dramas like Outrageous Fortune and The Blue Rose, leads a busy on-the-road lifestyle, so studying via distance learning proved invaluable.

 “The distance library service was so impressive with people responding to my requests very quickly wherever in the world I was.”

 Ms Prebble sat one exam at the New Zealand Embassy in Paris while she was briefly based in the French capital for a separate theatre course.

 “They organised a moderator who was a Kiwi expat and it all helped make the experience so much easier.

 If Massey wasn’t here I would have been unable to do the degree,” she says.

 “Now I’ve finished I’d like to do more creative writing. I did one paper as part of my degree and now I have the freedom [from studies] I would like to explore that a bit more.”

 Having just returned from a stint in the US state of Louisiana filming the television show Salem (based on the 17th century witch trials), her next priority is more theatre and screen work including a trip to Sydney next week to audition for new roles.

 “But I definitely wanted to make it back to Wellington to graduate in person.”

Created: 30/05/2014 | Last updated: 30/05/2014