The Tassel Was Worth The Hassle!

I'm officially a graduate! I have a BA (Hons) in Acting. 

The three years of blood, sweat and tears have come to an end. To get through those years though, I've had some amazing people by my side who have made the hard times more bearable, and far more enjoyable. Without these amazing people in my life, I wouldn't be where I am today. I am not going to name everyone individually because there are so many people who have had such a positive impact on my university experience and this post could go on forever, and nobody wants that.

It was a very emotional time and I managed to hold myself together throughout the whole day and throughout the ball. It was when I was packing up for the final time, giving in my final key, pulling my suitcase across the beautiful campus, saying "See You Later" because I can't be dealing with "Goodbye's", then leaving campus... I was not OK. My extreme tiredness and the heat didn't help with my emotional state. But again, I held it together, got on my train with my friend and began the journey home. When the train pulled off, my heart dropped as I realised that I no longer needed to come back to Carmarthen. Then I made a big mistake. I opened a card I received from one of my best friends who wrote this beautiful heart felt letter, and all of a sudden it felt like one massive goodbye, not to each other, (because that's never gonna happen let's face it), but to one massive chapter in our lives that has changed everything. As a person, I have grown and found out a lot about myself during my time at University. This is something that I may not have done if I hadn't gone to University, as well as the fact that I would never have met some of the people who I now consider to be my best friends.

I didn't manage to get pictures with all of us looking all super fancy, but you know who you are, you wonderful humans. Thank you for making my time here so much fun and you mean the world to me. So please, please, please, keep in touch because I'm already missing you all like mad and can't wait for the next time that I get to see you. As Winnie The Pooh said; "How wonderful is it to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."
                           

                                      

          

As well as the wonderful people that I have met along the way though-out these three years at UWTSD, I can't go without thanking my amazing family and my best friends who have been there through thick and thin. A lot of the time without even knowing it, their support and unconditional love has helped mold the person that I have become. You guys are the best and I'm so thankful. From letting me rant about things that have gone on in Uni, talking about people that you don't have a clue who they are, supporting my productions, from the encouragement I get leading up to and during that stressful time, whether you come and see the end production, it didn't matter to me because I knew you had my back and you were proud of me no matter what. 

So thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
What you have done for me means more than you'll ever know. If i ever forget to tell you how much you all mean to me, just know that I care so deeply, it's often hard to express. It's crazy to think that there are so many people who have influenced my life and who have changed it for the better. I can't imagine you not all being a part of my life. There is one very important person that is missing from these pictures though, someone who I wish was still present in my life, and that's my Dad. It's on big events like these where I miss him the most, and having people telling me how proud he would have been does warm my heart but it makes me miss him even more. I wish I could hear him say it because it would mean the world to me. In a way, he was there, because I carry him wherever I go in my heart. Not only this, I wore my special Cariad locket with a picture of him inside. He will be with me wherever my life journey decides to take me. Always close to my heart.

                   

                    I love you all. So Much.
                                                                                                  

This post has already got way soppier and reflective than I thought it would be, so I'm going to sign off on a bit more of a positive note. To the rest of our lives, may it be blessed with endless joy and wonderful, cherished memories that you will take with you forever. I know that these three years will be the start of a lot of amazing stories that I share with people throughout my life. It's been an unforgettable experience. To us! 

Signed, Sealed, Delivered! (I'm Yours)

So, this week has been filled with a lot of 'adult' decisions. I have had to fill in so many paper forms, online forms, you name it!

The biggest thing that happened though was that I received my contract (?!) for my job in September. Now that was a LOT of writing to read through, and a LOT of paper forms to fill out. It was very exciting yet scary, and it made it feel very real. I officially start rehearsals on 18th September in Ayr... Scotland! Then touring begins on 1st October and I'll be touring potentially until the 17th February, and a break for Christmas. Guess who's probably going to be on tour for her birthday and most of my friends birthdays? Yep, that's me. But hey, I'm not gonna complain, because (hopefully), I'll be doing something which I'm going to enjoy so much and I'll be with a great company who will make it all worthwhile. 

I'm really looking forward to this tour and it could lead to so many more exciting opportunities, so I'm ready to just throw myself in to the deep end and work really hard. What could be more fun than bringing theatre to little people who may have never seen a piece of theatre before? or to those that can't afford to experience great theatre? or even better, changing the minds of people who think theatre is stupid and can't be used to create social change. There are so many underlying messages in shows like this, and I'm so excited to start sharing them with the next generation.

I also paid £25 for a piece of paper telling me that I'm not a criminal. Turns out, I'm not! Go me. 10/10. I'm a good egg. 

Adult thing number 56453947 I achieved this week was registering as self-employed! There were so many words and terms I did not understand. I'm learning though... slowly. Ahh taxes, rebate, money, self-assessments! I'm getting there, I am, really. I've just gotta be confident and organised with it. That's going to be a blast! 

In other news, as I was writing this blog post, I received an email from the touring company that I auditioned for a week after my first one in London. They have asked me if I would like to join them on their Autumn/Winter tour. Unfortunately, I don't think it's possible for me to tour two shows at once! Though that would be an adventure just trying to pull that off. At least I know they liked me and what I showed them. I think I've found my calling in pantomime! Although I obviously can't accept this job, they have got my information now and maybe when I'm available after February, they could have an opportunity for me then. Who knows?! But right now, it's all about me just getting my face out there and showing people what I can do. 

What a time to be alive! 

Other than all these forms I'm having to fill out, I'm quite enjoying being in this real world. 

"I'm Natasha, an actor. Check out my website!"

I have a website!

To give this professional acting thing a go, I've decided that it would be a good idea to have a website where I can showcase some of my work and some information about myself for potential employers. This has been an interesting experience creating this website, I found it a challenge but I enjoyed learning how to build my own website. I'm quite proud of the end result, though I do still have quite a bit to edit/add to it. However, I have got most of the basics on there to allow any potential employers to get a flavour of what experience I've had and what I'm interested in.

The main thing that I'm missing on there is my professional show reel. However, I do have a link to my short film and some filming of my stage combat rehearsals. By the end of June, I want to have filmed some monologues, and edit a decent show reel together. Also, my voice reel is just one clip, so I would like to expand this.

natashahickman.webs.com

   

 natashahickman.webs.com

Eventually, I would like to purchase my domain name so it's .com and not .webs.com, but I wanted to see how this website went first. Having .com would definitely look more professional so if this website becomes more used, this is something that I will have to do.

If you've got some time, I'd really appreciate it if you could check out my website and see if there's anything that I can do to improve it. Thank you!

"In the end, we only regret the chances that we didn't take."

I have had two audition invites in the past couple of days. One in London, and the other in Wolverhampton. They are both very exciting opportunities, and I'm so happy that I've been asked to audition.

The first one I received was the London audition, and I was over the moon because it was the first one I put myself forward for and they actually wanted to meet me. I didn't have to think twice about going, I got on Megabus and booked my ticket straight away. I love London, and I'm on familiar territory when I'm there, so I felt completely comfortable just going for it. (Although, I did ask a lot of my actor friends to send off applications too, because hey, a little company wouldn't be a bad thing.) Anyway, I'm very excited about this audition as it's something I've not really thought about doing until I read the description of it. I found myself grinning, thinking to myself, 'HELL YEAH'.

The next one, however, I found a little more daunting. I have never been to Wolverhampton before, everything felt completely alien and after looking at the 5hr 22 minute one-way train journey and £30-£40 return ticket, I started to doubt myself and why I would even bother going that far for an audition that may not even last more than two hours. But then I thought, "Hey. Why don't you try something that puts you out of your comfort zone? Take a risk?", the thing that I've been saying is the biggest thing I've learnt from my time at UWTSD. Why not put it into practice in the real world, and not just with my craft? It's time to grab life by the horns, and take control of my own future. Who knows? This could be the job I get! How will I know, if I don't even try? The train tickets are booked.

So, I am going to go to these auditions and try my absolute hardest and give it all I have. That's all I can do. No matter what happens with these auditions though, the point is, as the title of this post says, "In the end, we only regret the chances that we didn't take." Everything in life, I believe, is a learning experience, and there will be, without a doubt, things I can take away from both of these experiences.

But most importantly, I will remember;

If it's meant to be, it will be.