Open House 2024: The Event That Had Anything & Everything!
- Lucy Moon
- Apr 3
- 6 min read
Hello world! Welcome back to another blog. As it is 2025, it is also the 15th year of The Actors Workshop Nottingham, the place I've been training at for 5 years and I can honestly say it has changed my life, not just in acting but in my personal life too. In honour of both of these milestones, here is a review of an event we did called The Actors Workshop Open House Event, which took place on 8th December 2024, and the work we did to get to where we are now!
Deciding What To Do:
Throughout the sessions before hand, we had a chat of how it would pan out, and what we would do during the day itself. Tim, my acting teacher and founder of the workshop, had the idea of having segments at different times of the day. So in one area we'd have a show going on (which I'll get onto shortly), and then other segments like Monologue performances and improvisation games at the same time. He also suggested to bring in past workshop members who have done great things for a Q&A, but I'll mention who they are later on. Tim also decided to look at a song written and sung by a workshop member which he had sung to us before and was brilliant. This was to feature in a film that my teacher and other members filmed back in 2023 and it was very catchy if I do say so myself. And after mentioning about having it as a finale of the day, I can see why he suggested it. He also had the idea of doing a test screening of a feature film some of the group did in 2023, to end the day on a high but also some feedback from the audience afterwards to make it even better.
For the play, each group did their own adult version of the adult pantomime Robin Hood, and I'm not going to say the title as if you were to google search it, it says it all really. During the first read through I couldn't help but laugh my head off. I was already a massive pantomime fan as it is, so it doesn't take much for me to set me off, but the adult humour nearly made my sides hurt. And whilst I didn't have a part with more lines in the end, in some ways it was probably a good thing, as I would most likely end up in fits of laughter during the show itself lol!
For other stuff, I put myself forward to perform a monologue. I used this opportunity to do a piece from William Shakespeare, as its something I'm yet to do to a live audience. Tim also had the idea to separate the monologue showcases into three different parts, one of which being a segment called Quango Quiz, where the aim is to guess which movie the speech is from.
Sooty Idea:
For this day in particular I had the idea of doing a short routine in the form of a little yellow bear known as sooty. As it was also the 75th year of this iconic children’s show, i thought it would be a great way to celebrate it by doing a routine in that place which has helped me grow in confidence. And I’ll get more on how the idea developed and my rehearsal process later on.
Rehearsals:
The rehearsals themselves were tough, as loads of people were off for many reasons, myself included due to an acting gig and a family trip which I couldn't skip. But when I did come back I put everything I could into the rehearsals, and I made sure that my part in the adult pantomime felt like a "King Herod" or "Pharoah" moment (where basically even though a character only makes 1 appearance in a show, its the one everyone remembers like these two icons. See if you can guess which two shows these characters are from). I was more worried about the rest of my class, knowing they had more of a responsibility to learn lines and take on board what my teacher was saying. But I had every faith in them, and I knew they would do a brilliant job on the day.
For my monologue, I took on board every note Tim and another teacher who filled in for him whilst he was away had said. With it being Shakespeare, I had the extra challenge to make it entertaining but also still peaks an audience's interest. But I took on the challenge, and I grew within that, so overall I am very proud of myself. If anyone is looking for a Helena for "A Midsummer Nights Dream" then I'm your girl! And the image below is the costume I would wear on the day itself!
For the rehearsals with Sooty, Tim had the idea of doing it in the bar, as a form of private theatre. Now this I liked! As then people would get their own puppet show for free and unexpected. Little did I know how it would actually turn out, but more on that later on.
We also looked at the song and how it would work. We did this by splitting the group into who would sing the verses and how would do the chorus. I put myself up for the chorus knowing that due to other commitments I may not be able to be per of it. But overall I thoroughly enjoyed looking at it, and whether I performed it or not, I knew the group would smash it!
The Big Day:
Throughout the day itself, it was a success overall. Despite having to work my day job early in the morning, I managed to embrace the day as it went and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Here is how each moment of the day went.
Pantomime:
The pantomime itself went really well. I was obviously abit nervous but once I was on there I managed to make a good impression along with my amazing scene partner, and it’s safe to say I made my “King Herod” and “Pharaoh” moment on the stage. Here are some highlights from the performance along with a link to the full version of my group’s performance (WARNING: CONTAINS ALOT OF ADULT HUMOUR):
Monologue:
For my monologue, once again I was nervous but I managed to do it. I was the first one, which was also a benefit as then I can relax for the rest of the day. Although I did have to dash off after it as it was so hot in the room, and the last thing I wanted was to pass out from overheating (which is obviously not ideal). Sadly I couldn’t get it recorded on the day, but here is a link to my monologue as a self tape below to show you what it is I’ve worked so hard on along with some highlights from the performance:
Q&A:
The Q&A itself was very interesting. I won’t reveal all the secrets but let’s just say that their journey from the actors workshop to now is really inspiring and Tim obviously played a big part of it. Sadly the actors Michael Socha and Joel Morris couldn’t make it due to other commitments (which was a shame but that’s the life of an actor for you) but that didn’t stop me from coming to this fascinating chat. I won’t reveal all the secrets, but let’s just say that their experience working with Shia Lebouf was very interesting.
Hard Times:
During the event itself, I would be lying if I said it did have its challenges. As an autistic woman, this had the extra challenge of things being all over the place, therefore not being given any form of structure or routine. This then led to the decision to cut my Sooty segment. Yes even though it wasn't ideal, I would rather cut it and prepare myself for my monologue than get overwhelmed on when to go on next. But thankfully I adapted it to post onto my acting page before Christmas. So please see the link below for what I would've performed at the live event.
Another difficult moment was that I had to leave the Q&A early to head home (mainly due to the shocking bad weather), meaning I also missed the group number of Jericho and also the test screening of the film. Yes it was a shame but at that point my energy had gone, and the last thing I wanted was to pass out mid song (which wouldn’t be ideal in a public setting to be honest), but I know when the film is fully completed, the feedback will make it even better than the test screening. Here is also a link below to a little segment of my little rendition of Jericho for making up on missing the group number.
And that was my blog on how the event went! For those reading this who came to this event I hope you enjoyed it. And for my AW crew who took part and have read this I hope it was thrilling to scroll through some wonderful memories. Here is a link below to the official Actors Workshop Nottingham page itself where you can find all the latest news from the company, what past alumni have done since training at the workshop, and the events we have in the future, including the anniversary event of the AW itself!
See you soon for another blog. Until next time...
This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)
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