All I'm going to do here is list my acting credits (theatrical) in order. I got bitten by the acting bug early, but am not going to go further back than senior school, don't worry. The reduction in acting credits is partly due to increasing interest in directorial and backstage activity and most recently due to a distinct lack of time. Classical credits in bold.
My early enthusiasm for musicals faded once I realised that my particular brand of good looks and naturally low singing voice - think Ertha Kitt, although I do a good 'Hey, Big Spender' - meant that I'd only ever get major roles in single-sex productions. This has, to my shame, not stopped me from singing as witches in pantomimes - 'Whatever can a wicked witch do?' to the tune of 'You've got to pick a pocket or two' being my favourite.
Secondary School:
Bielke (Tevye's youngest daughter) - Fiddler on the Roof (Mt. St. Joseph's Girls College, Altona West, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)
A Jet - Westside Story (Mt. St. Joseph's Girls College, Altona West, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)
Fagin - Oliver (St. Dominic's Priory School, Stone, Staffordshire)
Sixth Form:
Titania - A Midsummer Night's Dream (St. Joseph's College, Trent Vale, Staffordshire)
White Witch - The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (Maer Village Players)
Flower Seller - a Streetcar Named Desire (Meir Players, Staffordshire)
Chorus - Sophocles' Electra (JACT Summer School)
Rosie Probert - Under Milk Wood (St. Joseph's College, Trent Vale, Staffordshire)
Wicked Witch - Sing a Song of Sixpence (Potteries Theatre Company)
Wicked Witch of the West - The Wozzard of Wiz (Maer Village Players)
Messenger - Euripides' Electra (JACT Summer School)
Undergraduate Years:
Ann Putnam - The Crucible (Dalton Theatre Company, Manchester)
Calonice - Lysistrata (JACT Summer School, opposite a terribly complimentary Mark Katz, of actors of Dionysus, as Lysistrata)
Titania - A Midsummer Night's Dream (Dalton Theatre Company, Manchester)
Philostrate - A Midsummer Night's Dream (Manchester University Student Drama Society: Outdoor Production)
Hecate - Macbeth (Dalton Theatre Company, Manchester)
Adele - Shakers (Two Ring Theatre, Manchester)
Postgraduate Years:
Granny Weatherwax - Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters (Dalton Theatre Company, Manchester)
Marta (Vermandero's Housekeeper) and the Inmates of the Asylum - The Changeling (Cornerstone Theatre, Manchester)
Chrous - Euripides' Alcestis (Classics Student Drama Group, Exeter)
Post-doctoral Years:
Chorus - Euripides' Electra (Leeds University Student Classics Society, Leeds)
Charon - Underworlds Live in Leeds (We Love Classics @ Leeds, Leeds)
I've also been cast in several projects that didn't materialise, two of which are memorable.
1) Being cast as The Chorus in Sophocles' Electra for Manchester University Student Drama Society. That's right 'The Chorus', just me. Why? A combination of low numbers and the Director's view that I was "incredibly expressive" and "the only one we saw who could carry it off".
2) Being cast as Tecmessa in a film version of Sophocles' Ajax for a dissertation project. Unfortunately, that was before the days of university classics departments embracing creative projects within their assessment schemes, or really taking reception seriously at undergraduate level, so the student concerned ended up writing about Greek tragic madness instead... Nowadays, we've have done it - no problem - although it would be well-nigh impossible to find a bit of disused land in Manchester to film it on! (Yes, I was also co-opted as the location scout!)
