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! 

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."

My First Professional Audition Experience!

"The only failure is not to try."

A quote that I will without a doubt live by, for the rest of my life. Thanks, Mr. Clooney. 

7:20am Mega Bus from Cardiff to London. Arrive approx. 11am. Find audition location to suss it out. Go to Primark (I mean, it was only a short walk...). Have lunch. Enter audition location. Poop my pants. Immediately start looking around at my 'competition', turns out they were all lovely people. Enter the audition leader, who gives us a form to fill out with our details and a double sided A4 piece of paper which had 4 speeches on each side. "Pick a speech from each side, you have half an hour before we take you all to the space." Picked two contrasting pieces. Tried to learn them. Failed. But hey, I was so familiar with them by the end of that half an hour, that I had figured out everything I wanted to do on each line. It was Panto style so I had to make sure that I made a fool out of myself, the bigger the better, 'ey?! 

The pieces I chose were; Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, and Mrs Trott from Jack and the Beanstalk. 

Yep, I was required to do a Southern American accent and I didn't totally screw it up. Even if it did feel more General American (whatever that means). Go me. *Adds to CV. For Mrs Trott, it said 'colloquial accent an advantage'. I had absolutely no idea what that meant. So after muttering in a Yorkshire accent for a bit (and failing miserably), my friend turned to me and said 'Just do your Welsh accent!'. So I did. Turns out, in a room full of people who aren't Welsh, they really love the Welsh accent, especially because they didn't think it was my real accent! I hadn't really spoken to many people before I got up to do the speeches, and I did the Dorothy one first, so I think it was an interesting surprise. Banter.

So, following the speeches, I had to compose myself to sing a song as well! I decided to sing Mother Knows Best from Tangled. I managed to hold myself together, and it went rather well. I just decided to go big or go home and truly embrace the character. I felt that with both speeches and the song, they were all very different characters from each other so my choices were well thought out.

This audition was an interesting experience as we were all in the same room watching everyone's auditions. We got to see many different interpretations of the same character, and it was fun seeing what else people brought to the roles. Even though a lot of people chose the same speeches, they all brought something different to it. Most of the time. 

So, once everyone had got up to do their speeches and songs, the audition leader then proceeded to read out a list of names who they wanted to stay behind for a one-to-one interview and a general chat about what their company is about. 

They actually said my name.

It was the weirdest feeling ever. But I liked it. 

My interview was so relaxed and friendly, and the woman who interviewed me is also a graduate of the BA Acting course at UWTSD in Carmarthen, the first graduating year actually! Small world! 

Nothing is guaranteed with this job, but it's a very exciting prospect. They are beginning their casting process and I'm one of the people they're actually considering. That's pretty cool. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what this world has to offer for me. 

I think I'm going to be alright. 

...and so the adventure begins!

So. I've just completed my final year at University. Graduation is looming. I'm terrified. Though I'm mostly excited. As part of my coping process with everything changing in my life, I have decided to start a blog to document the joys of beginning a career as a self-employed professional actor.

Before I do that, I just want to reflect on what an amazing experience my university life has given me. Choosing to study at The University of Wales Trinity St David, was probably the best decision I've ever made. As cliché as this sounds, I truly did 'find myself' through this course, BA Acting. It has without a doubt solidified how much I want to go into the field of Acting. I have had so much experience over my three years with so many different types of acting, from Main House Theatre, to Site Specific Theatre, to Touring Theatre, to Absurd Theatre and Musical Performance, just to name a few. The biggest thing I've learnt from my time at University was the sense of fearlessness. I've learnt to let go and trust my instincts, allow myself to be creatively free and be willing to try new things and throw myself in the deep end, pushing myself physically, mentally and creatively.

I truly feel that this course has prepared me for what the real world will be like, and it's given me the confidence I need to find my place within this industry. It has not only given me the skills in performing, it has given me the skills to create content, direct plays, and even work behind the scenes, getting involved with numerous 'Get-In's' and 'Get Out's'. 

If there's one thing that Trinity has taught me the most, is that team work makes the dream work. I have felt like I belong here, and throughout my education I've not felt that way, until I came to Carmarthen. Trinity has become my second home, and I'm absolutely heartbroken to be leaving. I have made friends for life, in both the students and the staff. I will take them with me wherever I go. And I know, no matter how long it will be, Trinity will always be there to welcome me home. Yes, much like Hogwarts. I mean, it does kind of look like Hogwarts in places, right?!

Anyway, Trinity. All I have to say is, thank you.