Foreplay! Hi diddly dee, an actor’s life for me

Foreplay part of Worthing Theatre Trail www.titlesussex.co.uk

Is doing am dram on your bucket list?! Title’s Sam stars in new production FOREplay, part of Worthing Theatre Trail, and tells us about realising a long-held dream…

Ever wondered what it might be like to tread the boards? It’s been a bucket list item of mine for years, joining an ‘am-dram’ group, and last year I finally took the leap.

Those of you who know me will probably be aware that I don’t suffer terribly with shyness. In fact, one could almost call me a showoff. Ahem.

So with my usual flinging of caution to the winds I got in touch with Southwick Players last year… cutting a long story short, I ended up in the Christmas pantomime, Cinderella.

Anyway – over the years I’ve performed in a few things, as a kid I did ballet for years, and a bit of modelling; and more recently both as a business owner and a teacher at BIMM I’ve had tons of practice speaking in front of crowds – sometimes of 20, others of 300 or more.

So with my usual flinging of caution to the winds I got in touch with Southwick Players last year to see if I could join. And was delighted to get a reply asking for my background and so on. Cutting a long story short, I ended up getting a place in the adult chorus in the Christmas pantomime, Cinderella.

Being ‘adult chorus’ basically means singing and dancing – and carrying a number of characters. Through the production I was anything from a huntsman or a villager, right down to the final scenes held in the glitzy glamour of the ballroom, as Cinders loses her slipper, and her heart, as me and my partner Amanda attempted to waltz around the couple, trying not to trip over my dress or lose my hairpiece.

Sam in Cinderella Southwick Players article Title Sussex Magazine www.titlesussex.co.uk

IT WAS THE BEST FUN!! It was hard work, with loads of rehearsals, and my toes – unused to dancing in jazz shoes again – took about six months to recover! BUT – I’m doing it all over again.

Not panto this time – this time I’m in something a bit more adult. It’s a play, written and directed by the lovely Ron Common, and it’s a three-hander. Which means a lot more actual acting and by god, a lot of lines to learn.

Enter the new golf club captain… who awakens her desire for something more in her life and … I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.

‘Fore’play is a study of human relationships, largely. The central character Mary (me!) is a dissatisfied golf widow, her husband James more interested in his swing than in her, and she’s bored and frustrated.

Enter the new golf club captain – the much younger and very handsome Edward (played by the generous and talented Giles Newlyn-Bowmer) – here to ‘help her choose James a birthday present’, who awakens her desire for something more in her life and … I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.

If you want to see me doing my thing, I’d very much like you to come. The play is on six times across two weekends, so you have no real excuse!

 

The show is part of Worthing Theatre Trail – an initiative to encourage new theatre-goers. Over the weekends 21/22 and 28/29 September, there’s a whole range of different shows across a number of venues.

For details on the Worthing Trail shows, please check their website HERE
It’s worth also keeping up with their Facebook page, which has loads of news about the shows going up regularly, and you can find that HERE.

About Sam Harrington-Lowe
As the managing editor Sam is responsible for all the Title publications and works diligently to develop the brand and support relationships with all partners and clients. She runs things with her dedicated PA Ms Alice Pickle Pug