Usually, my answer is yes. But when it came to using my own camera to record my video, it FAILED ON ME.

Luckily, my good friend Alex was on hand with her phone and still managed to capture my whole performance.

Basic personal budget2-13w5ogy

This budget is based on my projected idea of how I believe my finances will work over the next year. It’s also leaning towards “the worst case scenario”, a situation where I’m not earning a huge amount of money and a large chunk of it will be put aside to save for my wedding and house deposit. I’m fortunate enough to not have to pay rent as my parents are understanding of my career and life expenses.

POSSIBLE AGENTS

OLIVIA BELL MANAGEMENT Olivia Bell Management 191 Wardour Street 2nd Floor London W1F 8ZE

I feel I share a lot in common with the agency directors – a passion for theatre, TV, and film, as well as history and coming from a university background – and the women on their books are diverse. Having looked specifically at their MT clients, the women are so unique in terms of their look and style; many are dance-focused with experience in musicals and film, but there are no clients from London College of Music and I feel I can offer them my skills within cheerleading and movement.

CAM ARTISTS CAM 55-59 Shaftesbury Avenue London W1D 6LD CAM has a large clientele who have all worked extensively in film and theatre (including such artists as Ramin Karimloo). However, I’ve noticed there are many people who have signed with CAM as their first agency as well as one they sign with after long-term success, and many of the successful women have starred in musicals. I believe I’d be a great addition to their books given my musicianship and physical look.

BLOOMFIELDS WELCH Bloomfields Welch Management Lafone House The Leathermarket Weston Street London SE1 3ER

Although the website isn’t overly informative, it seems Bloomfields cast internationally as well as West End (including West End’s Cosette in Les Miserables). It would be interesting to discover more about this agency and what they can offer me as well as how I compare with their current clients.

OXFORD ADAMS Oxford Adams Associates Office 6 79 Wardour Street London W1D 6QB

Oxford Adams has an extensive clientele, including at least two alumni of LCM, and I believe I differ from their clients in terms of skillset and physical appearance.

SHEPHERD MANAGEMENT Shepherd Management 3rd Floor Joel House 17-21 Garrick Street London WC2E 9BL

All the agents have years of experience, many of them coming from acting backgrounds, so I feel I would be in very capable hands with this agency. Their diversity in representation and the jobs clients have been offered seem second to none, and I feel working with them would put me in good stead for the future.

AMANDA HOWARD ASSOCIATES (AHA) 2 Percy Street London W1T 1DD

In general, the client demographic is older women, but the younger women have worked extensively in theatre and television (including Gina Beck (Wicked) and Book of Mormon’s Alexia Khadime), and I don’t look like any of them physically.

Watch What Happens pdf-23pg8f8

What-Good-Would-the-Moon-Be-2bd8qml

 

CYMBELINE, Imogen Act 3, Scene 6

I see a man’s life is a tedious one;
I have tir’d myself, and for two nights together
Have made the ground my bed; I should be sick
But that my resolution helps me. Milford,
When from the mountain-top Pisanio show’d thee,
Thou wast within a ken. O Jove! I think
Foundations fly the wretched; such, I mean,
Where they should be reliev’d. Two beggars told me
I could not miss my way; will poor folks lie,
That have afflictions on them, knowing ’tis
A punishment or trial? Yes; no wonder,
When rich ones scarce tell true. To lapse in fulness
Is sorer than to lie for need, and falsehood
Is worse in kings than beggars. My dear lord!
Thou art one o’ the false ones. Now I think on thee,
My hunger’s gone, but even before I was
At point to sink for food. But what is this?
Here is a path to ‘t; ’tis some savage hold;
I were best not call, I dare not call, yet famine,
Ere clean it o’erthrow nature, makes it valiant.
Plenty and peace breeds cowards, hardness ever
Of hardiness is mother. Ho! Who’s here?
If any thing that’s civil, speak; if savage,
Take or lend. Ho! No answer? Then I’ll enter.
Best draw my sword; and if mine enemy
But fear the sword like me, he’ll scarcely look on ‘t.
Such a foe, good heavens!

IMMACULATE, Rebecca

Rebecca: (all garbled at an incredible rate) Hi … Look, there’s something I have to say.  I probably should have told you earlier, but I didn’t know if it was going anywhere but now I think it is, or thought it was, but now you’re pregnant, so I probably shouldn’t tell you anyway ‘cause stress is bad for the baby, not that you’re keeping it, right? God, you’re huge, are those my boots … ?

Look … Michael and I are together…

We’re a couple, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I didn’t plan it, I was out and saw Michael and said hello and we got talking and it came out that he’d always quite fancied me but couldn’t do anything about it obviously ‘cause we were best mates and I said I quite fancied him too, which was why I was sometimes a bit of a bitch towards him because I think subconsciously I fancied him and I always used to talk to Ed about him, and that’s why Ed never wanted to come out with us in a foursome because he thought I fancied Michael which I didn’t, or didn’t think I did, but turns out I did, because I fancy him now, anyway, we weren’t going to do anything because you two had just broken up and I knew how pissed off you’d be but then we said, well, maybe we should just have a kiss, while we’re both single then, just to get it out of our systems, so we had a kiss, and then the kiss carried on, and things and things and we ended up having sex, which I’m not proud of but it was good, but it was bad because the condom broke and I had to get the morning after pull, which was fucking awful and I was terrified ‘cause I thought I was gonna have a baby, and you know how much I fucking hate babies ‘cause of that dream I have with all the babies that have mu mum and dad’s faces who shit and piss and cry and I can’t stop them!  And also the pill made me feel really ill, and that was the day we were supposed to go to Bluewater to try and find some shoes to go with that brown skirt you got from Hennes and I said I couldn’t come ;cause I was sick and you were pissed off and I wanted to tell you but I couldn’t and I felt really guilty, and I cried, and then I called Michael and told him and he was really good about it and made me feel better, and we had decided we weren’t going to see each other again, but I was crying on the phone so he came over and then he ended up staying the night again, but we didn’t have sex, we just cuddled and then it went from there.

But now you’re telling me you’re pregnant and you say that you haven’t had sex with anyone since Michael, which means he must be the father but you don’t want to tell me because I made such a fuss about what a fucker he was when he dumped you.  Which means you’re lying to me and he’s lying to me, and I’m lying to you, and you’re fucking him and I’m fucking him and he’s fucking you … and me … and I’m going to lose my best friend and my boyfriend, not that I call him my boyfriend but technically he is, and I’ll be helpless and hopeless and friendless and loveless and die old and alone with thread veins and bladder weakness and a houseful of cats…

BARGAINING by Kellie Powell

Hannah: Ryan, there’s something I have to tell you. (Pause.) I was born in 1931. I never lied to you, I am 23. But I’ve been 23 since the year 1954.
I know, I know. It’s impossible, right? No one lives forever? But, sometimes they do. In 1953, I got married. A few weeks after the wedding, I suddenly fell ill. My husband took me to a hospital. I was there for almost a week. I was in so much pain. And no one could say for sure what was wrong. One night, in the hospital, a stranger came to see me. He told me, “Janie, you’re going to die tomorrow.” That was my name then, the name I was born with.
This man, the stranger, he offered me a chance to live forever. He said, “You can die tomorrow, or you can live forever. Stay young forever.” Well, of course my first thought was, the devil has come to tempt me. He wasn’t the devil. And of course, I don’t believe in the devil anymore. There are powerful beings on this earth, but man created Satan. And God, for that matter. My point is, this man offered me a chance to live. And I took it.
I will live forever. I will never age. I cannot be harmed, not physically. I can’t be hurt by bullets, or knives, or fire, or even explosions. I can’t be hurt by diseases – in fact, I can’t even catch a cold.
When my husband was 45, he died in a car accident. At his funeral, the stranger came to see me again. He asked me if I wanted to… give up my gift, and… die. I thought about it. But I said, no. I wasn’t ready. I knew there was more for me. I have centuries and centuries ahead of me. These first hundred years… are like a drop in the ocean…
My husband never knew about me, and he didn’t have a choice. I don’t want to go through that again. I don’t want to fall in love again for twenty years. Twenty years is… gone in the blink of an eye. I’m looking for someone to love forever. Most people, when they say forever, they mean… well, they don’t really mean forever. But I do. I’m in love with you, Ryan. And I’m asking you to share forever with me.

Dear [company FOH team],

I am writing to express an interest in your current Front of House position. In the last four years, I have been involved in the field of hospitality, most recently becoming a supervisor at Fuller’s One Over the Ait where my responsibilities include managing shifts and declaring money.

I have worked as a checkout assistant at Morrisons and became an experienced barista at Costa Coffee in Guildford’s train station. More recently, I worked as a seasonal host at Merlin Entertainment’s ‘Shrek’s Adventure’ where I worked Front of House welcoming guests to the attraction and scanning entrance tickets. In addition, I’ve worked Front of House at London College of Music’s production of ‘West Side Story’ where I had to use a headset to communicate with the stage crew and scan tickets. As a graduate in Musical Theatre, I thrive on giving people the best possible experience and creating good memories; I am approachable, ambitious and maintain professionalism under the most stressful conditions.

I would love to come in for an interview to discuss your position in greater detail.

Kind regards,

Hannah Morton 

Dear [Agent’s name],

I am writing to you regarding professional representation and would like to request a meeting.

Having recently completed a BA Degree in Musical Theatre at London College of Music, I am particularly skilled as a mezzo soprano and in naturalistic acting. With an eclectic genre taste, a determined attitude and a clarinet grade four, I feel I’d be an asset to your clientele.

I have included my CV and headshot for your review and am available for an interview at any time.

Yours sincerely,

Hannah Dixon

07917292417
dixon-hannah@outlook.com

Strengths

Weaknesses

·         Experience working with recognised industry professionals ·         Versatile within musical genres ·         Strong range ·         Talented mezzo/emerging soprano ·         Can move well ·         Can work with some intermediate choreography ·         Harmonising/pitch ·         Expressive facially ·         Independent ·         Observant ·         Enjoys researching the character/role ·         Likeable personality ·         Calming aura

·         Can be seen as quiet or not forthcoming ·         Choreography takes longer to pick up ·         Often struggles to push comfort zone boundaries ·         Can get too caught up on intellectualising everything, therefore restricting a sense of ‘acting on impulse’ ·         Often has a warped sense of self-belief

HANNAH DIXON – A SUMMARY

As a performer, it is important to identify one’s own strengths and weaknesses in order to understand how you may be perceived when working professionally. If your weaknesses supersede your strengths, then you may find yourself not working as often as you’d like; I have considered what directors and peers have said to me in the past and how they match or differ from what I perceive to be my own strengths and weaknesses (as listed above).

Looking at these qualities, I feel confident that I could appeal to an agent because of my more charismatic traits (the likeability and expressiveness, for example) and versatility, but I’m also aware that my calmness can be perceived as “quiet” and being too observant can stop me from making impulsive acting choices.

With these in mind, I feel my castability outside of university would be ensemble/swing based in shows that don’t require as much technical dance, such as Les Miserables; in terms of leads, I think I’m often suited to the heroine rather than the villain (more Ariel than Ursula in The Little Mermaid) or the soft-spoken characters (such as Molly in Ghost). In the future, I’d hope to be cast in lead roles such as Lauren in Kinky Boots that requires expressiveness, a strong mezzo voice and ability to move well, or more ‘villainous’ style roles such as The Mad Hatter (Wonderland) or Elphaba (Wicked… we can all dream!)

DREAM, BELIEVE, ACHIEVE…

Graduation is something I’ve waited for since I first started college. I couldn’t wait for the day I could say “I’ve done it! I’m a professional actress!” Little did I know that I’d reach my last year of university and be bombarded with trigger words such as BUDGET, TAX, and STRATEGY.

In the next few months, I will have left London College of Music. My first, and most preferable, option is to be able to live in London and have an agent who can guide me in the next chapter of my acting life to suitable auditions for West End shows. Although I enjoy and prefer musicals overall, I’ve come to realise a taste for straight acting and would be open-minded about auditioning for plays/RSC. In the best case scenario, I’d be auditioning for shows every few weeks with a potential few offers and maybe even a job straight out of university. The more likely scenario would be maybe one audition a month, perhaps one recall every second audition resulting in a job months or even a year later. If that were the case, I would hope to take up a part-time position within Merlin Entertainments where I previously worked Front of House at Shrek’s Adventure; this time, I would speak with the performance department to work as an actor within this facility or its neighbours at London Dungeon as it is an opportunity to continue to act whilst being granted flexibility around possible outside auditions.

My second option is to move out of London and go home to Southampton, which is most likely as I must consider two major life events that require a large sum of money: putting a deposit down on a house and getting married. I have considered the possibility of delaying both, but this would be an unfair expectation of my fiancé and I’d like to think I’m contributing as much to these events as he is. As I have recently been promoted to a supervisor in my pub job, I can transfer this skill to a pub of the same chain where I will be living in Southampton; I also have strong connections with the staff at Mayflower Theatre, so I plan on getting in contact with them about any vacancies they may have so that I may not feel as though I’ve lost touch with my degree; this would also be a fantastic opportunity to network as the theatre is a touring house and many renowned companies and large-scale shows are performed there. Assuming I get an agent after graduating, there is a direct train from Southampton to London Waterloo that won’t cost more than £25 if I continue to purchase the 16-25 Railcard annually; as there is no expectation of me to pay rent, I would be able to use the money I save in that area to afford these visits.

Over the next year, I aim to gain representation from an agent who can guide me towards suitable auditions; alongside this, I will continue to further my knowledge of musicals (by frequently visiting the theatre both on and Off West End) and remain in contact with my peers as a means of networking. Furthermore, I would like to participate in at least one summer show using my contact with British Theatre Academy principal, Dean Johnson, with whom I have worked with on two professional productions in the past two years. In the circumstance I do not gain representation from university, I will continue to apply to jobs through Spotlight and attend singing/dance lessons to maintain my current abilities. Away from musicals, I have recently begun writing a play that I hope to submit as a possibility for the National Theatre Connections Festival that I’ve had the pleasure of being part of in previous years. Had I not pursued Musical Theatre, I would have liked to have been a journalist, so the piece looks at current events and takes the form of several monologues focused around the recent terror attacks in central London.

CV

Hannah_Dixon-uyccnr

The Theatre Café on Shaftsbury Avenue is home to all kinds of theatre memorabilia, pun-based drink options, and a non-stop musical playlist. Why WOULDN’T I want to be there??

On this particular day, a special open mic was being held to raise money for the Samaritans in time for Christmas and the New Year. For just £2 donation, you could sing whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted, in front of the (full!) café. So I went in, donated my £2 and settled in with a lemon and ginger (defying gravi-)tea to watch some of the other performers. After a few performances, I got my nerve up and put my name and song choice down for the host. And I sang. And I shook for a considerable time afterwards knowing that two friends from home and cast members of 42nd Street had just seen me. And I stuck my tongue out at my friend who had filmed me. And realised that, that too, was caught on camera.

Enjoy!

Like many people, as soon as someone asks me to describe myself, I PANIC. I suddenly don’t know who I am, where I’m from or how many languages I speak (none, but the fear is real). It’s bad enough when it’s just a mutual friend, but when it’s an employer or – even more terrifying – an agent, suddenly you find yourself grabbing a thesaurus to look up the fanciest way of saying “average but with good intentions”. Given that every school report I’ve ever received tends to have “quiet”, “seemingly shy”, and “not very forthcoming” splashed across them, I know I have to start putting some colour on the situation that is “describe yourself in 200 words in biography form for an agent”.

YEP.

My inner school-age self is screaming and rocking in the corner trying to think of clever phrases to say back to the popular kids who would ask why on Earth I’d want to do musical theatre. My older, wiser, more experienced self has to take a deep breath and consider all the amazing opportunities I’ve had, all the conversations with industry professionals and all the training I’ve been given. In order for me to not be seen as “not very forthcoming”, I have to be forthcoming. So, here it is, my first ‘professional’ biography as it would appear in the Rags programme (if we had one), with no apologies and a few fancy words just for fun:

“Hannah is a Southampton-born actress who is as eager as ever to take her career to the next level. From a young age, Hannah often entertained her peers with her singing, but her appetite for theatre began aged 12 after partaking in a youth production of The Wizard of Oz and visiting London’s West End for the first time. Her training began at Richard Taunton Sixth Form college, where she achieved a D*D*D* grade in Musical Theatre, before progressing to Performance Preparation Academy to refine her skills in all three main disciplines, and finally London College of Music. Over the last decade, Hannah has experienced all areas of the theatre within her career, from stage crew to ensemble to leading roles in semi-professional work, most recently playing Joanne in RENT (Belvoir Players Studio, Belfast). Her list of stage credits includes: ensemble in Godspell (Actors Church, Covent Garden), featured singer in Bugsy Malone and An Evening with Earl Carpenter (Mayflower Theatre), Catherine in Pippin (The Berry Theatre) and Spring Awakening. She is delighted to be part of the Klezmer Band in Rags, and cannot wait to see the culmination of three years’ work performed alongside a fantastically talented group of peers.“