Theatre Memoir.1

Joining an acting class was not my idea.  It came from my husband, who thought I should have a hobby.

There in our local press was just what was needed.   Only a couple of streets away.  An afternoon class for 10.   So I went along not knowing what to expect.

The teacher was an English gentleman of somewhat eccentric looks.   In those days fringed jackets with patterned scarves were only just beginning to be worn by men.   I was suitable impressed.

We sat around on chairs in a very light and airy longue room and after introducing ourselves we were handed books.

We read Alice in Wonderland out loud to each other.  I had been already been reading Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece to my children playing all the parts as they appeared in the text. So somehow, I impressed the acting coach although I felt like a bit of a fraud compared to the rest of the class.

I proceeded to go to a few classes but soon realized that it was more about reading out loud than learning anything to do with acting.

I have always been onstage one way or another.   From ballet dancing when I was quite small to dancing in shows when I was a teenager.  So, when I saw an ad for auditions at a local community theatre group, I decided with my husband’s encouragement to have a go.

Blackburn Players had been around for quite a while as it turned out although I had never heard of them. They were auditioning for a play called ‘The irregular Verb, to love’’.   I read against older members and surprised them and more so my fraudulent self by getting the lead and that was the start of it all.

I finished my 100th play last year.  But more about that at some other time.