September 2008 Archives

Following on from my TIE rantings of last week, I couldn't resist writing about a play I was treated to by Dutch company Speeltheater at the Unicorn.  Although not strictly branded "TIE" but "children's theatre", much of the shoddy work I was referring to in my last blog relates to pieces written for children and teenagers. These pieces tend to be blunt and patronising, whereas the best TIE doesn't try to deliver an obvious message, but encourages its audience to think about the issues in the play and draw their own conclusions (which, if it is a good TIE play, will be the message it had intended!).   

Hi my name is Rebecca and unlike the bloggers you have met so far, just to add something a little different to the mix - I am a musical theatre graduate! Now despite popular preconceptions, this doesn't mean I can't act or wouldn't like to work in a medium other than musical theatre - I hope that I could.  We "MTs" simply act additionally through song, through dance - we just enjoy multitasking.

After loving student drama a little too much at university I found myself, after 3 years of Geography, doing the unthinkable - spiralling into further student debt (one year's training in London practically costs the same as three years at university) to train and pursue a long held dream of becoming a professional actress. So, as I watched many friends walk into wonderfully well paid jobs and beautifully furnished flats, I undertook a gruelling year of training - trust me, after sitting sedately in a library for three years to then be thrown into daily ballet barre at 8.30am is a shock to the system!

Indeed training was not all fun and games. Reality television shows may have led me to expect glamorous work in whitewashed rehearsal rooms with Andrew Lloyd Webber at the piano. Actually back in real reality I found myself wearing all black rehearsal clothes, with evil make-up expressly forbidden, working long hours and often six day weeks for a whole year with limited holidays, (needless to say, minus Lloyd Webber at piano) to ensure a thorough training for the profession. After completing this (the prospectus describes it as) "intensive, fast paced course designed to prepare students for a successful career in musical theatre and in other genres" it all comes down to 2 minutes 30 seconds.

That's right - one end of year showcase during which industry professionals have 2 minutes 30 seconds to decide whether each student is what they are looking for. To organise such a graduate showcase is no mean feat. Graphs are plotted (seriously) to ensure a fair split of the 53 minute long showcase to each student, with solo numbers timed repeatedly against the clock. Songs, dance numbers and acting pieces are carefully chosen to place each individual into a suitable casting niche whilst also showing their versatility. Staff and students work tirelessly to produce a seamless piece of theatre which is both enjoyable and informative for the attending industry professionals who - let's face it - have seen it all. I watched on as the show took shape to see the confident and self assured class of 2008 (myself included) turn into neurotic wrecks, with decisions of what colour dress/shirt to wear possibly becoming the one decision that could tip anyone into complete despair. How ridiculous.

However once showcase day arrives, there really is little time to enjoy the moment. I found my 2 minutes 30 seconds went by in a blur. In fact I had trouble believing it actually happened - I exited stage right wondering if I had actually opened my mouth to sing my solo number. After the showcase we were all hurried into the theatre bar for a necessary first lesson in the art of networking. The scene that ensued post showcase could only be compared to that of a school disco with boys and girls divided, in this case industry professionals at one end of the room and students at the other, waiting to be "asked to dance". Standing there with a polite smile on my face, sipping fruit juice - resulted in seemingly the longest 30 minutes I had ever spent in a bar.

In the "recovery week" following showcase, my personal trauma was owning a Blackberry - which whenever it so much as beeped, caused my heart to stop in anticipation of what might be an email invitation to a "meeting" or perhaps a phone call to audition. Now I was one of the lucky ones, who did receive such calls and I have since happily signed with an agent with whom I am now developing the relationship of a newlywed couple: I call roughly once an hour each day to "see how things are going", her number is on my speed dial... and I am only mildly exaggerating! However I have come to the conclusion that it really is ok to be keen and excited about embarking on the next stage of my career and not be ashamed of that. I just can't wait to start working! Well - let's just see what happens...

'Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only once.......'

Yup, that's right folks. I'm out on tour with the 25th anniversary production of that ever so popular BBC comedy series 'ALLO 'ALLO!

I found myself in the very fortunate position of landing my first job a couple of weeks before I graduated from The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.  I've just spent the last two years there training, and having the most incredible time.

I came into this profession a little later in life than most and now at the tender age of 34 I can finally say 'I am a working actor'.  And I do say it, often.  It feels great!!!!

The past two years have been among the hardest and most challenging of my life, both physically and emotionally, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I hope to talk a little more about my time at BOVTS over the coming weeks but to all you lovely people who graduated with me... I MISS YOU!!!!   And I would say to anyone who feels an itch to follow their dream 'Just do it!'  Or did Nike get there before me?

Working on 'ALLO 'ALLO! has been a great experience so far.  We previewed in Stevenage last week and I'm very excited about jumping on the train to Blackpool tomorrow morning.

What I am hoping to do is talk about life after Theatre School and my experiences of being on the road for the next 4 months.

This is my first blog, so please be gentle.

Luvvie hugs and kisses!!!!

Two months after graduating from drama school and moving to London I landed my first job in the West End... waitressing.
I'm already starting to panic my acting skills are failing me. It's immensely difficult to pretend to be happy for every minute of a fourteen hour shift serving burgers oh-so-close to theatreland.
Apologies for starting on a moan, I simply feel the need to share my pain.

I trained in Scotland at Queen Margaret University and made the move to the smoke pretty much immediately after finishing. As an English actor it was always the plan to leave behind the bagpipes and bellyflop into the big pond. The smaller pond of Scottish theatre is rather overpopulated with gargantuan and hugely talented fish who know fish who knew fish with Scottish accents.

I would have loved to have gone for more work there but I knew there would be more opportunities closer to home.  Three years of vodka-fuelled attempts to convince cabbies I was born and bred did not pay off. No amount of recordings, phonetics work or parroting ( 'd' yooo lake deep freed Maaars baaars') could seem to improve my Scot-(ish) yelps.

So I'm on the audition trail and avoiding anyone who even looks like asking me if I have had any success yet. One question I seem to be answering a lot though is "Tell me about Queen Margaret University, I don't know much about that school".
I don't know if it's because we are a university course, or that Edinburgh is a tad more than a mile north of Watford but I know we are certainly underrated.
The successes of my year group so far have been glittering, but only since my lovely friend and classmate Chloe Thorpe won the Spotlight prize have I even heard a whisper about the school. I spent three phenomenal years under the watchful eye of some incredibly talented, inspiring and dedicated teachers.
I'm not planning on blogging for Scotland on this but it has just cropped up a few too many times on my graduate adventure. A journey which I continue with my sleeping bag in tow as I move from sofa to sofa, keeping an optimistic and ever hopeful outlook.

Time elapsed since finishing Drama School: 4 months

Letters written this year: 200+

Agent interest: 2

TV Castings: 1

Theatre Auditions: 2

Jobs: 0

 

Guess what guys! Being an actress is hard. Some of you aspiring actors may be reading this blog to nurture your naïve belief that drama school is the springboard to guaranteed success, but I would like to shatter that belief right now. Don't get me wrong, for some lucky few there are jobs and agents waiting for them on graduation - or even before. Yet however talented you may be, most of the luck is based on having the right look to fill a hole in an agent's books, being in the right place at the right time etc. and that's just the way it is. Now I don't want my introduction to be all doom and gloom in my first entry, because believe it or not I'm quite a cheery person! Which is why I know that however hard times may get, I'm never going to give up believing that I can do it. And that is the most important thing I have learned over the past four months, and something that drama school can never teach you.

 

The importance of attending drama school in order to become a successful actor was never questioned in my mind, and judged that without the former you could not become the latter. Yet it is becoming increasingly apparent that many other factors can lead to one becoming a successful actor, bypassing the 'essential' training completely. Take for example this weeks article in The Stage on Eddie Redmayne. Whilst studying at Cambridge, his old drama school teacher suggested he audition for the 400^th anniversary production of Twelfth Night staged by the Globe, got the part of Viola, was watched by other agents seeing their own clients and then signed with a prominent agent.  A succession of good fortune later, he was filming in Hollywood with big A-listers, and is now back in the UK currently in BBC's Tess of the D'Urbervilles and this week is performing at the Royal Court! Now that just makes me sick with envy, and I defy any other unemployed actor to not feel the same. You could put his success down to a natural intuitive gift which with a lot of luck has resulted in a CV to die for. Nevertheless, there is also another route into showbiz that is as equally sickening, and successfully avoids the drama school route, and that is Family. 

 

If your surname happens to be Redgrave for example or other such dynasty your career is pretty much laid out in front of you, because genius is in the blood and contacts and a ready made network are at your finger tips. Take for example Rafe Spall, son of Timothy Spall. Did his grounding at National Youth Theatre (as do thousands) and from there went into film and TV and put in a brilliant performance in Wide Sargasso Sea (when I first saw him on TV) and then another cracking performance in Room With A View, starring alongside his father. A talented actor not suffering at all from any lack of drama school training, but probably benefiting a lot from his father's connections.

 

However it could be pointed out that the untrained actor's forte is screen work. This is of course because theatre is a completely different kettle of fish, and demands a different skill set to that used in front of the camera. A skill set that I believe I competently possess as a direct result of my drama school training. Physical awareness, a sound understanding of safe use of voice, textual analysis and understanding (from various practioners Stanislavski/ Chekov/ Hagen) are all essential elements of any acting course. A lot of this information is contained within accessible books that could be self-taught. Yet the practical application of these methods, being able to observe others and receiving constructive criticism is invaluable and could not be replaced.

 

One of the unique elements of drama school is the group of people who start out as strangers in September, and three years later you know them better than any of your friends at home, or even your own family. You know their insecurities, their strengths, see them at their weakest and most vulnerable, and then see them flourish and succeed in an art that you are all equally passionate about. Drama school is definitely not a bed of roses by any means, but it's the people who understand exactly how it feels to strive for your dream who make the hard times easier. The people who I consider to be my friends I know will be my friends for life, and for that reason alone I would not swap my drama school experience for anything else.

Hello World!

I guess first things first, a polite introduction. I am Brennan Reece, a 21 year old, Mancunian who has just graduated from Birmingham School of Acting to embark on a career within the big bad world. A career which will heavily involve; answering office phones, selling lovely stuff to the inhabitants of this earth and lots and lots of temping, with my main ambition to increase my average words typed per minute to 104...or maybe not. But from my personal experience it seems that this is the sort of mentality drama schools like to set you up with.

It seems as though drama schools are preparing you for the worst upon leaving their establishment, constantly drilling you with facts and figures of how the job is 99% rejection or how 8 out of every 10 actors are resting... animosity amongst fellow actors within the already ruthless acting community.

Yes, the business is hard to succeed in, but I feel that if drama schools gave their students a sense of hope instead of putting them down and preparing them for the worst case scenario, they would strive for success and ultimately have a better attitude to go into the professional world with. I feel that if I had not had previous experience within the industry I would have not been as pro-active to succeed in the business, and with the little bit of success I have gained since leaving drama school, I wouldn't have dealt with it as professionally as I have done.

The message that drama schools give out require a happy medium, don't put the students down and don't give them a false sense of the industry and their career, just be realistic. The situation is very much like the quote by comedian George Burns; "I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate."
Thinking about it, it is nothing like it. I only added it because I have heard that if you use quotes it makes you seem much cleverer. I am actually just a fan of the quote!

After recounting the same story to various different people, I have come to the conclusion that it is not considered normal in everyday society to put your foot in your colleague's mouth. (Literally.)  So why, three months into drama school training, did I consider this to be slightly repulsive but not especially abnormal?  How exactly does foot-licking fit into my aspirations of performing with the RSC, appearing in an episode of Peep Show, and following generally in the footsteps of Helena Bonham Carter?  Perhaps, the day I play a great Kane-inspired role which requires me to eat my scene partner's foot, I will understand.  Meanwhile, as I desperately attempt to get my career off the ground, here are some points I can give what I hope is at least partially intelligent thought to.

After a thoroughly gruelling year at drama school, playing every part under the sun from a crazed androgynous ex-celebrity to a sweet middle-aged virgin, you may be wondering why I am beginning to seriously consider dying my locks and undergoing a sex change.  For any aspiring actors who have just been accepted to drama school and think that the biggest hurdle is over, think again!  If, come showcase, the agents are looking for "blonde boys", and you happen to be a "slightly-rounded-brown-haired-female-in-her-20s", then you will be starting your career in pretty much the same way as I am - hunting for auditions and desperately utilising any contacts you may happen to have.

Which brings me to that other vital skill every actor should have: networking.  How I loathe it!  As an actor in my position, you are expected to approach anyone who is deemed to be "anyone" in order to shake their hand in a cringe-worthy fashion and quickly think of something to say that may be semi-relevant.  But unless you have the ability to charm in an engaging yet subtle manner (a skill the American students in my graduating group seemed to manage with gracious ease, while the Brits generally huddled in a corner looking uncomfortable before taking the plunge into the fawning, sycophantic mass), then this is not going to do you much good.  If these people were really interested in talking to you in the first place, they probably would have seized their chance the minute they saw you.  That is, if they didn't have a desperate simpering actor already clinging to their arm with whom they were politely engaging in conversation.

So, what comes next for a 23-year-old actor from "up north"?  The fact of the matter is, there is little work during the summer months at the best of times, but with increasing numbers of actors training and rapidly dwindling employment opportunities, it is seemingly very difficult to find any work that promises to keep you artistically satisfied.  It was an enormous relief to audition for a company recently who were actually meeting with other trained, or adequately experienced, actors.  Previous auditions had met a wealth of untrained and frankly desperately unskilled "actors".  Although admittedly the scripts left much to be desired, even in all my years of amateur theatre I had never witnessed such appalling performances and I have been left astounded to discover that many of these inexpert performances have been entertaining audiences for many years and actually getting paid for it!  It almost begs the question: If these are the only auditions I am ever invited to, have I ruined my chance of happiness by developing a sense of artistic integrity which makes the thought of working in my local fast food chain preferable to actually performing some of these scripts?

I used to think that recently trained actors who refused to touch TIE pieces were pretentious, arrogant snobs.  But now, I think I am developing a rapport with this vast group - It's a shame that there's so much shoddy work out there devaluing the good that well thought-out, good quality TIE can do.

The Stage is pleased to announce the launch of our Grads' Club Blog!
Featuring contributors who have all recently graduated from CDS schools, the Grads' Club blog aims to provide an insight into what it's like for actors, dancers and those trained in musical theatre to step foot into the industry for the first time and focus on the trials, triumphs and tribulations encountered by our chosen few.

Our bloggers will be commenting on their working (or resting!) lives and providing a place where our readers can catch up, check in and share their own wealth of experiences and advice with the graduates and anyone else reading, trained and non-trained alike!

The Stage's Grads' Club blog is officially launching on Monday*, so pop along and see who they are and what our graduates have been up to - and don't forget to say hello and offer a few words of encouragement to them!

The Stage