Theatre or theater?
Θέατρο (theatro) avoids the "re" versus "er" battle -- and of course it's used to mean both in Greek so not sure where along the line this difference emerged....hmmm interesting...OPA!
Strangest Θέατρο related job?
I have had many odd experiences – I remember I worked for a summer rep company in MD and when my show was not up then I had to house manage the matinees where most of the audience were elderly patrons and so had to be in charge of helping them understand things, quiet them in the performances, and even consul them and their farting in the theatre!
I know people won’t forget me being cast as a gay man in a monkey suit with a green sock to resemble a zucchini that was supposed to resemble a penis!
I also remember being cast in a piece where I along the way became the producer, co-writer and assistant director, and then discovered why – the other actor in the piece turned out to also be the director and the writer and kept assigning me more and more things so that he could be around me all the time! One day he handed me a script where the character name I was playing had now been changed to my own full name which felt strange but I went with it. Then the following week he said he had written a love scene (in a very psychological/political play) and that he wanted to spend rehearsal “practicing” the kiss so it would appear authentic. He kept saying he wanted to “practice” the kiss not “rehearse” the kiss! So, I confronted him and he admitted that he had looked me up online and saw a photo of me playing a librarian in some play and it had really aroused him so that’s why he cast me, and hired no one else, for anything, because he apparently had a librarian fetish. And he wanted to date me. Here I was working my arse off to sort out the space, fundraising, learning my lines, and it was all a bunch of baloney! Needless to say, that play never happened! But he did call me on and off for nearly three years after trying to “re-connect”!!!
What experience made you want to become an actor?
I grew up on movies. Watching movies was, and still is, almost like a family outing/adventure/event. We would watch them all the time – which is why my DVD collection is HUGE!! I am obsessed with movies! I used to apparently watch them and then re-enact them all the time too – I have witnessed this on family videos! It’s quite funny! I also noticed that I was an attention grabber – the parents would be filming my cute little younger brother and I would literally steal the poor boy’s thunder in every shot!! I don’t remember the moment I made the connection that I want to be an actor – but it was never a question. I do wish I had some defining experience/moment though that I could pinpoint.
Apparently it was very obvious that is what I was going to be since I used to put on “plays” in the garden at home and make everyone at the house who was there for dinner come and see it – they actually had no choice! I would lay out chairs and glasses of water for everyone and put on all kinds of performances. Apparently also, if someone spoke or laughed or I perceived someone as not paying attention, then I would throw a fit and start from the beginning again as their punishment! I can picture my spoiled little self doing that too!!
It’s funny how movies were, and still are, my love, yet, there is nothing like performing live and having people watch you – I do remember figuring that out very young – that I had the ability to make people laugh or cry or feel something. And that was exciting!!
Very first role on stage?
I actually don’t remember officially – I would love to know what my first role was, but was way too young. For some reason I do recall playing maybe a bird or duck #3 (I could totally be making that up!!). I know I went to all girls’ schools in London all the way until 18 so the joke was I played all the male roles – I even got an award as “Best Honorary Male Actor”!!
Tragic flaw?
You mean flawS – which leads directly into the fact that I apparently am very self-negative – the first thing that comes out of my mouth as an automatic response to a compliment is always NO! I like to think of myself as realistic or what I call “pessimistically optimistic” but I will admit that I do need to work on that. I am also very self-critical and too nice and….I could go on forever! See what I mean!! Tragic L
If you were a 1980s television show sidekick, who would you be?
Well, since I grew up in Europe, the two television shows that I used to watch every day after school were the Australian sitcoms “Home and Away” and “Neighbours” – that still play to this day!! They were so dramatic and hilarious!! LOVE THEM! I sadly don’t have one particular female character I wanted to be (I just wanted to be on the shows with them!!), but I remember watching it for Kylie Minogue when she was still on it!!
No comments:
Post a Comment