Hair Dos, Heights and Opening Nights!

Frances McNamee opens up about last minute nerves.

About three weeks ago, I was pacing up and down the Quayside with my younger brother in tow about to enter the Live Theatre building, not as a member of the theatre-going public, but for the first time as a professional actress.

During our little jaunt I’m pretty sure I broke the record for how many times one person can say “Oh my God.” (don’t think they do that one in the Guinness Book of Records though. Pity!) I still stand by those statements, I was nervous, but I realise now, 3 weeks later, that I didn’t need to be.

The cast are genuinely one of the nicest bunch of people you could hope to meet, not to mention being formidably talented, much like our director Max and writer Lisa.

In the first two weeks we blitzed through blocking the play, so last week was all about fine tuning moments that weren’t quite right and I am pleased to report, the play is in good shape and we’re all feeling relatively confident about going into tech week.

The ladies underwent a few mini makeovers this week! I myself am sporting a plumy rinse do. I must admit, I got a bit of a shock when our hairdresser Tracy started whacking this vivid purple mixture onto my head, but all is well, she did a grand job and I think it’s completely right for Greta, and not half bad for Frances either.

We finally got a chance to see the set today and had a bit of a play about on it. Neil and I have a few tricky moves on the bridge so it was good to get to grips with those. Although it’s one thing contorting yourself all over the shop in jeans and a t-shirt, it’s quite another to do it in a mini-dress that looks as though it’s been sprayed on. I need lots of practice…and some big knickers, just in case.

So opening night is just four days away. We’re easing out of the comfort of rehearsals and into the more unpredictable sphere of performance, always a nerve-racking time.
I’ll be honest, when I was at drama school, in the minutes before any one of our shows went up, I’d look around and see the cast comparing hands to see whose were shaking the most violently and I would contemplate why I, and the quivering wrecks surrounding me, would make such a masochistic career choice? Why would they, who professed to be racked with anxiety before a performance, voluntarily subject themselves to public scrutiny? In my limited experience, there is a never a clearer answer to that question than when you’re waiting in the wings, the lights go up, you’ve just been convincing yourself that you’ve forgotten ALL of your lines, then all of a sudden you’re on and you remember why you’re doing it… because it’s bloody great!

So I’m feeling good about first night this Thursday. It’s a cracking play that I feel very proud and excited to be involved in and I know come the day, half of me will be bouncing off the walls, anxious to show people what we’ve done. The other half will probably be wandering the Quayside telling my brother how nervous I am.
Nah course I won’t, I can’t wait!

Till then,

Frances