Choosing the Arts is NOT the Easy Option

This post sort of came about from my last post, coming from the idea that people need to give theatre and the arts a chance. Throughout my life, people have said to me that doing drama is stupid, and it's the easy way out if you don't want to work hard and do something 'academic'. If I had a £1 for every time someone has said that to me, or something similar to that... Well, let's just say, I could have got through University without needing to budget. Yet, every time someone has said it to me, I found myself laughing and saying 'Alright. You think what you want.' It's only recently, throughout my time at University, that I've started to ask why. Why do people think it's an easy option? Why do people think that drama students are stupid? Why do people think that a qualification in the arts is any less than a qualification in Science, Maths, or History?

When I told someone once about what my course entailed, they ignored everything I said about working every single day, sometimes 12 hours a day in busy periods, coming home and having research tasks to do by the next day, learning lines, remembering blocking etc. The one thing that always stands out is 'no written exams.' People always misunderstand this, and think that we are lucky. Your typical degree will have lectures, coursework handed in as a dissertation, and a final examination (obviously not the exact format, but this is an example). So this means, that your grade is reflected on the work you put in outside of class alone, writing your coursework and preparing for your exams. In my BA Acting degree, I was assessed every day. Every. Single. Day. We work in small groups so it's easy for our lecturers and directors to see who is pulling their weight, and who is slacking. They feed back to the moderator and tell them how we do in rehearsals, which is reflected in our grade. And because of the nature of our course, you can't take a day off whenever you like. I mean, you technically can, but it would be detrimental. You miss one day, you miss (approx.) 6 hours of rehearsals, which is pretty damn hard to catch up on. There isn't going to be a PowerPoint. You really learn the importance of team work, and you can't let your team down. You are a vital cog which keeps the process ticking over smoothly. People don't want to spend the next day's rehearsal repeating everything from the day before, because you couldn't be bothered to show up.

I missed one 3 hour lecture of improvising and devising in first year because I physically couldn't move out of bed. That's the only lecture/rehearsal I missed in my 3 years of university. You had to show up if you wanted to learn. You learn through exploration, and if you're not present to do that, what are you going to learn? If you're having a bad day, leave it at the door. You can't sulk in the corner, you have to give it your all no matter how bad you're feeling. One persons bad vibe can bring down the entire class, and it affects your productivity. This is something that you don't tend to get with any other degree. I've been there, I've had bad days. However, as soon as I let it affect me in class, that's where I started letting people down, and that's not ok.

Through studying Acting, I have learnt more about politics, and current world affairs than I ever did in school. I truly understood the importance of it, rather than just be given a text book and told to memorise it for the exam. From researching plays, to how other people have lived, though a lot of them are fictional characters, they are based on real people, and real things. Through this I learnt empathy. Empathy is something that not all people have, and I think everyone should have. Studying the arts has definitely made me a more empathetic person. When you work so closely with people, you learn things about people's views, their beliefs - something you wouldn't necessarily know if they were just in your class of 300 in a lecture hall... you may not even speak to them. I have made friends from all over the world during my time at Trinity which opens up great discussions about how things are done in their country, or even a certain part of the UK. To be honest, before coming to University, I didn't really have any political views. I was very unaware of how things worked, and that's down to me not putting in the time and research I needed to do to understand it. During my second year, I worked with an amazing director, who shone light on the importance of having our say, and doing our own research. Since then, I've tried to be as active as I can politically, keeping up to date with everything that is going on in this world, and most importantly, I vote!

The people I have met are also so diverse, not only in terms of politically and where they're from, but who they are as a person. I have met people who are transgender, non-binary, LGBTQIA, you name it. Some of these terms I have never had never heard of before, and talking with people openly about who they are, and what defines them or doesn't define them as a person was eye-opening. So maybe I would have learnt about all this in life eventually, but I believe studying my degree was the best choice I could have made. It made me feel more connected with people, and I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I've made friends for life.

People have also said to me... what's the point? You just prance about on stage for a bit, learn a few lines. Surely that's not a degree? No. That's not the degree. If that's what you think drama is, you are wrong. So very wrong. How anyone can be that closed minded, and not see how much hard work goes into what we do, is beyond me. People have said 'Drama is stupid!' - well, alright. If you think it's so stupid and you don't appreciate it... Do me a favour, and how about you never watch your favourite Netflix programme, the next big blockbuster at the cinema... because I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but the people involved in those projects live and breathe the arts. Not just the actors you see on screen, but every single person behind the scenes who work tirelessly to make sure that everything runs smoothly.

I have heard many discussions where people have had nothing but bad things to say about University in general, and I'm not just speaking about drama any more. Personally, I believe that everyone should experience University if there's something you're passionate about, or you want to expand your horizons/knowledge.

And yes. University/College isn't essential, but education is.

Spontaneity is the BEST kind of adventure.

Well, I've just come back from a lovely little break in Spain after only booking it a week in advance. After spending months looking for holidays and things getting delayed, avoiding booking things, money getting in the way and time running away from us... I didn't think I'd get the chance to go away at all this year and it was driving me insane. So basically, I went on a load of last minute holiday websites and I said to my friend, who also had the same travel itch as I did,

'I don't know where I'm going, but I'm going. Are you coming with me?'

And of course, the answer was 'Yes. YES. YES!'. Within a couple of hours of looking, we found a brilliant deal and just booked it. Nothing planned, just 4 nights in Spain near Barcelona. Finally. going somewhere new, creating new memories and getting a well deserved break after finishing University this year. It was so exciting to book something and only have a 7 day countdown. We started trying to plan things to do in the short amount of time we were there but we just decided to plan to be spontaneous, as contradicting as that sounds. Obviously we knew that on one of the days, we wanted to go into central Barcelona as we were staying about an hour away from there. But other than that, we had no idea what we were going to do, knew nothing about the area we were staying in, but just turned up and just explored, and discovered the nicest little places in this Spanish town. When we first arrived, our thoughts were 'dingy, washed up, tourist destination that people have forgotten about' but that wasn't the case at all. We found where it was all happening and when we were sat out for dinner and sangria dining al fresco, we happened to be front row to some kind of 'drum-off' fiesta! There were groups of drummers doing their little routines, passing by us, and just making us feel really happy about our decision to come to this holiday destination.

Now, this may have been because of the Sangria... but either way, we had an amazing time. We then just sat on the beach and watched the sun go down, and it was just lovely sitting there, finding the prettiest stones and shells. It's moments like those I enjoy the most. That whole day was so completely unplanned, it started off with swimming in the hotel pool, sunbathing, eating lunch at the hotel bar, sunbathing and swimming some more, then a stroll around new parts of the place we were staying in, finding the cutest little restaurant and accidentally stumbling across the fiesta, then the sunset on the beach. It was just wonderful.

              The best times in life are usually random, unplanned and completely spontaneous.

I could go on and talk about how many memories we made, and all of the new culture we experienced, but I'm afraid it would take way too long. Travel is something that every single person should experience. When was the last time you did something for the first time? That's something that travelling can offer you. Every single day, you can try something new, whether it's food that originated from that particular country, an original landmark that you won't see anywhere else, or even just a sunset over a beach you've never walked across...

"Travelling's not something you're good at. It's something you should do. Like breathing." 

- Gayle Foreman

The Best Week EVER!

I don't even know where to begin. I've cried so many happy tears this week, I just can't believe it.

It started off with an audition at Bluestone on Monday (such an incredibly beautiful place), which was one of the best audition experiences ever, although I didn't get the job, I had such a great day and nothing was bringing me down from the mood I was in following it.

Tuesday, I got to catch up with one of my besties and we took a stroll through the woods, and it was so lovely. I didn't even care about the amount of fly bites I was getting.

Wednesday, I spent the day with my Mam and my niece. Wednesday's are always fun with those two. They make my heart smile. Especially when my three year old niece tells me how much she loves me and missed me. Melts my heart every time.

Thursday, I got a call from M&M Theatrical Productions and they said they wanted to cast me in their Panto season touring around the UK and Ireland from September-February.

WAIT... WHAT

Yep. I was unpacking at the time when I saw this number come up on my phone and I thought... Here we go... NO MORE PPI. But then I looked at the location of the call, and I recognised it as M&M's base in Scotland. I answered the phone, a bit wary, just in case they were going to crush my dreams, you know, every actors fear. Then he told me how impressed they were by my audition and that they had decided to cast me in their production of 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. Tears were forming in my eyes at this point and all I could say down the phone was THANK YOU SO MUCH. As well as confirming that I would be happy to drive a van. That's going to be a fun learning experience! He wanted me to confirm I was still interested in the position by replying to the email by the end of Friday. So there I was, naturally, refreshing my emails until it came through and then I replied straight away. SEND ME THAT CONTRACT! I was so happy, I was crying into my sock drawer. (I was still pretending to unpack). I then called my mother, and I just couldn't hold my happy tears any longer, I could barely speak to tell her what just happened. Your baby girl has got her first professional acting job! GO ME. This is the job that came from my first professional audition, so that makes me incredibly happy too.

So, I'm on such a high that I told myself that I don't need to worry about tomorrow's results because, well, I GOT A JOB. I was still a bit nervous for results, because that's just how it is. I can't turn off that dreaded 'results day' mentality. However, no matter what the result, what I've learnt is more important and how I will go forward with my life, and doing it with the right attitude, is what matters.

Friday. Results Day. 10:59, I load up MYTSD. 11:00. LOG IN.

Progression Letter.

Bachelor of Arts with Honours

Acting 

Upper Second Class (2:1) 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

*Cue more tears.

I'm so happy, I can barely breathe at this point. Then I decide to look at the module breakdown to see what I got in each of the modules to make me average out at this wonderful 2:1.

Module Breakdown. Yep, Yep, Yep, WHAT. Now I wasn't expecting that.

Site Specific Theatre. 70. A first. An actual first. Now, to a lot of people, this won't seem like a big deal, but I know someone who knows how much this means to me. Mr. Dave Ainsworth. Now, I don't know if you'll remember this conversation Dave, but it is all I've thought about. We had that meeting at the beginning of third year and we talked about how you thought after first year, I'd be one of those students who just muddles through and passes. However, in second year, I surprised you, by averaging out 2:1's and I begun working my butt off.

You then said to me,

"I would really love to see you get a 70 in Third Year, I think you can do it." 

Hey Dave. I did it.

Thank you for believing in me, and pushing me to achieve this degree. You have been such a massive part of the reason why I've pushed myself so hard. I'm so grateful.

So, to finish this post. I will end on another inspirational quote that I found on Pinterest, which completely resonates truth and relevance to what this week has shown me.

"Good things come to those who wait, but great things come to those who do."

Waiting, waiting and more waiting!

Today's post is about how much I'm learning to be patient.

I've had three auditions in 11 days, and waiting to hear from them has been an experience. Every time the phone rings, I jump up to answer it, only to hear... "Have you been mis-sold PPI? If so, we can help you!" BLAH BLAH BLAH. Hang up.

Oh, maybe they've emailed I think... so I am now one of those people who check my email every time I'm connected to the internet. My record is three times in a minute. I also now regularly check my junk mail, something which I have never done. Honestly, some of the things that come up in that folder are just shocking, I sure hope no job offers ever end up there because it's a scary place.

I've decided that I need to go on a cleanse. A checking my email kinda cleanse. Maybe just once in the morning and once in the evening. Yeah, we'll see how that works out for me. Since writing this blog post, I've checked it five times.

Someone help me. I have no self-control.

At times like this, I find myself looking on Pinterest at the 'Inspirational Quotes' board and I came across this beauty of a quote.

"Patience is not about waiting, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting."

And then I realised, I've been going about this all the wrong way. Instead of just waiting, then complaining about waiting... I need to be productive with my time and not put all my eggs in one basket. If I just sit back and wait to hear off these three jobs, and nothing comes of it... I could have just completely wasted time and missed so many opportunities during that time. Even though it's only been just over a week since my first audition, there are a lot of things that could have passed me by. Obviously I've still been seeking out work, and applying for other things, but many times I've thought 'Oh I better not apply for that, just in case I get that first job.' But hey, the worst that could happen is that I'm going to have to choose between jobs and that's not all bad, you know, being in demand.

Not that that's likely in this industry... but I can always dream.

So, I think the point of this post was to give myself a kick up the butt to not dwell on things. I need to be productive, even if I am waiting for a response from a job. I can't just sit back and let good things pass me by. These blog posts are how I can sort of make sense of things in my head, so I'm sorry if this isn't interesting to read, but this blog is about me trying to find my place in this world. Although, If I can interest people in what I write, that's a plus I guess.

Anyway, if you're still reading after these ramblings... Hi. Thank you for bearing with me. Join me for my next blog post where I'll hopefully have a job offer or at least a post about dealing with rejection. (Already looking on Pinterest boards for 'Inspirational Quotes' to help me with that one, because it will happen at some point. Ah, the life of an actor.)

Maybe I'll just check my email one more time...

"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.