I had a few stressful hours this morning trying to decide what to wear. Now I know this may seem a trivial and slightly self obsessed female drama especially when compared to the Libyan conflict or Man United losing to Barcelona at the weekend but as they say......it's all relative.
You see I needed to wear an outfit that would encompass the 2 persona's I had to inhabit today - the actress had an early morning singing audition for Oliver! and the journalist had her first day doing work experience at The Richmond and Twickenham Times which meant I needed to look part Dickensian wench and part Lois Lane. So....long skirt with bustle combined with a tailored jacket and dark rimmed glasses or trench coat with a wenchy corset underneath???? Not an easy combo, so I decided to put on what I wore yesterday and spent the time more wisely eating breakfast.
The audition was a quick "in, out shake it all about" 3 minute songfest which left me plenty of time to feel nervous before entering the NewsQuest offices in Sutton where The Richmond and Twickenham Times, The Surrey Comet and other local Guardian papers are compiled.
I had that first day of school feeling as I clutched my electronic entry guest pass and got introduced to all the editorial writers in the large open plan office who were working hard to get to the 5pm deadline for all of the weekly tomes. But I quickly got settled at a computer and started to work my way through a to do list.
We are on the tenth floor with a birds eye view of South London and Surrey and in the afternoon sun even Croydon looked quite lovely! If I squinted I could pretend I was Carrie Bradshaw in her Vogue office looking out onto New York's skyline!
But enough daydreaming (I am ridiculously girly today, sorry) I also had deadlines, interviews and copy to do.
I researched some preview articles for upcoming music and theatre gigs in the area, it's fun to have all the information and try to fit it into the word limit. I mean could you surmise all the wonder of Roary the red race car and his live show coming to Wimbledon in 50 words? I also did a telephone interview with a classical guitarist called Richard Durrant who is bringing his new solo show to The Rose Theatre Kingston, whose passion for his craft was infectious and made it easy to create 400 words of copy about his new album and tour.
I did enjoy focusing on writing today although I received an email half way through the afternoon about a panto audition next week which awoke my actress brain for a few seconds. But I must say I found it pretty hard sitting in front of a computer screen all day, my head feels all scrunchy and tired and had to resist the urge to stretch my leg above the computer desk a few times as I'm not used to being cooped up! I am sure I will get used to it and if not the beautiful evening cycle ride I have just taken around Bushey Park with the deers seems the right antidote to a day of sitting.
So tomorrow I'm back on the commuter trains to get to my desk by 9am and chase up some more interviews and press releases dressed purely as "Lois Lane" Daniella, hmmmmm where can I find a trench coat by then.........
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Thursday, 26 May 2011
But a fringe is soooo this season!
Theatre always has and always will take many different forms; this is what makes it so exciting and constantly relevant. I have really only worked in a small area, musical theatre, but during the past 12 months I have been branching out into The Fringe. Not the fringe as in an adornment to my forehead (although I tried one 2 winters ago and discovered a new way to make my face look fat!) but The Fringe as in the off west end theatre that is found all over London outside of the WC1 postcode. New York's version (or bangs....OK enough poor hair metaphors) is Off Broadway.
It has been thought of as a training ground for actors and a place to launch a career as repertory theatre once was . The Fringe is a place for new and experimental pieces of theatre that wouldn't necessarily fill a 1,000 seat theatre.
The Fringe is exciting and has definitely become more commercially acknowledged in recent years where we have seen a number of established actors rushing to be involved. More fringe productions are being transferred to larger venues such as the wonderful string of all male productions and those from The Menier Chocolate Factory. You see bonafide West End actors in fringe venues such as The Finborough, The King's Head and The Landor all working for nothing as a way of satisfying their creativity and artistic natures. Indeed, Gemma Arterton was at The Almeida a few months ago. It is a chance to challenge yourself as an actor and have a degree of creative input instead of being a cog in the wheel of the 12th cast change of such and such a musical. It is also an opportunity to play a role that realistically, in today's climate, we would be the understudy to the celeb or bottoms on seat bait reality TV winner. But I won't go on a rant about that because we've all heard it before and I genuinely want to praise this new and exciting fringe world that I have been discovering.
I have found that fringe productions have brought the passion back out in me for theatre. You have really got to want to do it as you are not being paid and therefore working not to support yourself but to support your habit!
I did a production of Me and Juliet last year at The Finborough Theatre, in fact it was the European premiere as no one had dared to stage this Rogers and Hammerstein flop since it closed on Broadway in the 1950s. But director, Thom Sutherland did. He has an unbridled love and passion for musical theatre and displays this in his revivals of classics such as State Fair, Carousel and recently a revue we did called Hello Jerry! which was a salute to the music of Jerry Herman. He directs them simply but with the care and attention that is fuelled by passion and that is why these productions never fail to strike a chord among fringe audiences. His knowledge of musical theatre is astounding ( believe me you would want him on your quiz team) and his efforts have been recognised by the Off West End awards where he was named Best Director. The fact that there are award ceremonies for The Fringe shows how important it is becoming.
It is the people I have met in fringe productions that have made it such a wonderful adventure for me. In venues where dressing rooms are converted cupboards, toilet paper is scarce and rehearsal time varies between limited and non existent to fit in with actor's day jobs it is a wonder that tempers do not get frayed. In fact I have rarely worked with such lovely and above all supremely talented people that make all those things so tolerable. Maybe it is the passion required and the desire to rediscover the roots of our love for theatre that attracts like minded people, I don't know but it sure is a good laugh especially when you get to pop downstairs for a pint afterwards, yet another benefit to the theatre pub fringe venue!
It has been thought of as a training ground for actors and a place to launch a career as repertory theatre once was . The Fringe is a place for new and experimental pieces of theatre that wouldn't necessarily fill a 1,000 seat theatre.
The Fringe is exciting and has definitely become more commercially acknowledged in recent years where we have seen a number of established actors rushing to be involved. More fringe productions are being transferred to larger venues such as the wonderful string of all male productions and those from The Menier Chocolate Factory. You see bonafide West End actors in fringe venues such as The Finborough, The King's Head and The Landor all working for nothing as a way of satisfying their creativity and artistic natures. Indeed, Gemma Arterton was at The Almeida a few months ago. It is a chance to challenge yourself as an actor and have a degree of creative input instead of being a cog in the wheel of the 12th cast change of such and such a musical. It is also an opportunity to play a role that realistically, in today's climate, we would be the understudy to the celeb or bottoms on seat bait reality TV winner. But I won't go on a rant about that because we've all heard it before and I genuinely want to praise this new and exciting fringe world that I have been discovering.
I have found that fringe productions have brought the passion back out in me for theatre. You have really got to want to do it as you are not being paid and therefore working not to support yourself but to support your habit!
I did a production of Me and Juliet last year at The Finborough Theatre, in fact it was the European premiere as no one had dared to stage this Rogers and Hammerstein flop since it closed on Broadway in the 1950s. But director, Thom Sutherland did. He has an unbridled love and passion for musical theatre and displays this in his revivals of classics such as State Fair, Carousel and recently a revue we did called Hello Jerry! which was a salute to the music of Jerry Herman. He directs them simply but with the care and attention that is fuelled by passion and that is why these productions never fail to strike a chord among fringe audiences. His knowledge of musical theatre is astounding ( believe me you would want him on your quiz team) and his efforts have been recognised by the Off West End awards where he was named Best Director. The fact that there are award ceremonies for The Fringe shows how important it is becoming.
It is the people I have met in fringe productions that have made it such a wonderful adventure for me. In venues where dressing rooms are converted cupboards, toilet paper is scarce and rehearsal time varies between limited and non existent to fit in with actor's day jobs it is a wonder that tempers do not get frayed. In fact I have rarely worked with such lovely and above all supremely talented people that make all those things so tolerable. Maybe it is the passion required and the desire to rediscover the roots of our love for theatre that attracts like minded people, I don't know but it sure is a good laugh especially when you get to pop downstairs for a pint afterwards, yet another benefit to the theatre pub fringe venue!
Friday, 20 May 2011
Auditioning.......
I am just back from my first round audition this morning for Legally Blonde in the West End. It seems to be getting harder and harder to even get auditions for projects these days so I am lucky to be seen although I had to remind myself of this fact as I sat surrounded by the other energetic auditionees in the waiting room. All wearing varying degrees of pink, still at drama school and ten years my junior , I felt decidedly old and wrong for the job in their presence. Although compared to last week when I auditioned for the role of an 18 year old in Bill Kenwright's Dreamboats and Petticoats with real 18 year olds, I felt positively sprightly......always got to look for the silver lining!
Auditions are an essential part of being an actor. But my God......they aren’t half terrifying! It’s all consuming from the moment you get phoned until it is over. You eat, sleep and breathe “11.30 next Wednesday, take your tap shoes” and normal life goes out of the window. I yearn for the day that I get used to it or just receive a call offering me work without having to going through the rigmarole.
But until that day comes (I predict it’ll be about the same time as hell freezing over,) I, and fellow actors, will continue to put ourselves through them in the hope of securing our next job.
In my experience, Musical Theatre casting process usually goes something like this: -
Preliminary rounds with singing slots with your own material or a dance call en masse. If you’re successful, a “recall” follows. This includes more dance or script from the show and then numerous recalls ensue before a “final” audition or workshop. Sometimes you’re seen 9 times, sometimes only twice. And this process will differ as you have varied castings for television, plays or adverts.
Now, in the case of Legally Blonde I know that the dance audition consists of a hideous skipping call. Yes...skipping, with a rope! Not in the fun and relaxed playground way but in an aerobic boxing training type way which last time had me near cardiac arrest by bar 8 of the music! So as much as I hope today went well I am slightly dreading the potential next stage.
My approach to auditions has drastically changed . The nerves will never go; they fill you with adrenalin but you can’t let them take over. My nerves can make my body shake so much that I generate more vibrato in my voice than is natural but I take deep breaths, knowing that in 5 minutes I’ll be in Starbucks buying my “well done me for going” cookie! Which is exactly what I was doing about an hour ago, getting my chocolate chunk shortbread at Waterloo station....phew all done for the day!
For more anecdotes about my auditioning past check out my article from The Drama Student Magazine on one of my pages.
Auditions are an essential part of being an actor. But my God......they aren’t half terrifying! It’s all consuming from the moment you get phoned until it is over. You eat, sleep and breathe “11.30 next Wednesday, take your tap shoes” and normal life goes out of the window. I yearn for the day that I get used to it or just receive a call offering me work without having to going through the rigmarole.
But until that day comes (I predict it’ll be about the same time as hell freezing over,) I, and fellow actors, will continue to put ourselves through them in the hope of securing our next job.
In my experience, Musical Theatre casting process usually goes something like this: -
Preliminary rounds with singing slots with your own material or a dance call en masse. If you’re successful, a “recall” follows. This includes more dance or script from the show and then numerous recalls ensue before a “final” audition or workshop. Sometimes you’re seen 9 times, sometimes only twice. And this process will differ as you have varied castings for television, plays or adverts.
Now, in the case of Legally Blonde I know that the dance audition consists of a hideous skipping call. Yes...skipping, with a rope! Not in the fun and relaxed playground way but in an aerobic boxing training type way which last time had me near cardiac arrest by bar 8 of the music! So as much as I hope today went well I am slightly dreading the potential next stage.
My approach to auditions has drastically changed . The nerves will never go; they fill you with adrenalin but you can’t let them take over. My nerves can make my body shake so much that I generate more vibrato in my voice than is natural but I take deep breaths, knowing that in 5 minutes I’ll be in Starbucks buying my “well done me for going” cookie! Which is exactly what I was doing about an hour ago, getting my chocolate chunk shortbread at Waterloo station....phew all done for the day!
For more anecdotes about my auditioning past check out my article from The Drama Student Magazine on one of my pages.
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Actress, Writer and now Blogger!!!
The idea of turning 30 later this year has turned me into that cliched woman who begins to question things! Having spent 10 funfilled and crazy years acting I am beginning to crave that elusive "secure" life that I have occasionally witnessed in my friends who managed to become doctors and lawyers during the years in which I was dancing to ABBA and dying on a barricade nightly. So instead of retraining as someone who can do things with computers which might bring me this security I became a freelance feature writer which I now understand is as uncertain and unsure as acting! It seems I am destined to follow what I love and never get a step on the property ladder.
But now my loyalties are torn. Whilst applying daily for writing jobs and dreaming of sitting at a news desk I am still getting called in for auditions for jobs which if I am honest dont't really appeal to me in the same way as they used to. For example, I am meant to be finding two uptempo pop songs right now for an audition tomorrow but the fact that I am blogging away instead says it all. But get me up on the stage, as I am currently doing nightly in Hello Jerry! at The Landor Theatre, London and I come alive and all thoughts of headlines and newsflashes are overtaken by tap shoes and jazz hands!
So am I clearly having that 30 year old woman meltdown I read about in magazines, or developing two personalities or have I learnt to love two careers and maybe just maybe I can work out a way of working them alongside one another?
But now my loyalties are torn. Whilst applying daily for writing jobs and dreaming of sitting at a news desk I am still getting called in for auditions for jobs which if I am honest dont't really appeal to me in the same way as they used to. For example, I am meant to be finding two uptempo pop songs right now for an audition tomorrow but the fact that I am blogging away instead says it all. But get me up on the stage, as I am currently doing nightly in Hello Jerry! at The Landor Theatre, London and I come alive and all thoughts of headlines and newsflashes are overtaken by tap shoes and jazz hands!
So am I clearly having that 30 year old woman meltdown I read about in magazines, or developing two personalities or have I learnt to love two careers and maybe just maybe I can work out a way of working them alongside one another?
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