Lately I've been working with a bunch of complete amateurs. Happily, this was through choice and turned out positive!
During my previous post, I managed to find some semi-professional work and performed in ‘professional/community’ shows (unpaid roles alongside professional actors and creative teams). This provided valuable insight and I picked up pearls of wisdom that I still use to this day. Regarding musical theatre, director Nikolai Foster told me that if something is too emotionally charged for a character to say, they sing it; too charged to sing, they dance it – which I have found to be an effective mantra.
Where I live in Somerset there are fewer paid roles but many societies where I can continue to get stage experience and perform live again. But why?
If you can get past the stigma and avoid the politics that swirl around most committees, there is much fun to be had. Each time I perform I relive the buzz that my students feel and share all of their anxieties, hang-ups and insecurities. As well as gaining experience about what does and doesn't work, being a performer again keeps my insight fresh and my sympathy real. It doesn't mean I let them off if they don't know their lines, but it does give me an understanding of the difficulties my students face during production.
Several of my students came to see me play Bobby in Sondheim's Company, a piece of theatre I have loved for a long time. They told me they felt proud to see me in the role and I feel they held a respect for the way in which I showed that I can ‘walk the walk’. I feel it is important that the young people I direct know that I am doing so with experience and that I am prepared to put myself in their shoes, and I feel better for it.
It goes without saying that amateur companies vary and you need to choose wisely, but if you fancy treading the boards again, why not do it and enjoy the experience of being creative without assessment, syllabuses and specification!