I was lucky enough that by the time I officially graduated last August, I had to take a day off from rehearsals in order to attend the ceremony. Not only that, another cast member was a fellow graduate of the brand new BA World Performance Course at East 15 Acting School. So far, so good – and finding a fairly positive response from the industry despite being a fledging course.
Fast forward 6 months, and a slightly different story. I am sat, in my room, in my parents’ house, in the West Country, with the first stretch of no immediate work in front of me. And filling my head are many, many, many questions about whether or not I have made the right decisions. Should I have applied to more drama schools? Should I have waited for a more prestigious course? Should I have taken the place I was offered on a way-out-of-my-price-range post-grad? And should I have moved to London?
It is that last question that is the trickiest. I did, like the majority of drama school graduates, intend on moving to London. And I did look. And it was horrible. I am a rather unique case, as I use a wheelchair and therefore need an accessible flat. It turns out there is ONE in the entirety of East London remotely near my price range. So, I ignored my plan to live in the Big City that I’ve had for as long as I remember, ignored all the times I’ve said (not to mention the times other people have) “that’s where the work is” and decided to make a go of it as a country bumpkin. And, I think it suits me. In March I did a short run in London and realised I’d made the best decision. And that to a lot of the industry, the Isle of Dogs is as far to travel as Bath anyway. Plus, though I’m in no way big, I’m at least slightly bigger than plankton in this slightly smaller pond.
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