It’s International Women’s day and just under a fortnight ago I was in a workshop with nine female actors. All over fifty. I’ve never been with so many women theatre-makers in a confined space before and it filled me with delights. Drew Taylor http://drewmakestheatre.com/company-many and I were looking for three actors to help develop Gaze. I could have worked with all of them. Note to self, write a play that has a large cast of older women. This post is dedicated to the nine amazing actors who responded to our call out.
The workshop is held at GTAC, (https://glasgowtheatreartcollective.weebly.co) at the very top of a fine brick-built Edwardian building, opposite the hideous but useful Govan shopping centre. There’s a fantastic view across the Clyde which gives you (me) an excuse to stop on each chilly bare landing to draw breath. There is no lift. By the time I reach the top floor to be let into the airy high barrel-ceiling room I need an oxygen mask and a lie-down but do with a restorative black coffee and a chocolate digestive biscuit. I hover, waiting for these nine unknown women to arrive, clutching my notebook and scribbly-fast black pen and a vague sense of unease. I feel I ought to be in charge, but this time I am ‘the writer-in-the-room’. They come in one’s and two’s, some wheezing like me, some frisky, all peeling off hats and scarves, coats and bags. All stoutly shod, doc martins, biker boost, flat soles, solid. No dancing shoes and frittery footwear here. We need our feet, our balanced poise.
Drew is a tall, loveable presence in his lemon sweat pants and vibrant T shirt, his warmth wrapping each new woman like a hug. Kirsty is here as his assistant. She’s a member of Performance Collective Stranraer and this is a great opportunity for her to assist Drew. She wants to direct as well as act. She will be on TV soon; I can say no more at this stage. https://www.performancecollectivestranraer.com/kirsty-pickering/). She’s huddled into her luscious turquoise scarf, spreading comfort as she helps people to tea and coffee. The room warms up with anticipation and banter. Some of these women know each other, of course they do, from criss-crossing the theatre and TV circuits.
We begin in a circle of chairs, each giving a story about our name, where we feel at home and an animal alter ego. And so, the stories spill and roll like mercury. The magic begins. Never once was this an audition, no actor standing in front of us to be judged. Instead a room full of movement, laughter, power, drama. A space where these talented actors play, flowing through text, embracing working with each other. Then it’s all over. Departure time and hugs, a lingering desire to cling to each other. The women leave, footsteps and voices fade down the long flights of steps. Chill air surges back into the room. We wash the cups, fold away the chairs. I give Kirsty and Drew my thoughts, they share theirs. Not for the first time I am grateful I have an experienced dramaturg-director guiding this process. How to decide which of these interesting women will share the next steps of my journey? I drive home to Dumfries and Galloway, my head full of women’s voices, women’s generosity, women’s talent.
The three actors we will be working with are:
KIRSTY MILLER
http://www.spotlight.com/0210-5648-7424
LINDA DUNCAN MCLAUGHLIN
https://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/1/F19620.0102.html
SHEILA GRIER
https://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/1/F5877.0105.html
Carolyn A Yates 