Antonia ‘Toni’ Underwood is an Acting undergraduate from Northampton University now embarking on a Masters in Acting at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. In the three years since graduating Toni has been nurturing her creative spark and outlook through a variety of volunteer, work and solo opportunities. Artist Focus is here to ask how she does it. Within your post-graduate life, what have been your favourite opportunities? During my time at Northampton University I made connections with some incredible artists working in the industry who provided wonderful learning opportunities. I have been fortunate enough to work a lot with The Royal & Derngate theatre on various projects whether as a workshop leader, as an actor in The Shakespeare Story Trail or as a writer as part of their Arts Leaders project. I was also assistant director on their Christmas show for children under 7 and their families – Second Star to the Right. I got to work with director Jesse Jones on the show - an incredible director and deviser that I learnt a lot from. What key motivations keep your creative spark burning? I pride myself on being able to motivate myself well, but it is a struggle at times because freelance work can be uncertain and you alone are responsible for your goals. I think in those times especially I have to remind myself of what I want to do and why. I also reflect on my goals and why it is important to have goals of different levels – some outcomes which I know I may be able to achieve in the month or the year, and then things I may not be able to reach for ten years. I try to view myself as a work in progress. I love learning and developing my skills at any stage so, even if I have achieved a new goal, I keep considering what I can do to steadily improve as a performer, writer and creative. Describe your earliest memories of the theatre. I’ve always been enchanted by theatre. I’ve always loved musicals, , especially the Wizard of Oz and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which I saw when I was ten and was mesmerized by the whole world of it. I didn’t start performing until I was twelve, at school in my drama classes (aside from the occasional Christmas show at primary school). I was painfully shy but also creative. We were put into groups to perform the Witches ‘Double Double, Toil and Trouble’ speech from Macbeth and I distinctly remember sharing it with the others in my class and never having felt anything like it. I think I surprised them with how confident I was in it and I surprised myself too – and then I never stopped performing. I’ve also always loved writing and reading stories and love to identify/fall into any world that allows me to explore or live vicariously in a completely new world quite happily. If you could invent your own career in the arts what would it be? My ideal and what I’m daily trying to strive to be is an actor, a writer (both plays and novels) and a theatre maker. I’m just not quite sure what the job would be called… Sometimes I see myself acting in work that I write, but I also see the two as separate things in my life. If I could go through my life combining those things I would be incredibly happy. After finishing an Undergraduate Acting Degree you’re now embarking on a Masters course at Drama School. How are both experiences in comparison so far? I can easily draw similarities in some subjects we are covering – but equally I’m getting to explore many subjects and skills I didn’t at university. So I get the best of both worlds. In both of the courses I felt very blissfully engulfed within the course – getting to do what I want to do every day and working with a great group of people, it’s wonderful. Personally I’ve developed and changed a lot since both the start of my undergraduate course and now and also since the end of my undergraduate. A huge development of self-confidence and also an ability to give myself a break and feel comfortable in being silly and making mistakes means that I can approach everything with more ease and dive into it. I also think there is a difference between what is on my doorstep between living in Northampton and living in London. I had a wonderful experience working with The Royal & Derngate whilst in my Undergrad- and it has shaped me as a person and artist. Currently I have so much theatre and culture on my doorstep in London that its almost overwhelming but brilliant. I definitely feel like I have needed both of these steps in my life and even if there are certain skills I am recapping, to have different professionals teaching me them and to be exposed to different people from the industry at a different time in my life – I can learn and have learnt so many different things from both courses. As the founder of both Underlines and Kindness Continues how important are side projects to you in terms of keeping creativity alive? I am very much a project person – as soon as I get ideas I fall head first into a love with it and fill up notebooks and Pinterest boards dedicated to it, even if I don’t have the time or resources to develop those things further in that moment. I thrive off of being able to explore ideas and feeling inspired and so putting ideas into function and seeing them as formed (yet not necessarily complete) ideas makes me feel proud and also makes me feel creatively in control. Whilst I am at Mountview, I am finding it incredibly difficulty to keep on top of any of my ideas or projects because I am in such a bubble at the minute. But as I am just finishing my first term of my Masters, I hope that things like my Christmas break will allow me to revisit and rework those projects making them relevant for me in this moment of my life and see how they will propel me into the next stage of my career. I very much see Underlines as an ever-evolving part of my career and eventually a platform for me to create theatre as well as workshops. Kindness Continues started off as a fundraising project for my Masters course and to give back to a wider community through the kind acts of others. This is something I will definitely rework when I have a little more time and make is solely focused on spreading kindness to others – rather than helping me as well. For me it is important to help, to get out of the world of just the arts and look at a bigger scope of humans. To help people, to learn from them and be inspired by them, that for me is one of the best ways I fuel my creativity. Follow Kindness Continues on instagram Any advice for those just ‘starting out’ in the world of theatre? Don’t just sit around and wait things to come to you. It won’t. Push yourself to send an email to your local theatre group, to local industry people you know or have heard about and make connections. It often leads to other connections and opportunities. Volunteer when you can, when it is beneficial to you. If you work for free for a day but get to meet a brilliant emerging artist, or get to develop a skill – I fully recommend it. Learn. Watch theatre, read books -theatrical and non-theatrical, go to a library or to museums. If you get invited to networking events or can find a way to be, go, even if it scares you a little (I’ve been going to them for five years and I’m still nervous). Watch shows and not just West End shows, see Fringe shows, regional shows, in-house productions, touring and beyond. One-man shows, musicals, physical theatre, clowning, street theatre, high-budget and low-budget. Whatever you can – and keep your eyes out for discount tickets and free theatre. I also think just do it, on whatever level you can. If you want to act, find student film-makers and contact them. If you want to write- write, then let people you trust read it and maybe put on a play reading with friends or with a theatre group. Finally, I would say surround yourself with people who are inspiring, who are like-minded but not necessarily the same as you or share the same likes in the arts, but who want to work hard or have discussions about creativity. Talk to those who will support you, who will inspire you and who will pick you up and do the same in return. It is a million times better than working against people because you think they are competition. Learn from anyone you can.
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