Daniel Marshall proposes that the key to unlocking your creative potential lies in three simple actions; opening your eyes, your mind and, most important of all, your mouth.
Building a name for yourself in the vast arena of the arts world is a daunting prospect for any young practitioner, and it can be a challenge that comes with very little instruction. This leads many new theatre artists wondering where on earth they ought to begin.
Though it may seem strange to start at such a basic level, the first step of reaching success in your chosen field relies on your willingness to ‘come out’ as an actor or playwright. Without a huge body of work behind you or a long list of paid acting jobs there is an increasingly common tendency to shy away from using titles like actor or playwright, perhaps because we live in a society where success and status are measured in terms of experience and financial reward. This is the first mistake any emerging artist can make, and it’s a rather big one. Until you proudly introduce yourself as, for example, “Simon, the actor” you will simply remain “Simon”. The impact of this hugely simple error reaches far and wide: friends and family can act as a great resource for any inexperienced actor. Most small projects with little funding will rely on networking to assemble a cast for their productions and short films and so they ask their own circle of friends if they know anybody suitable. Unless you have started to tell people that you are whatever you want to be, in this case an actor, they won’t suggest you to people they know who are on the lookout for new talent.
Keeping low budget projects in mind it is essential to recognise that low production costs do not mean that the work won’t be of a professional standard. The truth of the matter is that while there are plenty of poorly-constructed shorts produced on a shoe-sting budget there is an equal display of genuinely amazing artistry in other works. The same rule applies to the scope of theatre offered on the West End, on television and even on the big screen. Judge your willingness to participate in such projects on how good you think they are rather than how good or bad you think it could look in your portfolio. More often than not the benefits of getting involved with as much work as possible far outweigh any negatives; they offer valuable experience and the chance to meet people with a shared passion. This is the key to creating a network of people who you could potentially work with in the future, only next time the project could be on a far bigger scale. Take the chance.
At this stage the thought of starting out as a newbie might, hopefully, seems a little more like a realistic possibility, but the challenge of creating your own work remains. This is where the creative bounty supplied by our friends and family is exposed once again; they supply you with a tantalising array of potential characters that you can write into your new play or use as inspiration for a character you want to embody on stage. Grandparents who re-tell stories of a war-torn Britain or a best friend’s tales of failed romances can be a great source of inspiration. The world around us offers so many untold stories ripe for theatrical representation and they’re just waiting for someone to sit down and get it all on paper. Some of the most compelling, not to mention the funniest, plays are stories taken from real life and characters are often exaggerated versions of real people. Writing from reality can result in some fantastic work that audiences can actually relate to, meaning they’re far more likely to enjoy themselves. The only thing to remember here is the importance of changing the names of those involved, if not to ensure anonymity then to avoid embarrassment when you expose your best friend as the new Bridget Jones.
Stating your position as an artist and feeding off those theatrical gems right on your doorstep is one of the easiest and the most enjoyable way to make a start in the theatre industry. All that remains at this stage is getting yourself heard by as many people as possible. Start a blog about the type of theatre that interests you; writing passionate posts a couple of times a week is always better than a poorly written ramble posted daily. Start organising your own work using whatever resources are at hand, such as organising a small flash mob with your local drama club and posting the video as a response to another highly viewed example on Youtube. Comment on websites and set up an IdeasTap profile so that people start recognising your name in relation to your area of interest.
Ultimately the message is clear and simple: get out there. Even following this advice it can still take years before anything truly significant arises but that’s simply the nature of a career in theatre. Patience will be rewarded in time and the idea is that theatre is something that you are already passionate about, so the journey to success is supposed to be fun. Immerse yourself in everything you hope to achieve but, most importantly, be proud of what you want to be.
In short:
- Be proud and vocal about the career you wish to pursue
- Gain as much experience as possible – a budget film today could lead to bigger things in the future
- Share your ideas and your interests to create new work with like-minded practitioners
- Everyday life and people can be used as terrific inspiration for playwrights
- Use every possible means of communication to network, from chatting at parties to commenting on blogs. It all counts.
Daniel Marshall is a writer and actor who is currently in his final year of study at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is currently developing work involving gay politics and synthesis of the arts, and his blog The Gay Stage can be viewed as a ‘brainstorm’ of his recent ideas. Since moving to the capital over two years ago Daniel has gained a year-long internship with Les Enfants Terribles, a touring theatre company that specialises in puppetry, and he aims to debut his own work in London theatres in Summer 2012.
Image by Steven Shorrock
