Introduction: Home/Identity
My second year of training at Leeds Conservatoire lent me a greater understanding of how I am progressing as an actor in terms of skill and industry awareness. This portfolio is helpful in reflecting on my second year of skills as well as discovering how my industry practice can progress whilst nurturing the connections I currently have in order to book as many jobs as I can as a young performer in the industry.
My main goal for second year was to further examine myself as an actor, refining my casting type and cementing my process. When looking at my reflections, I noted I had given minimal thought into my brand so I spent my second year exploring what roles suit me and which feel out of my scope. However, I was able to anchor myself in the process I have been building from first year when I felt stuck to test if it is as effective as I believed.
Biography:
When writing my biography, I knew I wanted it to sound more professional than conversational whilst still leaving room to show my personality and interests. (Fig.1 and 2). I chose to write in the third person to make the biography more formal but I felt the draft was too straightforward, just listing interests and achievements without any personality. Limiting it to the 150 word count helped in choosing the key sentences I wanted to be kept in, such as my music background, ending with a biography that balances achievements and personality more correctly. Upon reading my first draft, I also felt it limited my capacity by nailing myself down to being from Northern Ireland. I took this segment out in the final draft to allow a more broad castability and not put myself into any box. However, I believe stating I wish to focus on screen acting was a valid limitation to guide readers towards what style of acting I want my career to be.
Industry Landscape:
After graduating, I plan to base myself in Belfast. I have become increasingly aware of how many television shows have been coming from Belfast recently such as ‘Blue Lights’, ‘How To Get To Heaven From Belfast’, ‘Hope Street’ and more. I researched who the casting directors were for these projects and noted the agencies they go through to find their actors, especially the agencies that have a focus on screen (Fig. 3). My main concern about a Northern Irish focus was inviting agents to my third year showcase as it is unlikely they will fly over. However, both Nova Arts and Shelley Lowry have bases in London which is leaning me towards them to cover multiple areas and potentially have more chances of auditions. I have also noted I have a showreel to send to them and my showcase scene will be filmed for future use.
After researching Carla Stronge, I found a workshop she is doing alongside Mike Hooley in screen acting over summer (Fig 4.). It will be a good chance to introduce myself or at the very least make them aware of me whilst also helping me in the specific type of acting I want to do in my career. I built my solar system by meeting up with my cousin, Abbie Parkinson (Fig 5.) who is currently signed with UNTAP. She advised going to the Bruiser Graduate School summer course, where after two weeks of extensive training you present a monologue to different agents and casting directors. I have worked with Bruiser before during secondary school, performing 10 minute Shakespeare plays around schools so I felt it would be good for nurturing my connection with the company whilst also meeting new casting directors. I also met with my director, Jess Millward from my first project in year two at a scratch night in Sheffield that my friend was performing at. Nurturing this connection is important to me as I believe we work extremely well together and she has recently been shortlisted for the Leeds Playhouse submissions window which has a good connection with Leeds Conservatoire.
Key Moments In My Second Year Training:
- Jungle Book Audition
The mock audition with Suzy Catliff was my first experience of meeting a casting director. It was an extremely useful part of my training as it gave me a chance to practice how to correctly research before an audition. After discovering Suzy casted three seasons of ‘Casualty’, I mentioned it in my audition as a family favourite growing up which I believe struck a tone of respect and showed my research without coming across as desperate. I also learnt how to respond to feedback quickly when she requested I change the American accent and tone that I was using for Baloo and had practised with. At first, I was stressed with such a big change being requested with no time to think about what choice to perform so I took my time to re-enter the scene which I was proud of because I had learnt to give myself time to process the feedback I had received before diving back into the audition. This was also stated in my feedback (Fig 6.). My nerves before entering the audition were quite high, I felt the mock audition I had done the week before was not to the standard I wanted and I wanted to prove myself. Often actors are told to use their nerves to their advance which never truthfully clicked with me until this mock audition. It brought stakes to my performance and the nerves were great to pull energy from when playing such a charismatic character. All of this learning has led me to feel confident to enter auditions without the safety blanket of performing to only lectures and peers.
2. Macbeth
When we were getting cast for our Shakespeare assessment, I really wanted the Macbeth scene because I believed it would be a good challenge. I also believed out of all of the characters, it was the closest to my casting type. Throughout rehearsals, I was struggling heavily and I was not performing the scene justly because I always underplayed the stakes. Throughout my acting training, I have developed the habit of trying to find light in every scene which was not correlating to Macbeth’s tragic tone. My lecturer told me to ‘utilize the language’ in order to raise the scenes’ stakes but I was still struggling to play the scene truthfully. It was only after Aaliyah and myself began changing the circumstances of the scene that the stakes began to become clearer. We played our scene in multiple scenarios such as an interrogation room and a reality television show which allowed us to play our characters differently whilst trying to find the same intensity. This allowed me to reflect on how I view tragedy as an actor and how I had to remove any pre-existing thoughts of how to act in a tragedy and to instead focus on the realities of these characters’ lives to lift the motivations and in turn raise the stakes. During this assessment period, I learnt how to find enjoyment in playing tragic characters and noted that these roles are the ones I want to perform in the industry which was helpful when asking my acting lecturer what my type casting was. The assessment allowed me to feel confident to tackle these roles in future without fear of struggling when I am out in the industry.
3. Screen Techique
During my first year, I thoroughly enjoyed screen acting despite never thinking of the technique that goes behind it. As an actor, I was not thinking of the camera, continuity errors or shot sizes. I was not industry prepared. A particular highlight was the lesson Matt Lewey taught about eyelines where two people went up and performed a scene centered in a lecture hall whilst looking in completely different directions. The shots were later edited together to look like they were actually looking at each other (Fig 7.). Our only indicators during the scene were Matt saying when our scene partner had received or sent a text. He explained this can often be done in lower budgeted pieces to make the room look larger in post production and it offered a great insight into how artificial filmmaking can be. I believe the lesson gave me further industry insight and allowed me to practise a different way of acting rather than theatre that usually allows you to feed off your scene partners. The continuity lessons also were useful in practically showing me how much actors on screen have to think about everything they touch whilst also staying in their circumstances. It shifted my perception of screen acting, changing it from a hyper-naturalistic ‘do what you want’ style to more of its own art form which was very insightful and solidified for me that it was what I want to do in my career.
4. Intimacy Training
The intimacy workshops with Christiana Fulcher were extremely useful as a beginners guide to intimacy training. I had no prior knowledge of any of the protective garments they use to keep actors safe and I had never been choreographed through a scene involving intimacy. I never thought I would find intimacy scenes to be challenging or intimidating until her second workshop where me and my partner performed our extract to the rest of the class. I found myself nervous to perform the scene, especially since I was the first volunteer and wanted to do a good demonstration. After the first run, Christiana directed us in how to develop the scene, using her beats system and levels of touch to create a clear guide. This allowed me to understand that I was not hesitant about the intimacy in the scene, instead it was clarification and mutual understanding to a particular level with my scene partner that was the block stopping me from giving a committed performance. Having this first experience in a safe environment with my peers was extremely beneficial before entering the industry as I am now aware of the basics of intimacy training such as bodymapping. I was able to place this training in practice in my first project ‘The Rimers Of Eldritch’ where me and my scene partner would use all the techniques Christiana gave us to create a safer rehearsal space when tackling challenging topics. This practice has given me the knowledge to discuss with my agent what I am comfortable to do and allowed me to understand what I am willing to do as a performer on stage/screen when entering the industry.
Headshots:
When first looking for headshots, I knew my priorities were to find a photographer who created professional portraits and leaned into darker colours whilst still having a variety of ‘looks’ in their arsenal. This had multiple reasons, mainly because I believed darker colours would compliment my features more and it would also fit my casting bracket more than the likes of pastel colours. I began looking at the current third year headshots for ideas and Chistopher Fields caught my eye (Fig 8). His shots had a wide variety of expressions from serious to lighthearted whilst still feeling genuine and professional. I especially liked the colour background and noted that the colours green and brown compliment it and this guided me towards the specific jumpers and tops I want to wear in the headshots. My only challenge with appearance was my hair as I currently have a mullet. I was unsure as to whether I should change my hair to a more broad hairstyle that could potentially cover various casting types or remain with my mullet for a more specialised appearance. As my headshots are being taken in July, I have time to grow my hair out and decide what decision to make, still choosing a hairstyle I know suits me and I will keep to prevent risk.
One artistic choice I have noted is some clients ask for some black and white shots (Fig 9). I believe this takes personality out of the headshot and makes it harder to place the person. I have requested all my shots to be in colour.
The photographer, ‘papertrees’ is based in Belfast which is accessible to me and saves any travel fees (Fig 10). Having my headshots done by an Irish photographer also helps highlight my identity as a performer to any casting directors which I believe is helpful. I immediately trusted he was at a good professional standard when I researched he had taken headshots for Ciaran Hinds and Dylan Llewellyn. He also charges 110 pounds for 8 headshots which is a price I am willing to pay for his work.
CV
I am very pleased with the CV I have made, I believe it looks professional and provides all the information that is required in an easily digestible way. I chose the light purple colour for my template as I felt it created a calming, light effect that would not make the CV feel heavy or too formal. Choosing to place all of the standard information along the side was also beneficial for structuring since it allowed more room to be allotted to the ‘about me’ section and my credits which are what stand out. I plan to fill my credits with more professional work but for the present, I placed amateur drama productions and student films I have participated in to make it look full and complete. Alongside this, I provided a space for my headshot to belong once they have been taken.
One area I struggled with was the ‘about me’ section. I was cautious to use any information that was in the ‘skills’ section to avoid repetition so instead I only mentioned one skill and used the rest of the paragraph to paint a picture to the reader of what energy I bring as an actor. This led to the challenge of trying to find the line between self confidence and sounding arrogant which I was concerned about. I combatted it by using positive adjectives to describe myself but not claiming any acclaim but I believe created a confident and proud section without seeming too arrogant.
In terms of size, I wanted the CV to fit a singular page for neatness yet I did not want it to look tight or fitted. I believe the end product is acceptable but I wish there was space for my credits. Once I have some professional credits, I am planning to cut down the ‘about me’ section as readers will find facts more important than personality when reading a CV, the headshot should give them some essence of who I am as a performer.
Summative Statement:
Second year has not ‘changed’ me as an actor, I believe it has allowed me to understand myself and develop my pre-existing skills to enhance my abilities. Every aspect of my training; movement, acting, voice and industry awareness feels more nurtured and I know what works for me personally whereas in first year, I was not clear on my process or my strengths/weaknesses. My overall confidence has increased, primarily due to the addition of external lectures and guests becoming more prominent through our first project and workshop weeks. Overall, second year has set me up excellently for my final year, providing me with a clear set of goals and accessible ways of achieving them.
One of my main goals is to solidify a scene partner and scene for the third year showcase. During this year’s scene study classes, I had multiple opportunities to work with various people and multiple texts but none of them have felt like the best scene to sell myself as a product. However, they have steered me in the right direction because now I feel capable of assessing how I work, understanding that I need to be off-book as soon as I can and use rehearsals with scene partners as workshops where we play with scenes in various ways to test if we can bounce off each other and create natural chemistry. I have also noted that I work best in a dual-direction room where both scene partners have equal leadership in how the scene is portrayed. Alongside this, I have learnt what I desire in a showcase text as I originally believed it was a scene from an Irish playwright but that was too constricting. Moving forward, I will further examine plays such as ‘Yerma’, ‘Everyman’ and ‘Unbearable Hotness’ as I believe character-driven texts with high stakes translate well for showcasing skill and personality simultaneously for agents.
Another goal for my third year is to expand my solar system. Although external directors and meeting with agents from the showcase naturally do this, I want to take further action. Currently, I am beginning to contact agents and casting directors for my third year whilst also noting what their solar system is, for example Mike Hooley is a strong link towards Carla Stronge. This practice in second year will allow me to put it into reality next year with directors and agents and will allow a wider solar system and provide me with further knowledge of the industry. Second year has also pushed me to use my natural strengths such as using my height to portray a lanky, ‘goof’ style of energy and my accent to heighten comedy through inflections but also use the back of my throat to create a full, deep tone in moments of anger. This pushes my goal of showing my identity through performance and I will use these techniques in third year shows to further market myself as a product rather than just an actor. To conclude, I feel ready for the industry in both marketing myself and having a solidified process to help me do the best performance to my ability. I am excited to enter my final year with a clearer concept of the industry and the confidence to take the next step in my career.
