Dipping my toe back in

So!

To introduce myself back into the acting world, I helped a casting director friend out the other week with a new drama that I believe will be shown in 2014. I don't know if I'm allowed to say what it is so to be safe, I'm keeping schtum about what it was.

However, the morning itself was so much fun! Basically, it was a recall for 2 actors (though thankfully not for the same part #awks) and I was reading for them so they had someone to bounce off in their audition. Initially I thought it would be like any normal audition situation - the actor walks into a room where people are sat behind a desk and reads and then leaves. 

Was it like that??

Nooooo.

Instead, I found myself mime-sword fighting - thanks JH for my stage combat certificate, it finally came in handy! Mime-sword fighting whilst trying to play lines in a way that doesn't fuck up the actor you're playing against - it is their audition after all. Thankfully though, I've always been able to soak up lines like a sponge (provided there aren't shedloads) and so was able to flail my arm about in a what I hoped looked like a cool, professional sword-wielding way. 
Both actors auditioning were simply lovely and I was reminded what it was like being in a rehearsal room and that was rather thrilling!

The whole time we were doing these scenes, we were being filmed by the director, which I found unnerving and a new experience. But on reflection, I suppose it was a good one because now I'm prepared if it ever happens again!

In one scene (and there were many), myself and the other actor were playing ex-lovers and had to have a proper fight (whilst trying to stab eachother with swords) and by the end of it, we were screaming at eachother; when the director yelled "Cut!", we were both panting and my hands were shaking, which took me right back to rehearsing Antigone at the National earlier this year. I remember shaking when we finished a scene I had been shouting so much (saying that, that could have been the fact that it was the day after Press Night so...).

Anyway! Little blog about my first little venture back into the wild...

xxx

Glad I had the time out but...

Well, hello!

It has been a while, hasn't it?

I have decided to write this blog because there have been a change recently and I wanted to write about it. Firstly, after taking time off from having anything to do with acting, I have had a rethink and decided that my life without acting is like a world without Channing Tatum - meaningless. At the time, I was so convinced that taking an indefinite "break" was exactly what I wanted to but over time, I found myself cracking a bit.

For instance, I'd be watching a TV drama and break down because I'd realise that with my new decision, that was never going to me; or I'd go and see a show and not be able to switch off thinking how I would have played the character - and then I'd cry afterwards because I knew that I'd never get to work on a script again. I know this all sounds horribly wanky but there ya go. And of course, it all got taken out on poor H!

So... A few weeks ago, I met with my agent and we had a lengthy chat about what we were going to do in 2013 - an action plan, if you will. And whilst no one knows if any of it will come to fruition, it's a plan and that's something I didn't have a few months ago.

So, as of January 1st 2013, I am officially back to being an actress who does some odd jobs on the side and to anyone who might find my flaky, well, find me an actor that's not. However, I will say that if I find myself taking a "break" a second time, that will definitely be it for me. So here goes.

Happy New Year!