With Footloose delayed and lockdown currently continuing in Leicester, I thought I’d write a little post about what I’ve been up to over the past few months.
Like everyone, it’s taken me some time to adjust to this new routine, but having unexpected time at home with my partner has been lovely, especially in a year where I thought I would be touring and away from home a lot. I’ve been trying to keep productive with various things - of course there is plenty of prep to do for Footloose with script and (a lot of!) music to be familiar with before rehearsals start. I’ve also spent some time taking part in zoom meetings and talks with various casting directors and other industry contacts, kindly organised by my agent Natalie, as well as a lovely meet-and-greet quiz night for the Footloose cast and crew hosted by our director Racky.
There has been some dabbling with a new instrument, but I’ll be keeping details to myself for now, until I get to the stage where I feel confident that it’s something I can continue with successfully. Learning a new instrument as an adult is definitely more of a conscious effort than it felt as a child, as far as I can remember anyway! Completing my ABRSM Diploma in Singing Performance has come back to the fore as an idea, so there’s plenty of practice and prep to do there and I’m listening to a playlist of pieces from the syllabus as I write this.
My partner and I started classes earlier in the year in Historical European Martial Arts (sword-fighting, essentially) and have been lucky to be able to continue to an extent, with some socially-distanced private classes in a local outdoor spot, which has been enjoyable, and challenging. Yoga has also been a great way to keep active at home, and stay relaxed… (and vaguely sane!)
Outside of acting I am a qualified wedding celebrant accredited by Humanists UK, and a couple of weddings have come up last minute for August and September, where couples have unfortunately had their original plans ruined by Covid-19 and had to rethink. That’s been a nice surprise in a year where I thought I wouldn’t be performing any weddings at all, and working with couples on writing a bespoke script for their ceremony is always a pleasure and a good creative outlet.
Of course, there have been many days where I’ve achieved little above watching TV or playing PlayStation, reading depressing news about our industry and the world at large, or spending much more time than I’d like doing household chores! However, a little bit of creativity in a day seems to help a lot, even if it’s just writing a new blog post.
I’ll leave you with some sunny snaps from local walks we’ve been taking to blow the cobwebs away, along with a few other pictures that seem to sum up these weeks at home quite well. I hope everyone is coping okay and I am sending all who read this love and best wishes. x
