Introduction
During my 2nd year of training, I’ve been able to make the transition between an actor full of a variety of different techniques and processes to viewing myself as a marketable actor with a clearer view of how I want to present myself in professional environments. This portfolio has given me the opportunity to articulate my process and evolution as an actor and address my struggles and goals continuing into 3rd Year. I’ve been able to develop my understanding of the industry, my type cast and the type of work I’m interested in being a part of.
Summative Statement
This year of my training has been so pivotal to my mindset about how I feel going into 3rd year and entering the professional industry. I really began to fully believe in myself and what I’m capable of as an actor but also as a person. I’ve been able to address methods and techniques that don’t work for me and accept that that’s ok. I’ve been able to fine tune my toolbox and how I approach my work but also reminding myself I can always go further. I worked incredibly hard to get into drama school and now that I’m over halfway I’m constantly telling myself to make the most of it and learn and practice as much as I can.
Voice and movement this year taught me so much about how I need to prepare for a long show run and how to warm up and cool down for the specific type of work we’re doing. I’ve always struggled with tension when performing so this was something I worked on a lot with Jo. Practicing what to do before I speak and analysing what I do instinctively made me aware of what I needed to tackle. My neck was where I pushed the most and held the most tension which then could strain my voice over time. Once I became aware of that I looked at what we had been doing in our movement classes and how I could apply that to this problem. There was a specific lesson that came to mind which was focused on alignment. We learnt about the importance of being mentally in tune to our bodies and the impact that should have on our warmups. We did a variation of exercises, scanning our bodies, distributing weight and releasing tension in preparation for an everyday rehearsal. The effect this lesson had on my body was incredible, I left the studio feeling lighter, prepared and with a clearer mind on what my body needs on a day-to-day basis.
When thinking about the industry the lesson that has prepared me the most was our Artistic Development classes with Claire Eden. At the start of 2nd year these lessons really overwhelmed me as I didn’t feel connected to the industry. I was aware I didn’t have a big network or involved in any work outside of drama school and I got stuck comparing myself to others who were ahead. This was a really hard feeling and I struggled to ask for help most of the time, but I had to accept I was on my own path and that connections will come eventually, I just had to work for it. Coming to drama school is already a huge opportunity to meet loads of people and reach out and I feel so lucky that I’ve been able to do so. I need to continue branching out, putting myself out there and representing myself in an authentic way. This is an important goal for myself as it will make me feel more confident and prepared for the industry.
Industry Landscape
When I got to drama school, I became very aware that I didn’t have the same network my peers had. Growing up in Luxembourg I had an extremely limited circle of industry colleagues and once I came to the UK, I knew this was something I had to work really hard on to expand. Over the course of 2nd year, I created a spreadsheet (APPENDIX A) with people I came into contact with or work I enjoyed, and the people involved.
I’ve found connecting to artists and agencies on social media really insightful in order to prepare for graduating. When researching about different agents that I’d want to invite to showcase Alex Priestley, Si Donald and Articulate Agency are just a few that I feel would be a great fit. From my research, I’ve seen that several fellow students have successfully been signed by them which gives me confidence in their ability to support someone in my position. They have many actors appearing in all types of media which I appreciate as I wouldn’t want to limit myself. I also wanted to make my expectations realistic and not overshoot my possibilities.
Suzy Catliff was a valuable connection to make because of her extensive experience and industry insight, particularly from her work as an assistant casting director for Casualty. Having worked with her during our mock audition, I appreciated her understanding of my strengths and weaknesses which made the process both insightful and encouraging. I am particularly interested in appearing in crime dramas and other BBC productions, and Suzy’s experience within high-profile British television gives me confidence that she knows how to guide actors toward these opportunities. Other BBC crime dramas that I love and that have inspired me are, Happy Valley starring Sarah Lancashire, Broadchurch, starring Olivia Coleman and David Tenant and Playing Nice featuring Niamh Algar. These actors are a true inspiration to me and the strong female roles they embodied is something I aspire to achieve in my career.
I’ve always had a love for performing in the theatre. I want to be able to stretch myself as far as I can and not limit myself to one specific style. One of my main career goals is to perform in The National Theatre, this is a goal I aspire to achieve and understanding that this may be further into my career still helps me drive towards one day achieving that. I currently don’t have the connections I would need to get there but this is something my training has really pushed me to expand on.
Biography
Writing my biography was one of the most daunting parts of preparing for 3rdyear and writing this portfolio. This came from a self-conscious place of not knowing how to speak about myself in 3rd person. I also felt self-conscious that the opinion I have on myself and the type of person I am doesn’t match how others perceive me.
To overcome this, I did some research on actors profiles on Spotlight and examples of good biographies online. This helped me view biographies as a quick and simple way to represent yourself in 100-150 words. Backstage had a really helpful page on how to write a bio, specifically their 6-point guideline on what you should and shouldn’t include which helped me prioritise my points. (APPENDIX C)
Appendix C
I started writing my bio in bursts, when the ideas came naturally instead of forcing them. I had moments of writer’s block where nothing seemed to flow, but every so often I’d have a sudden wave of inspiration, almost like word vomit, where everything poured out effortlessly. Wanting to be as precise as possible I included my most significant moments of my career, important information about myself and my most recent role which I will update to my 3rd year show before putting it on Spotlight. Those moments ended up shaping my bio the most making it feel honest and down to earth.
I started writing my bio in bursts, when the ideas came naturally instead of forcing them. I had moments of writer’s block where nothing seemed to flow, but every so often I’d have a sudden wave of inspiration, almost like word vomit, where everything poured out effortlessly. Wanting to be as precise as possible I included my most significant moments of my career, important information about myself and my most recent role which I will update to my 3rd year show before putting it on Spotlight. Those moments ended up shaping my bio the most making it feel honest and down to earth.
Headshots
As headshots are the first thing an agent/ casting director will see I want my headshots represent me as best as possible. I plan on getting my headshots done in the early summer, ready for my Spotlight profile.
After doing research on what photography styles suit me best I compiled a shortlist of some of my favourites (APPENDIX D). For my personal style, I want to showcase my warm, bright and cheerful persona but also my strong and sassy side. I made myself a colour palette (APPENDIX E) and taken note of which tops enhance my skin tone, hair colour and eyes. Georgia Willbourn and Freya May Charles were strong examples for me of what I would want. (APPENDIX F)
(Appendix E)
(Appendix F)
Narrowing down my shortlist, my least favourite headshots are Akta. I think a headshot background is important, it can make a huge difference with lighting, not making it too bright or dark and also complimenting your features. I don’t think the light, pastel background would complement my skin tone and features. I’ve also seen many actors with the same colour background from Akta, so when it comes to 3rd year, I wouldn’t want my headshot to blend in with others. I was then deciding between Michael Carlo and Tom Barker. They both have a really lovely, muted tone quality to their photos which I think will compliment my hair colour and skin tone well. I was going back and forth because they’re both similar in style, so it just came down to pricing. Because Tom Barker is in Manchester it will be more convenient and cheaper for me to go there, rather than Michael Carlo who is London.
CV
When creating my CV I wanted to make it what a CV should be, elegant, clean and clear. I wanted to make sure that all the information was in a layout that was easily readable. That my performance experience was in chronological order and the locations and character roles were clear. This is important to me because I’ve really valued my experiences and for a casting director looking at my CV I would want them to have a clear vision of what I can do. I had the same aims for my training, to do this I made a table to clearly display where I have trained. I think my CV effectively lays out my skills and to what standard. Once I get my headshots done, I will update my CV so that it correlates to my personal information, hair colour. (APPENDIX G)
Reflective Statements
Established Repertoire- Our Town by Thornton Wilder
Being in a professional rehearsal space surrounded by creative and passionate actors making work we are proud of is where I want to be for the rest of my career. This project taught me many things, my boundaries, limits and most importantly my potential. Having a 6-week rehearsal period was so valuable and gave me time to settle into a new routine with healthy habits that I could maintain throughout rehearsals helping me provide the best work possible. Alongside exploring my capabilities and committing myself to the process, it was a big learning curve for me to take care of my physical and mental health throughout this time. This was the first experience in my training where we had a long, intense and consistent project and during that late time of year in Winter I knew it would be easy to burn out, so I knew this balance needed to be one of my priorities. At the start of rehearsals I noticed as the days went on I’d become so tired and felt like I’d not recovered from the day before. I knew I wouldn’t be able to continue working like this so I needed to focus on what I could do outside the rehearsal room to manage this. Some of the things I did was, keeping a journal, I started a new hobby (painting) which was so effective to wind down after a long rehearsal day, going to the gym, specifically doing yoga, and having social time with friends in balance with work. I wanted to apply myself and gain as much as I could out of this experience and working with our extremely talented director Beth Knight, I knew this was a valuable time of my training. I want to carry this mindset into our 3rd year shows and most importantly into my professional projects after graduating.
Singing classes
Singing has never been a strong skill of mine and I’ve always been extremely anxious singing in front of anyone. Even though I don’t want to go into the Musical Theatre industry I understand it’s important to have the basic skill and understanding of reading sheet music, holding a note and singing in an ensemble. Going into the industry I’m prepared this is something I am expected to be able to do. I really wanted to push myself this term and get up to do a solo, and I ended up doing two solos, “Man I Need” by Olivia Dean and “10 Minutes Ago” from Cinderella. Our singing teacher, Jacob Savage, gave me some techniques to apply to a new song which completely transformed my performance and from the feedback I got from my classmates it was clear after doing it a couple times my confidence grew, which I definitely recognised in myself. One of the techniques that I found most effective and memorable was holding a chair above my head while singing. This engaged my core and strengthened my diaphragm alongside getting me out of my head and making me not overthink my performance. This is something I will take with me in the future, having a song in my repertoire just in case and a few exercises I can do to refresh my performance.
Marketing session with Richard Galloway
One of our sessions we had during our external artists ‘Marketing Yourself’ block was with Richard Galloway. He had an abundance amount of information and tips for actors entering the industry, as an active actor currently in the industry himself. One part about his advice that I felt was valuable was about the importance of being proactive as an actor. He emphasised about reaching out to people youre interested in working with, emailing directors, agents and fellow actors, expressing interest and also how to approach it in a professional manner. As a 2nd year actor preparing to reach out to agents/casting directors to invite them to 3rd year shows and showcase, this advice was really helpful. I now have a clearer idea how to approach this however my goal for the remaining time of 2nd year is to overcome my fear/nerves of introducing myself to agents after 3rd Year showcase. Having the confidence to introduce myself and start a conversation with someone I haven’t met before is a daunting feeling. I want to make a good first impression and represent myself in an honest, down to earth but also professional way. Going into the next project we will be working with a new director, Heather Carroll so this is a new opportunity for me. I want to push myself to have conversations and go outside my comfort zone, even if it is having conversations with other students I haven’t met before, I know this would help me be more confident in those settings.
Comedy term
Our Shakespeare project was a significant moment in my training because it made me more confident in my abilities to do comedy. The effect of the scene with Malvolio and Olivia is dependent on the contrast between what’s certain and uncertain. The timing, body language and exaggerated expression is what we used to play this scene. The moments that worked the best were moments that weren’t planned. Once we knew what version was most effective for our given circumstances, we didn’t over rehearse it to keep it fun and fresh. The performance day itself was a learning moment as the audience’s reaction to the scene was more than what we had anticipated. I found myself at times playing up to the laughs and the adrenaline drove my performance along which at times was really beneficial, but I also know not to rely on that in the future.
We also had a clowning workshop with Colin Burnicle who recently performed in ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ and ‘The Book of Mormon’. The majority of the workshop was improv based, connecting to our inner clown and then applying that work to an extract from ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’. I found this type of work super fun, playful and experimental. I’m proud of myself for going out of my comfort zone and being brave to go way over the top as this is feedback I’ve received on previous projects. It’s also opened up my mind to a wider part of the industry that I’d be interested going into.
Dark Horse Theatre Company Workshop
A key moment for me over my studies was the Dark Horse Theatre Company workshop. This workshop emphasised my need for a free, focused and non-judgmental working environment. Throughout 1st Year sometimes our rehearsal spaces would get disrupted by little conversations or comments whether that was during exercises or even when we would grab a drink of water. However, during the Dark Horse workshop, they encouraged us to keep it a “chatter free zone”. This kept our energy centred on the work and the priorities at hand, without it feeling strict or overly controlling. Reflecting on this day, I hadn’t been in an environment like this before, where everyone is driven to make the best work possible, without distractions but also having an extreme amount of fun whilst doing so.
Bibliography
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