Yesterday I had the most interesting, amazing and slightly bizarre experience. After years of doing no acting whatsoever, I went for an audition with the lovely Three Belles.
The Three Belles, doing their thing
For those of you who don’t know them yet, The Three Belles are a retro / vintage singing group who formed at Portsmouth Uni. Ambitious, smart, funny and very focussed, they have gone on to make their livings from gigging all over the country. And in Portsmouth Guildhall later this year, they are going to take the show to the next level, with a full evening of dance and musical entertainment from the 1940s. Which means they need character actors to fill in and add to the feel of the night.
Hence the audition.
For me, it was the strangest thing to be doing. I haven’t done any acting for over 25 years, and I had no idea what to expect of myself. At the audition, there were plenty of young, talented people who really knew their stuff, and could dance and sing. Like Tom, with his beard and his charming smile, Tamzin with her big red hair, Sophie with trim figure and a kind of marvellous presence, and the effervescent Nathalie – who is producing Die Fledermaus at the King’s Theatre.
The set piece I did for the audition, went okay, I think. But then there was the recall. I learned a lot about myself in that recall. I learned I am completely unafraid of making an arse of myself, which came as a surprise. I found that I really enjoyed myself immensely. And I also discovered that I really need to work more on improvisation in a group setting. It’s in me – it’s just getting hold of it quickly. That is something I’m going to have to really work on.
It was also a massive discovery to see The Three Belles running an audition. Wow. There’s a reason those women (I keep calling them “girls” but it’s just wrong.) are making a go of their careers in singing and acting. It’s because they are serious and deeply dedicated to it.
For anyone looking at how people who get on really do it, there are massive lessons to be learned from those three. As for the lessons I learned, whether I get a part or not, I have decided:
- I will act more
- I will learn to improvise more – that is a weakness I’ve got.
- I have so much to learn from those other actors.
- I will write more stories about The Three Belles (I have already written a novella about them)
Watch this space for more news on how the show progresses – if I am lucky enough to be picked!
