ALRA:Article - Issue 4

04

What we’ve been up to recently: As always life in the ALRA office has been pretty busy and over the past few months a whole host of events, productions, competitions and showcases have taken place, not to mention the constant stream of graduate news. We have seen Raj Bajaj in that oh so funny Cadbury’s Cream Egg commercial, Heather Dutton touring with Dark Horse’s hit new comedy Sing Something Simple and the lovely Dan Bottomley who will be joining the Pitlochry Festival Theatre for their summer rep season, just to name a few! We kicked off the year with three cracking productions at ALRA North and South. ALRA South third years produced the Government Inspector, followed by Market Boy, which its writer David Eldridge came to and spoke very highly of. ALRA North produced The Good Person of Sichuan which wowed our northern audiences and then toured around local schools and colleges. On 19th March we held our second Stage Management and Technical Theatre Showcase which demonstrated our student’s skills in lighting, sound, prop making and set design. The students masterfully transported guests to an 18th Century Venetian Street Party, enabling them to see all of the hard work and skill that goes

on back stage. Guests such as Andy Rowley, Executive Director from the Stage Management Association, enjoyed the showcase very much saying it really was a fresh concept which clearly demonstrated the student’s skills and talents. On Tuesday 5th March our Carleton Hobbs team travelled to the BBC Broadcasting House with Gordon House, where they competed against other drama schools, performing radio duologues, monologues and a group play. The team had a great time and learnt a lot from the experience. We have some really exciting events to look forward to this month with our third year showcases at the Soho Theatre, Royal Court and Zion Arts in Manchester. Our third year students Caoimhe Farren and Lewis Morris will also be performing at the Globe Theatre as part of the Sam Wanamaker Festival on 7th April. All in all the team at ALRA are extremely proud of the work being produced by students past and present, so please get in touch and let us know what you have been up to life after ALRA.

ISSUE

Industry Insight: Sarah Hughes

Casting director @ Sarah Hughes Casting

Sarah Hughes has been working in casting for 21 years and has been Alan Ayckbourn's casting director since 1991, casting world

premieres of his plays at the Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough, in the West End, at

the National Theatre and on Broadway. For the last ten years, she has also been a

freelance casting director for the BBC, where series include Jonathan Creek, Pulling, Rock & Chips and many more. We

are lucky enough to have Sarah directing our third year actors in the South’s showcase. For showcase details please see page 15.

A casting, from a casting director’s point of view…

Prepare, prepare, prepare. When you get a casting you need to make sure you have as much information as possible from your agent or the casting director. You need to work from the ground up so start with the boring basics - travel and how to get there, make sure you time it right, you know what tube or bus to get on. It’s pointing out the obvious but do not be late! When you’ve worked out the logistics begin working on the play or script, read the whole script, even if you only have two lines it’s phenomenally important to be clued up on the whole piece. Get on IMDB and research the directors and producers, try and watch other work they’ve done. Continued on back page

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER KEEPING YOU UP-TO-DATE WITH ALL THAT IS ALRA

SPRING this issue Graduate news P.2

Fundraising your way through ALRA P.4

Generation Arts P.5

Interview: Ben Caplan P.6-7

Dark Horse Theatre P.9

Awards and Accolades P.13

After ALRA : Adrian Harris P.14

A brief selection of notable graduate

news since the last

edition...

Article: Maddy Anholt

Filling the role

Recent graduate Rick Bithell (PG 2012) landed a part in Assembled Junk’s production of Spring Awakening. Rick will be playing the part of George, a comical character and classmate of the two lead boys; Melchior and Moritz. The show will be performed from 15th – 21st April at the Kings Arms venue in Salford.

Alexandra Da Silva (3Y 2011) Last July saw Alexandra come second in Search For A Twitter Star, a national competition with a live final taking place at the Lyric Theatre. Since then, she has appeared in Momentous Musicals at the New Wimbledon Theatre and is currently in rehearsals for "Streets", a brand new play at the Cockpit Theatre from 4th-21st April. "Streets" focuses on the London riots and the affects they had on our society, and features This Is England star Danielle Watson. Visitwww.streetsproject.co.ukto find out more. If that's not enough, she is Creative Director and star of Been On Broadway, a cabaret series taking place at The Pheasantry in the heart of London's Chelsea. Their first show is on the 14th April at 8pm. Visit www.beenonbroadway.com for more info!

Jonathan James Holby (3Y 2011 ) has been trying his hand at directing, working with Black Coffee Theatre, where he will be directing The Seagull. For more information please see www.blackcoffeetheatre.co.uk Jonathan will also be appear-ing in the feature film Beat Girl.

Emmanuel Imani (3Y 2012) appeared in ‘A Thousand Miles of History’ at The Bussey Building 4-30th March. The Telegraph said of it: “...it manages to be both engaging throughout and ultimately poignant. …”

Graduate news:

[email protected] www.alra.co.uk @ALRADrama

To name but a few, Philip Goldacre (3Y 1982) Philip has worked in Canterbury Tales, Brookside, The Bill, Victoria and Albert and Michael Winner's True Crimes, and West at the Donmar Warehouse. Films include Tomb Raider: Ascension, The Vision, Wednesday, Redundant and Snowman, video game Lunatix and, most recently, the short films Boy and Wolf and the title character in The Journey of Alfred Small. Boy and Wolf is entered for the Cannes Film Festival and Alfred will be released and entered for festivals in 2013.

2.

Graduate news: Going into a casting can be like going to the dentist. You look around the waiting room, everyone in there is wholly aware that you are about to undergo the same ordeal—being peered and prodded at and examined in minute detail. Your palms begin to get sweaty, your mouth goes dry, the girl next to you smiles a pained grin as she tries to pretend she is braced for what is about to happen - you respond with the same. This is a bad casting: a casting you are never going to be prepared for. The dentist and a casting should have nothing in common. It is natural for a casting to feel stressful but the trick is to use those nerves positively. There’s a fine line between being the shouty, annoying, over-confident actor at a casting and being amiable, calm and personable. The trick is - prep-aration. With preparation comes confidence; with confidence comes ability; with ability comes talent; and with talent comes work. Once you have done the casting to the best of your ability the next step is to scoop yourself off the casting room floor and go about your daily business (and try not to look at your phone every 3 minutes…) Now, there’s something very important to remind yourself here: if 40 actors are seen for one role, 39 actors won’t get the job. Not because they lack talent or because they should never act again but because that’s the game. There’s no one trick to getting a casting, no secret potion to drink to make that dentist chair look like a massage chair. It’s all about preparation and the most important thing: remembering to be yourself.

Kris Saddler (3Y 2010) has recently had his first short film - Sarah commissioned and will commence filming shortly. You will also see him in the Kinder Bueno commercial.

Student Spotlight: Charlotte Broadbent

Charlotte Broadbent is studying on our Postgraduate acting course in the North. We chatted to her about the course and her aspirations after graduating...

Q – Hi Charlotte, how are you getting on at ALRA North? Is the PG course everything you thought it would be? A-This term has just been a blur! The nature of the PG course means that you squeeze a lot into a term and it's a challenge to not only devoting appropriate time to your work, but also to find time to reflect as you're going along. I didn't really know what to expect, I knew there would be acting tech classes and voice, but something I have really enjoyed at ALRA is the variety of classes you have throughout the week. I love having classes like period movement and combat as this gives you something else to offer as an actor. Something that we're being asked to do at ALRA is link the work we do in our different classes and I'm really beginning to see how all these different disciplines compliment each other. I find the image of the 'actors toolkit' a great one as it enables you to see that you have so much to draw from. Q- What did you do previous to coming to ALRA and how did you decide the PG course at ALRA North was right for you? A- Alongside school I studied classical singing at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music. I absolutely loved it but at 18 I wasn't sure if I wanted to devote myself completely to opera. I thought about applying to drama schools but at that time I didn't feel I had the self belief to make the most of the course, I was quite shy and didn't have much confidence. I did a Drama and English Lit degree at the University of East Anglia and while I was there I became heavily involved with the drama society and the student led theatre company. While I was there I played some fantastic roles and got a lot of support which made me certain that I wanted to train to be an actor. It took me three years of applying before I got into drama school. At first I was looking at three year course but I felt that I had already done quite a lot of practical work at Uni so decided to look into PG courses. In my audition for ALRA I got a really good feeling from Clive about the ethos of ALRA and I was really impressed by the way he spoke, not only about the school but about the industry generally. I really felt like he saw me as an actor not an 'applicant' and I believed that this was a school that would care about the path of my career, not just how I got on while I was training. I was drawn to the North, partly as it's so much cheaper! But also, there many growing opportunities up North now. The BBC and ITV have both moved up here and there are so many incredible theatres and theatre companies up North. A friend of mine who trained in London said that she's had to travel to Manchester for all of her most recent auditions! Q- What has been the most enjoyable aspect of work for you on the course so far? A- I really enjoy the projects that we work on. In the PG group we have 12 hours of rehearsals a week so you can really devote time to the process. I love working with different directors and using the skills I am learning to adapt to new methods of working and new material. For me, it's exciting as it's exactly what I hope to be doing some day, the working process leading to performance. For me, this is where we really tie up all of our training and apply it to rehearsing a role. Our next project is Shakespeare and we'll be performing at the Oldham Coliseum which is a really exciting opportunity. Q- Now, you recently had some exciting news about ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, can you tell us some more about that and where we can see you? A- The Royal Exchange contacted ALRA asking for 8 students to send along to an audition for supernumary roles in their production of 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. We would be making up the townspeople of Maycomb Alabama, therefore they wanted a mix of ages, genders etc. I didn't know what to expect but just thought the experience of auditioning would be such a valuable one. I went along just looking forward to the workshop with the director, Max Webster. I was elated when they offered me a place in the company and was so pleased that Julie Burrow and Dan Henley-Welch, who are also in the North PG's got in too. It's been incredibly hard work, as well as fitting in our ALRA work but it has been an invaluable experience. The show has been so successful that they added two extra shows to the run making a total of 47 performances! We're at the Royal Exchange in Manchester from the 20th Feb to 30th March. The next show at the Exchange is a world premier of the new play 'Cannibals' and several ALRA North students are involved in that so it's really exciting to link what we do at school to the industry. Q- And finally, where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time? A- In five years time I would love to be working in theatre. I really hope to do something that tours as there are so many beautiful theatres in Britain. I would like to be at a point where my acting is what supports me and I hope that I would be doing work I was really passionate about. I really hope that, throughout my career I am lucky enough to do more than the one thing! My dream is to do theatre but since being at ALRA I've really enjoyed the acting for camera classes (once my biggest fear). I 'd love to do opera some day but then, I also love stage combat so something that involved combat would be great. I'd love to be in musicals or any form of British comedy - I really think it's the best in the world.

3. Want us to feature you in the next issue? Drop us an email: [email protected]

Want us to feature you in the next issue? Drop us an email: [email protected] Want us to feature you in the next issue? Drop us an email: [email protected] 4.

Fundraising your way through ALRA… it’s possible!

Juliet Chappell

Hi Juliet, so I am officially crowning you the Queen of Fundraising! Tell us

about your journey so far…

Thanks for that title! Well, when I accepted my place at ALRA I had £200 to my name, I wasn’t lucky enough to get a DaDA and I had no clue how I was going to fund myself through ALRA but I knew that’s where I had to be so I didn’t have much choice. It was just a case of how I could make it happen.

I had already been to University so I couldn’t get a Student Loan so I really had no idea where to start.

My mum had said to me that she thought it was possible to fundraise the mon-ey. I began with working a lot of overtime and I asked the people I worked with if they could sponsor me by buying me some of the books on the reading list. Alongside that I began to write my first funding letters, I accepted my place at ALRA still, with no real concept of how I could pay for it. In my second week I found out I had won the HSBC Student Bursary, which back then was £15,000.

The news totally bowled me over, I was ecstatic to find out they would give me £5,000 a year towards my fees. I had filmed an application video and got through to the finalist stage but I certainly didn’t expect to win.

This gave me a real boost ad I continued researching and writing to other trusts and grants. At the time the ALRA Funding Guide wasn’t created so I had to do a lot of leg-work before I could post anything off. I pleaded with any-one and everyone—trusts, rotary clubs, friends, relatives… anyone! Of course the rejection letters came in thick and fast, and more often than not, no letter at all, but I always asked in the letter if they couldn’t help me could they pass it on to someone who could.

I think I’ve written over 200 funding letters and this weekend I found out I got a £3,000 bursary which officially marks the completion of my fundraising. I have now raised enough to cover all my fees and most of my living costs for the whole three years at ALRA so I’m over the moon!

That’s fantastic news Juliet, well done! Have you got advice for those starting down a similar road?

My advice to people who are in the same position I was three years ago is: it’s possible. You have to be prepared to put in the hours, put in the willpower and tenacity to market yourself—give people a reason to help you. Every now and again you’ll get a letter or email from someone who can help and it makes the sleepless nights, gritted teeth and sheer bloody-mindedness all worthwhile.

Juliet would like to thank: Combined Education Charity of the City of London, Devon Educational Trust, HSBC, Jane Leyne,

Lionel Bart Foundation, Royal Victoria Hall Foundation, Sidney Perry Foundation, South Square Trust, St Hugh's College As-

sociation of Senior Members, Torbay Hospital Radiology Department, Veronica Awdry Charitable Trust, Women's Career

Foundation.

5.

Last year ALRA opened up our free Outreach programme to more schools up and down the country; offering free acting, voice and movement workshops. The days are run by Adrian Hall—Co-Director or Maddy Anholt- Student Adviser and they aim to give a first-hand insight into life at ALRA South and ALRA North. Recently Adrian and Maddy visited Ali Godfrey and her students at the fantastic Generation Arts at the Islington Arts Facto-ry. We chatted to her about the programme and their Outreach visit... Tell us about Generation Arts... Generation Arts is a theatre company working with young people who are not currently in education, training or employment and who may have been marginalised or identified as at risk. We currently run a number of projects with aspiring actors aged 16-25 in London. Our Future Stage Level 3 Company work with us on an intensive basis for a number of months undertaking full on acting and theatre-making training which is also accredited. We also have a fantastic weekly company of young actors who are devising their own show, and specialist summer projects. We are fortunate in that we have some absolutely excellent professional theatre practitioners working as part of the team and so the quality of training and the experience is second to none. We are also really lucky to be supported by the Arts Council. How did you come to be involved in Generation Arts Originally, I started the company in response to a need for this kind of opportunity amongst young aspiring actors who may not have had the chance to complete college or have the means to pay for short courses, acting classes or membership fees. As well as the professional training, alongside this we offer targeted pastoral support from a brilliant team of trained staff, and this is what enables young people who may have been marginalised in the past to access the opportunity and to develop as actors and as people. Can you tell us about some success stories of students who have worked with you? Our company of actors are ridiculously talented! Many of our company are in the process of auditioning for BA Acting courses right now, and there have been offers of places at a number of universities and drama schools, including Central, East 15 and ALRA of course! We’ve also had casting agents contact us with job offers, and sometimes when the phone doesn’t stop ringing it feels like we are a talent agency rather than a theatre company! ALRA recently did an Outreach visit to you at the Islington Arts factory, did your students enjoy it? The Future Stage Company have been lucky enough to work with lots of different practitioners and directors, and one of the main highlights was Adrian and Maddy’s visit. The mission of Generation Arts is to continually challenge our participants, through the work and the ‘step up’ required. It was clear from the ALRA workshop that this is how things work at ALRA too, and the company really did rise to the challenge! Is there anything we can do to support Generation Arts or similar projects? If the arts are to engage and inspire young people then we need to start seeing more pluralistic narratives in our mainstream theatres and on film and TV. Providing socially inclusive opportunities like the ALRA visit allows young people with real stories to see themselves accessing the world of acting training and helps to break down those traditional barriers. www.generationarts.org.uk @GenerationArts

Wan6.

ALRA are lucky enough to be able to say Ben Caplan guest

directed our second year students at ALRA South; alongside

teaching Ben has a glittering acting career. From working

alongside Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg in Band of

Brothers to appearing as our very own Miranda Hart’s love

interest in the hit BBC drama Call the Midwife. We caught up

with him to talk about developing ideas and where to look

when that phone refuses to ring…

BEN CAPLAN

Hi Ben, thanks for talking to us. So, you recently appeared in ‘Call the Midwife’; could you tell us a bit about it and working with ALRA grad Miranda Hart? “Well two years ago I got a call to meet the producers of the show, I’d just had a baby so that was fresh on my mind, I remember it very clearly! I met the director, producer and casting director and at that point the scripts weren’t ready. I knew it was a 6-part drama and I met with them to discuss PC Peter, who has a relationship with Miranda and then they get married and go off to Africa, but at that stage we didn’t know how the characters were going to develop. I was then offered the job and Miranda was the only other actor that had been cast. I started reading the books written by Jennifer Worth and saw that Miranda was the perfect casting. I had a couple of days rehearsal with Miranda and we got on really well. Jennifer Worth thought Miranda was great for the part; they are really lovely characters to play because they have a real honesty, they’re not very confident or used to dating. We found that we couldn’t become too comedic because it’s a drama and Miranda especially didn’t want to bring any of her comedy skills to the role. It’s really nice because the entire cast got on really well.” What has your career been like since graduating from drama school? “I graduated from Central in 1995 and I was lucky enough to get a really good agent. I started doing Shakespeare tours, and got some TV roles. I got the Band of Brothers gig in 2000 which was awesome to work alongside Tom Hanks and Spielberg; I mean, what an opportunity! I then started to get more film and TV roles, and my career started to piece together nicely. I always spend my time going from theatre and then to film because they’re such different mediums. Last year I had a break from Call the Midwife and did a couple of plays; it’s good to keep being challenged otherwise you can get very comfortable doing one thing.”

“You will always be an actor whether you have an agent or not.”

Want us to feature you in the next issue? Drop us an email: [email protected] 7.

Ben Caplan and Miranda Hart in BBC’s ‘Call the Midwife’

Did work and agents come quickly after graduating? “So I got an amazing agent straight after graduating but I soon discovered that wasn’t the best move for me. I was being put forward for roles that were too big and I wasn’t getting any work. After a year I decided that wasn’t the agent for me at that stage in my career and I found a smaller agent and started to pick up more work. I also got work off my own back and did quite a lot of fringe and went to Edinburgh. I wanted to be in control of my own career rather than waiting for the phone to ring.” That’s quite a brave thing to do when you have a big agent. “It’s very easy to think that getting an agent is the be-all and end-all to an actor’s career, but you will always be an actor whether you have an agent or not. You have to make your own connections and push yourself; make sure you’re not waiting for someone to get you work and auditions. I felt it was very important to start making those connections as soon as I left drama school and I started working with directors who at the time were quite small but now are quite established.” What sort of work did you do? “I have my own production company which I started seven years ago and I have also directed short films, produced and directed plays. My production company is called Aslan Productions and we have taken shows to Edinburgh at Underbelly. Its been great since I started my company, before I was always meeting people I graduated with and trying to get stuff off the ground. I’ve been keen to do things other than just wait for things to come up.” What advice can you give to our graduating third years? “Make your own work, start thinking about taking a show to Edinburgh and think about what direction you want your career to go in. Be aware of who is doing what and go and see loads of theatre, fringe venues as well as main stream theatres. Keep active, get involved with workshops, keep doing stuff. Make sure you keep yourself busy and don’t wait for the phone to ring. It’s important to keep your confidence up and meet with friends to read plays.”

Sam Wanamaker

8.

Caoimhe Farren: I remember going to the festival when I was in my first and second years at ALRA – watching the students perform on the Globe stage was amazing and something I genuinely aspired to. Now here I am!

It’s been great fun working with Lewis and being directed by the legendary John Wild. Although we have had to face certain challenges – fitting in rehears-

als between other third year projects, not to mention poor Lewis having to travel to London every other weekend!

It’s such a fantastic opportunity: another way to showcase your skills and a chance to meet some of the most experienced theatre practitioners in their field. But what I love most about the festival is that it’s not a competition – there’s no pressure, we can just let loose and have fun!

ALRA students Caoimhe Farren and Lewis Morris have been chosen to perform at

Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London as part of the

prestigious annual Sam Wanamaker Festival on Sunday 7 April.

Caoimhe, from Derry, Northern Ireland, and Lewis, from Wigan, will join 40 other

actors from the UK’s top drama schools in a weekend festival that will culminate

in a performance on the Globe stage. The performance will end with all the

students on stage for one of the mightiest jigs in theatre history.

Caoimhe and Lewis will represent ALRA with a scene from The Shoemaker's

Holiday by Thomas Dekker. The performance is the culmination of a weekend of

challenging and exploratory workshops and masterclasses for all the students to

celebrate their craft together.

The Festival is an incredible opportunity for these young actors; several from previous years have jigged their way straight into the Globe

theatre company and begun their professional careers on the Globe stage. They include David Oakes, who

performed alongside Gemma Arterton in the 2009 production of Love’s Labour’s Lost and went on to star in the 2011 SKY TV series The

Borgias; Ella Smith from Bedlam in 2010; and Chris Starkey and Nathan Medina who appeared in the 2012

production of Henry V.

Founded in 2007, the Festival was established to reflect the mission of the Globe’s founder, American actor and director Sam

Wanamaker, for the Globe to be a training ground for scholars and actors. Sam worked tirelessly for the last 23 years of his life to rebuild

Shakespeare's Globe on the banks of the River Thames in London.

Speaking ahead of the event, Patrick Spottiswoode, Director of Globe Education commented, “The Sam Wanamaker Festival is always an

exciting and festive celebration involving the UK’s most promising classical actors. Sam Wanamaker saw a Globe Theatre in Chicago when

he was a student. He would be thrilled to see student actors making the Globe their home in this way.”

The 2013 Sam Wanamaker Festival is supported by the Leverhulme Trust and is present-

ed in association with Drama UK. Tickets, costing £10 seating or £5 standing, are availa-

ble from the box office at Shakespeare’s Globe on 020 7401 9919.

HEATHER DUTTON AND DARK HORSE THEATRE

Hello lovely Heather! You're currently working on Sing Something Simple with Dark Horse Theatre, how has it all been going? Its been brill! Dark Horse are a fantastic company to work for and its been a really enjoyable experience. Tell us a little about your character Bonnie, a part that was written for you no less. I know! Lucky me! Bonnie is quite hilarious. She's the girl who falls in love with a different man each week. She's very bubbly and loves a good joke, (usually at Valʼs expense, Spencer's mum). Spencer is her best pal, they grew up together, so are naturally very close. It isn't all plain sailing for her in the play, though, and there are definitely a couple of ʻaaaaaaahʼ moments. She is unlucky with love and I think very naïve. Though there's nothing like a bit of grub to get her through it. One thing is for sure, I never want to see a packet of crisps EVER again...! And what work you did to prepare yourself to play her, are there parallels you can draw in your own personality? Bonnieʼs very similar to me in many ways, which is probably due to the part being written after I met Vanessa Brooks, (writer and director) and we'd spoken about the ideas she had. Because of that, there was an instant connection to who Bonnie is. A lot of the work fell in fairly naturally. The nature of the work ethic at Dark Horse is a different experience, for sure. It is very disciplined but open at the same time. You are encouraged to use as little vocabulary as possible outside of the text. Communication comes from movement or direction from Vanessa. This was very freeing actually. Often you can be stuck in a rehearsal room with the predominant person in the cast warbling on, and it becomes counter-productive. This technique allows everyone to work on a level playing field. Joe Sproulle, who plays Spencer, is a tour de force. Because Joe is an actor with Downs Syndrome, concentration is key. Everyone in the room has to be on board, if one person falls, the rest follow. I still went home and did my script work though, (Actions, objectives etc.), because I knew that it would enable me to bring more to rehearsals. But no-one else needs to know that. It's boring for them. What has been the best or most interesting thing about working with Dark Horse Theatre? They are a company that work with actors who have learning disabilities, that alone is interesting. I came with an open mind and am leaving filled with delight and I have learnt a lot from the Dark Horse actors and students. We did a couple of workshops with the students, it's remarkable how spontaneous the work can be. And the discipline, wow, they put me to shame. Maybe an outside eye would think it was a harsh environment, they get no special treatment and follow a similar daily structure to every drama school in the country, but that's exactly the point. Dark Horse are training student actors to be able to meet the difficulties, struggles, but mainly standards that are expected in the industry, why lie? How soon after graduating did you get your first bit of acting work? My first bit of work was a corporate job actually. I was in the middle of nee-where, in an orange boiler suit, reeling off a load of jargon about gas safety! Fun though, and great money! Soon after I played various parts, including Minnie the Minx, in The Trial of Dennis the Menace at the Southbank Centre. It was fab. Can you give some advice to our third year actors North and South that will graduate soon? Blimey, that old chestnut! Listen, it's not easy, you've never got any money when you're not working, you think the worlds about to end, then you get a job. And when you're stood on that stage or someone's poking a camera in your face and you get a wee tingle in your nether-regions, you know it's all worth it.

9.

ALRA: TV is a unique venture for a drama school and together with the ALRA Community, we will provide unrivalled access

to information, showreels, films, blogs, live interviews and workshops, student-made soaps and much, much more!

Kristen Anthony 3Y 2012

Alumni Answers: Kristen Anthony

Q: How have your first year after graduation been?

The time has finally come… we can now announce that ALRA have been thrust into the 21st Century with the arrival of the ALRA App. Keep up to date with all that is ALRA: be the first to find out when tickets are released, events are happening and about exciting developments at ALRA South and North. If you are an Android or Windows phone user you can go to Google Play and search for ‘ALRA’. If you have an iPhone go to the App Store and search for ‘ALRA’ Get the ALRA app today!

10.

Since graduating from ALRA last summer, I've experienced some amazing things, and learned quickly about the true nature of the entertainment industry. Before graduation I was cast in the World Arena Tour of Batman Live, which was a complete shock and was very exciting. Rehearsals began in London immediately then they were continued in Las Vegas. I was soon performing in arenas all around the US! Including the Staples Center in Los Angeles, which was pretty much an out-of-body experience. Never in my life could I have imagined I'd be performing there! When the show closed at the end of 2012, and I went home to California it was in the middle of pilot season. LA at pilot season is the busiest time of year for the TV industry, so I threw myself in! After doing numerous agent meetings, and some casting director workshops, I signed with a great agent who has clients both in LA and London! Since then I've started taking classes at the Beverly Hills Playhouse- the oldest acting school in LA, and attending casting director workshops. LA is a fast-paced and insanely busy city, but I'm having a great time learning the ropes of being a working actress in today's market.

S t a g e M a n a g e m e n t S e g m e n t

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Last year’s grads: what are they up to now?

Sometimes the saying, “time flies when you’re having fun”, can be taken a little too seriously. Pretty soon SMTT2 will all be leaving to go into the real world. Seems like only yesterday we were walking through the theatre doors for the first time, and in a few months we will be walking out of it for the last time. After the huge success last week with our own showcase, we all feel confident and prepared for the final leg of shows to conclude our time at ALRA. Some of us are already out there, working or doing placements with professionals. I never thought I’d see the day when I get the opportunity to do a 2 week work placement doing automation with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-Upon-Avon! Compared to how we all were when we first joined the course, some of us with no experience at all, we’re hardly recognisable now. We find ourselves turned loose into the industry as new people. With personal highlights of doing theatrical firearms training and getting to work closely with the current 3rd year actors as a DSM, safe to say that we love our jobs, and enjoy making the wonderful dark theatre magic happen.

Kelly Selvester SMTT 2013

Here’s a snapshot of two of last year’s three-year acting grads and

how they have found life since graduating….

11.

Since graduating last year from ALRA, I've filmed my first commercial, reached the semi-finals of Edinburgh's So you think your Funny stand-up comedy competition, did a rehearsed reading for the Royal Court, and I'm currently halfway through a 6 month tour round Austria, Germany and Italy for Vienna's English touring theatre. I was fortunate enough to leave ALRA with an agent, that I signed with from showcase, and she keeps me busy with auditions and meetings. This is something I'm very grateful for, because one of the things I found difficult when graduating from ALRA was getting used to not acting every day. You spend 3 years constantly acting and playing such a varied range of roles, it’s a shock to the system when you don't have that opportunity anymore. Its been an amazing 9 months, and I'm looking forward to finishing my tour, and getting back to London so I can start auditioning again. My focus for the rest of this year and the years to come will be on breaking into the TV and Film side of acting.

After the blur that was 3 years of training I didn't think that any year subsequently would fly by quite like this one has! However, I feel that ALRA prepared me well for the challenges of the industry and since graduating I've had some great opportunities, from rehearsed readings and theatre work to voice over and a composing gig; most of which came about from direct connections I made during training. Following an energetic and sweaty summer working on the Olympic Park I found a very different brand of training with the Young Shakespeare Company, touring Hamlet around primary schools and theatres, which was challenging but great fun. At the moment I'm chuffed to be up in Scotland rehearsing for the Pitlochry Festival Theatre's summer season performing in 4 out of the 6 plays that will run concurrently from May through to October. When this job finishes I plan on fleshing out my showreel and getting a voice reel under my belt.

Liam Jeavons

Dan Bottomley

GRADUATE NOTICEBOARD

Liam Jeavons (3Y’11) in the European tour of Around the World in Eighty Days

Robert Saunders (3Y’11) with the cast of W

ind in the Willows at Polka Theatre

Lindsey Crow (3Y ‘09) in a Cadbury’s Crème Egg ad

Akash Heer (3Y ‘10) as Raess in a

Sky 1’s Sinbad

Black Coffee Theatre’s upcoming production The Seagull feat. a host of grads

Raj Bajaj (3Y ‘11) in a

Cadbury’s Crème Egg ad

Simon Kent (3Y ’10) in Cider With Rosie with

Everyman Theatre Cheltenham

Alexandra Da Silva’s (3Y ‘12)

upcoming show Streets (p. 2)

12.

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES DIRECT FROM THE

DIRECTORS: Each newsletter we will be giving

Clive and Adrian a topic to dis-

cuss…

Clive Duncan The importance of writing letters

and emails... If there’s a question

you’d like to ask Clive

Dear Alumnus “Write ten letters every week. At least.” I tell ALRA students. You must be pro-active to generate work and this is one way to do so. Casting directors listed in Contacts would take three months, then there’s Regional Theatres, Touring Companies etc. Then, when you run out of people to write to letter writing really pays divi-dends; then you become creative. You follow up contacts, seek out new companies, get ideas, chase every opportunity - just so you can hit your target. Write for a reason. You have work on view – tell everyone. A CD you haven’t met – ask if you can. You’re working in the area – can you meet? A theatre style interests you – seek advice. It’s more than touting for a job; letter writing gets you in a pro-active frame of mind, the research needed puts you in the know and you’re getting your name out there. You’ll feel confident about yourself – important for when you get an interview. Long or short? Depends on why you write. Letter or email? Depends on the recipient – the younger generation might prefer email, the older, letters. The Actors’ Handbook can help here. Whichever, don’t send headshots! You’re on Spotlight – there’s no need. I don’t want to pester; my agent told me not to; my temp job is too tiring…. Excuses! And you know it. Robert Lonsdale, ALRA Graduate Extraordinaire says – being out of work is a full time job. Do you want to work? Write now! Love Clive x

13.

We really couldn’t have asked for a better start to 2013! Not only has it seen us scoop the prestigious Stage 100 Award for School of the Year but Miranda Hart, one of ALRA’s alumni, was recently awarded an NTA for Best Actress in the acclaimed BBC drama Call the Midwife. Coincidentally, Miranda performs alongside Ben Caplan who is currently directing our second year students; (you can read an interview with Ben on page 6). Our voice tutor at ALRA North, Natalie Grady also recent-ly found out she won an MTA for her role as Minnie Gascoigne in The Daughter in Law. Congratulations Natalie we are all so happy for you! This feature just wouldn’t sit right without another cheeky mention of our Stage 100 Award for School of the Year for AL-RA North. It’s great to see ALRA North acknowledged in this way, despite it only being three years old. With its first set of graduating third years and the development of our new home at the Mill, this is a very exciting time for ALRA! See Adrian collecting the award at The Stage Awards, above. It just keeps getting better! Thanks for all your sup-port guys!

Natalie on her MTA Award: I was absolutely thrilled when I found out that I was nominated for the award a couple of months ago but to actually win it was wonderful and a complete surprise! The Daughter in Law was such a special play to me so to win the award for that play in particular really does mean a lot and I'm very thankful to The Manchester Theatre Awards for the recognition. The awards ceremony proved that there is so much wonderful theatre going on up here, which is really exciting for the graduates of ALRA North and I am very much behind the work of the students and preparing them to enter the rich and wonderful theatrical landscape that the north has to offer. Natalie Grady collecting her MTA

After ALRA

This edition we talk to Adrian Harris who graduated from ALRA in 2004, since then, amongst many other things, Adrian founded his own theatre company -Brass Works theatre in South Gloucestershire, which continues its success with a winter show of Hound of the Baskervilles with a female Holmes.

Adrian also made a guest appearance as Norman Burnton a rather nerdy paramedic on BBC Casualty, he is delighted that Casualty loved Norman so they've brought him back as an on-going paramedic. He has been filming since October and will continue in Casualty right up to the end of the current series.

In this section we like to catch up with an ALRA grad and talk about life after graduating and what twists

and turns their careers have taken...

So, Adrian, fantastic news about Casualty! You must have been so chuffed!

Hi, yes I’m so pleased! So my character- Norman who is a paramedic, was originally just a guest part for one epi-

sode in the summer and then I found out in October that he had been increased to a semi-reg status and I’m

booked into slots now until April.

Wow, what a luxury for an actor to say he has some degree of stable work. At least for a little while!

Yes I was so pleased and it’s nice to not just be a guest part.

And how is everything going with Brass Works Theatre?

Really good thanks. I decided to start scouting for locations for the theatre company last year and I came across

this 180 sq metre room above Kingswood Heritage Museum; it’s a big, bare open room – a really great space, and

we finally got licensed to be able to put on productions after a year of paperwork in June 2012. We also luckily got

an Arts Council heritage-based grant which was really wonderful. Our first production was ‘Engineer’s Blue’ which

got a great review in The Stage too and then we put on ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’ with a female Sherlock Holmes

and that ran for 3 weeks. We have some comedy groups coming in April run by the comedienne Stephanie Wes-

ton. We are also developing a production of Macbeth with Bristol Arts for Summer 2013. I’ll also be finding out in

June whether they will be keeping Norman on in Casualty so overall it’s a very busy and exciting year so far!

So have you always been so busy?

I love to be busy and try new things, I did a few Career Days at Bristol Old Vic discussing the importance of going

to an accredited DramaUK drama school and expressing just how much acting must be a personal business - so

many actors graduate and just wait for the phone to ring.

14.

Were there any times that you considered giving up on the whole game?

Yes and no. I’m very stubborn. I always, always wanted to act but my parents said no and encouraged me to find something

stable so when I left school I worked as a mechanic. I did bits and pieces of Fringe Theatre but it wasn’t enough so I went to

Filton College in Bristol and did a B-Tech in acting but still held off going to drama school because of cost, I had a good agent

at that time but I still felt I was really lacking some good, solid training to push my career on. Then I went to ALRA and I can

honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I realised that I had to sacrifice a lot, I didn’t go out, my social life ebbed

away and a lot of friends fell by the wayside but I was determined and stubborn and I definitely made the right decision.

That’s not to say it hasn’t been tough; my heart really goes out to all of the actresses out there, I saw just how many there

were so many more than men, when I put castings out for Brass Works. We were inundated with talented actresses.

Finally, is there a memorable piece of advice you have been given that you can pass on to our graduates?

Yes, what sticks in my head is something I learnt pre-ALRA, early on in my career from former principle of Bristol Old Vic

school- Chris Denys. He said to me- “If you want to be an actor, if you really want to be an actor then you need to want to

do it, beyond anything.” It’s not about fame or riches, you have to fully commit and juggle your whole life around it. If you

find a flexible job then great but don’t get reliant on it or comfortable in that position. Acting should be your life. “You gotta

feel the fear…” as Chandler from Friends says! Make a 5-year plan and if you really decide that acting is what you must do

then never give up.

http://www.brassworkstheatre.com/

15.

Interview: Sarah Hughes cont’d

A quick word: WITH

John Wild Q: John, you’ve been Head of Voice at ALRA now for 12 years you must enjoy the job? A: Absolutely, I see it as a priviliedgged postion to be in an environment in which to nuture professional voice and aspirational young people into not only becoming professional actors but well-rounded individuals. Q: Is there anything you particularly love about your job? A: I enjoy observing students discovering more about themselves from working with their voice, it’s beyond language.

Q: And how did you come to be where you are today? I worked as a professional actor and then did an MA in Voice at CSSD, after that I worked with Roy Hart Theatre for several years which linked the body, voice and psyche. Most recently I worked with Kristin Linklater.

Q: Sounds great, and out-side of ALRA, what do you get up to? A:Apart from offering voice and audition workshops here and around the world (Paris, Madrid) I’ve been doing some writing; two years ago I took an adaption of ‘The Pigeon Affair’ based on the novel ‘The Pigeon’ by Patrick Suskind to Edin-burgh Fringe Festival. I am currently working with John Mowat on a new piece with the hope of performing later this year. I also do a lot of yoga and meditation; I actually taught my first meditation class last weekend.

Q: And finally, is there one piece of advice you can give to our recently graduated third years who have just step foot into the ‘real world’? A tight mind is a tight body is a tight voice.

Forthcoming shows and events at ALRA:

SOUTH: 15th-18th May– Sense– 3Y South - ALRA Theatre (Matinee 18th May) NORTH: 15th– 18th May– The Blue Room– 3Y North- Mill at the Pier (Matinee 18th May) SOUTH: 5th-8th June– The School Mistress– 3Y South-ALRA Theatre (Matinee 8th June) NORTH: 5th– 8th June– Be My Baby– 3Y North- Mill at the Pier (Matinee 8th June) SOUTH: 19th-22nd June– Women of Troy- 3Y South- ALRA Theatre (26th June …. SOUTH: 16th & 17th May– People Show 125: The Camera Show– Roehampton Jubilee Theatre SOUTH: 20th & 21st May @ 7:30pm People Show 125: The Camera Show ALRA Theatre Tara Arts Box Office 020 8333 4457 for People Show

For more information please see www.alra.co.uk

1st July 2013: Issue 5 of the ALRA: Article released

Ways to: keep in touch By email : info@alra .co.uk

Facebook - find us o n : ALRA– The Aca demy o f L ive and Recorded Arts

Twitter : @ALRADrama

Call : 020 8870 6475

Web : www.alra .co.uk

ghts

Alumni

Alumnights is the new, grad friendly ticketing system we have introduced for tickets to

ALRA shows. On one designated night there will be 5 free tickets for any ALRA graduate.

To find out the forthcoming shows, please see below. The Alumnight will be

different for each show so to find out which night is Alumnight and book tickets please

email [email protected]

Please note: ALRA still offer free tickets to all ALRA shows

to alumni that are within their first year of graduation.

To learn more about ALRA’s graduate package please

email [email protected]

Continued from front page…Sarah Hughes—A casting, from a casting director’s point of view… If you are going up for a role in an existing TV series watch as many episodes as possible; it shocks me the num-ber of actors that walk through the door that can’t answer questions on previous episodes and don’t have something to say. It shows a lack of interest in the project, there’s always someone who can fill your shoes that has done the re-search. When you get to the casting be prepared to take the temperature in the room to see the mood every-one is in and take it from there. I recently worked casting a play that wasn’t written yet so the actors had the tough job of having to give reasons why they should be there rather than being able to base it on their script handling. They had to sell themselves and find parallels in their lives they could draw on just from the script concept. You need to feel at ease joining in the conversations the casting director, director and producers are having about the project and feel able to bring some new ideas along. Don’t assume they are against you; you have the same chance as everyone else, observe others in the waiting room but don’t get put off by them. You must go in with a confident but not arrogant attitude.

TOP TIP: Have faith that this job could and should be yours and if you don’t get it don’t as-sume you have done something wrong. Do review what happened in the casting but let go of the outcome.