Interview with:Glennon Anderson [glennonanderson]
ACTING
 | How did you begin acting? I was greatly influenced by my grandmother, an actress herself, and it was certainly her passion which first alit my own. She used to take me to the west end, where I was dazzled by the lights, taught me poems and verse, introduced me to her amazing theatrical friends and tell me the most wonderful stories about her time on the stage. Due to her, from an early age I wanted to be an actress but it was in my first show when I really remember knowing it was for me and feeling “the feeling“ so to speak. I was a sheep in Ulysses, so not a starring part, but I remember kneeling on the side of this huge stage, doing my sheep dance and looking out at all the lights with the silhouettes of the audience. It was a feeling of pride, support, excitement and fear and in that moment I knew I had to work on the stage. |
| At what stage in your career did you realise that acting could be something you do professionally? To be honest its not the sort of job that you ever realise you can do professionally, you just do or you don’t. Its always a struggle but I remember the first time I was paid properly?! I had just left dance school and I got the part of Alice in Alice in Wonderland- a six month tour. I remember I got the fax through on my 19th birthday and it was one of the happiest moments of my life. So returning to your question I suppose I have always thought I could act professionally but it was that moment when it first became a reality. |
| Please list an Internet address where one can see something about you. |
| Please list the most important or defining jobs of your career. That is a difficult one...I sort of see every job as more important than the last but if I had to choose one I suppose it would be Zoop Zoop at The Arcola. It was directed by my favourite director from drama school who I absolutely adore working with. Although it was not a conventually easy show (I hit a wall on one of my scenes) I learnt more about myself as an actress in that show than in any other job so far and so in this was it was a defining moment. |
| Please list any famous performances that have helped you in reference to your evolution in acting. I think I pick up little things from all performances I watch but there are three that immediately spring to mind. Anthony Sher in Primo, Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth and Ben Kingsley in the Trevor Nun's Twelfth Night. All of them have the same ease about their performances (even though two are tackling extremely serious roles) and this as well as numerous other reasons, make me totally re-inspired and in turn re-evaluate my own process and techniques. |
| Please list three actors and three actresses that you like. Alongside those above, I would say Tim Roth, Cate Blanchett and Dustin Hoffman. |
| What type of psychological, physical, and emotional preparation do you do before a performance? Before the rehearsals start I tend to research my role, the play and the world of the play - to get a good starting point. During rehearsals my process really depends on the type of rehearsal process the cast is involved in. Before the actual performance I always do a warm up both physical and vocal and then usually spend some time by myself. Some casts also like to do a group warm up which I always find helpful but it is not always possible and can be unhelpful to other actors dependent on their own process. |
| What is your criteria in determining which projects you select? I am really lucky as I am able to choose my projects on a purely creative basis and so the play, style and character usually play a large part in my decision. The other reason I end up working on the projects I do, is because I want to work with the company or a specific person involved. In the past I have worked on jobs for the money but they tend to make me unhappy and completely unfulfilled creatively and so I’d rather teach which I also thoroughly enjoy. |
| What type of communication do you normally establish with directors? I like to work with open directors who have a good sense of what they want and communication skills enough to convey that. Some of the best directors I have worked with also totally inspire me and that in turn inspires them. Ultimately the director can see the whole story and your journey within that and so clear, constructive communication and listening on both sides seems to me, to be the very best process for all concerned. |
| What is the archetypal character in which you tend to be typecast? The nursie/maid parts - I tend to get more of these parts on average. Although, these women are full of energy, fun and larger than life they all have a side they are hiding, low self confidence, very self-aware and a feeling of being invisible to the world. This is lovely to play, picking out the sections to reveal their real character or private face, then cutting back to their public face knowing the audience has seen what is actually going on in their own worlds. Great Fun! |
| Has there been a role that has been especially difficult for you? I suppose it was more of a play than a role... A couple of years ago I was in an extremely controversial play which I believed to be bringing attention to an issue I felt very strongly about. Sadly during the run there was several fights within the cast and there some unfortunate audience responses leading some of the cast to doubt the play’s message. This made for a lot of upset and drama and eventually the show closed early, which was, at the time, heartbreaking. |
| Do you see yourself working in this field in twenty years? I blinkin’ hope so! In twenty years I hope my theatre company is successful enough to enable me to survive on that and outside acting jobs alone. I would ideally be a successful stage actress but I would certainly settle for just being able to continue to choose projects based on their story and/or characters. |
| What do you do to kill time during waiting periods at casting calls? Listen to music or read, unless I have a scene to do and then I would be reading the scene. |
| Are you continuing to educate yourself through acting classes, seminars, or other courses? Do you combine this with your normal job? I try and do at least one course or workshop every year and I can usually do this during the school holidays, when I don’t teach. I also try and work on something new every six to nine months, whether it is an accent I've never tried or a different style of theatre, it ensures I never stop learning. |
| Is there any fetish role you haven't interpreted yet, but that you have in your head to do one day? What a strange question? A fetish role? Well I love Philip Ridley plays and some of his characters could be described as fetish I suppose!? Boudicca? Again, I suppose she is kind of fetish?! |
| According to your experience, please describe the best and worst of each medium: cinema, theatre, television. Wow! That is a question. Well I suppose the main difference between stage and screen (TV & film) is the immediacy element. In a play you live and breathe your character's journey and it is an organic process which starts in one place and ends up another. It is like a ticking clock as it keeps going whatever happens which is amazingly exciting and exhilarating, but also scary and can be disappointing as you cant correct mistakes. So in short, the best of the theatre is the feeling you get and fluidity of the process while the worst is not fulfilling ambitions within the performance and then not being able to put it right, there's only one chance.
Screen work is the complete opposite. You can be a complete perfectionist and take loads of time researching your role but you have to reproduce the same scene countless times and then in the edit the film can often end up not including your favourite take which can be annoying. In this way film is far less in control than theatre although both need trust in the production team as ultimately it is their job to sculpt the project as a whole.
So the best about screen work is the intimacy of getting into the audiences brains right there in their homes while also having the time to pick apart the bare bones of the character. The worst for me, is the editing process and delay to final completion, it takes forever and films can change immensely before being finally finished. |
| Is there any scene or role that you would never interpret due to personal morals, principles, or taboos? I would not be part of a production that offended my own morality; whether that be a play which promoted violence, homophobia, racism or a film with graphic sexual content with no connection to the story, purely there for titillation. |
| Could you say that your tools as an actress pertain to a certain school or concrete method? No. To be honest I found my own process at drama school and it shifts using various exercises and help from all sorts of methods. I tend to take exercises which have worked for me before and incorporate them within the rehearsal period and this becomes my process for that project. It also depends on how different the character is to me and what those differences are, and of course if I’ve been studying any particular styles. |
| Which director would you like to read this interview? What type of role would you like for him/her to offer you? Well, in a dream world Shane Meadows or Trevor Nunn. Both are wonderfully different and would be fantastic to work with but my ultimate of all time would defiantly be Tim Burton. I absolutely adore his work and would jump through hoops to work with him, although I suspect he doesn't spend his time online reading actors interviews. It's good to dream though! |
| Have you ever thought of giving up on the profession? If yes, when and why? Yes, I suppose I have. It was a very dark time in my life but I got through and it is those moments which really test you and make you stronger, when you get through them! |
| One personal reason why to keep doing this work I couldn't ever see myself doing anything else, its where I belong. |
| How do you feel when people recognise you on the street? I've only had this situation once when I was in a big show in Ireland. I had a couple of people recognise me and it was extremely strange but quite fun. I suspect its not fun if it happens all the time but for a brief time it made me feel embarrassed but secretly a little proud. |
| What advice would you give to someone just starting out in acting? Learn, learn, learn! Experience life, watch and listen. Don't be put off by people and learn to take criticisms professionally rather than as a personal attack. Finally, know yourself as you are the basis for all your characters. |
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Glennon Anderson
London - UK
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