Which is harder? Getting into drama school or getting your first job

I would honestly say getting your first job. There is so much to consider. Half of the problem is to just get a casting director to take a chance on you. Drama school is hard but they look for potential. With a job you have to stand out from the thousands of other recent graduates and get the better of your own nerves too. There is just so much competition. I’m lucky in that I managed to get a casting director who liked me (Pippa Ailion) pretty early on and would always get me in the room. Then it was up to me to perform but it gave me confidence. You have be honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses and just keep going in the knowledge that eventually you’ll get that opportunity, and then it’s up to you to work hard and repay the trust shown in you.

What is the best thing about playing Henri in An American in Paris?

I never dreamed I’d get to ‘dance’ like this on the West End Stage. I honestly thought the job would be given to a dancer. I knew I could sing it and act it well enough but expected the movement to be the most important consideration. Therefore I am so grateful for the opportunity that James Orange the casting director has given me here, and for backing me. I love the fact that Henri has been a real challenge for me as a performer. That even now 14 years after graduating I am still learning, still growing, still having to work hard to achieve. His big number ’Stairway to Paradise’ is a dream come true, and I pinch myself every night. I also love the fact I get to work with such a talented cast who make coming to work so enjoyable. I feel very lucky.

Looking back on your successful career to date, what words of wisdom can you give to our young performers?

Enjoy it! I know performers who suggest you have to LIVE TO ACT! But I’ve always thought you have to enjoy it first and foremost. When you stop enjoying it, your should maybe stop doing it. Also be honest with yourself. Learn from each audition or experience. If you don’t get the part you want then why? Did you forget a line? Or was the other person taller than you? Or even was the audition panel distracted? But try to learn from it and act accordingly next time. We don’t learn from our successes. We learn from our mistakes and disappointments. I didn’t get Henri by being cast in every audition I have ever had, and have failed more times than I have succeeded. Still I have tried to learn from each experience and have confidence in myself through it all.

The post An American In Paris – Part 2 of our interview with Haydn Oakley first appeared on Simply Theatre.

“We were excited to see the show, given its string of 5 star reviews. The whole design concept of the show was superb – it brought you back to a bygone era of the glamour of musical theatre. It was truly beautiful with the scenery seeming to be drawn before your eyes!” said Jenna, who has a particular passion for all things Parisienne. Tom added “It was a superb show. The show has a high level of dance content for a musical theatre show, and I thought the way it added to the storytelling and exuberance of the production was beautiful. Oh, and Haydn was, of course brilliant!”

Tom asked Haydn, who trained at the Guildford School of Acting to answer a few questions for our students.

Haydn, you left school and began studying Ancient & Medieval History at Birmingham? What made you change your mind and decide to go to drama school?

I always knew I loved performing and wanted to pursue it at some point. Both my parents were teachers and they were very keen on me getting as much of an education as possible before I went to DramaSchool. But once I got my MPhil in Late Antiquity even they couldn’t refuse me the opportunity of auditioning for GSA. In fact I initially applied for Drama & English at different red brick Universities but got 6 straight rejections from UCAS. History was perhaps my second love and I figured it allowed me the opportunity to continue to act and sing in my free time with my peers if nothing else. By my fourth year I had perhaps 2 hours of class time per weekwhilst I wrote my Thesis… The rest of the time I acted, sang, directed, presented on the University Radio Station, and did what I loved.

How did you get your first job on leaving drama school?

I had a few auditions where the nerves got the better of me straight after drama school. Nothing can ever fully prepare you for standing in front of a panel of people who hold your dreams in your hands. I remember one audition where I forgot my lyrics perhaps 5 times in a row… eventually I got them right and pretty much ran out of the room. However, I was pretty grounded about it all. I just wanted someone to pay me to do what I loved.

My first job was an unpaid showcase at the Kings Head Theatre in Islington. I auditioned and got to sing songs from Tick! Tick!… Boom and Parade. This allowed me to sing professionally on stage and learn a lot of new contemporary music from composers like Jason Robert Brown. My first paid job came perhaps 3 months later, when I was cast in a TIE (Theatre in Education) play touring Ireland and Wales. I played a boy who was involved in a road traffic accident. I just tried to be myself and enjoy the process of the audition.

It’s funny how expectations change though. At first I just wanted a job, then a paid job, then a west end job and so on. Now I’ve reached a principal West End role, and next… Well there’s always TV and a professional Shakespeare I guess. The old saying goes “How do you make an actor unhappy?… Give them a job!” and it’s sadly true. There’s always another rung up the ladder and it’s hard to stay in the moment sometimes.

WATCH OUT FOR PART 2 OF OUR INTERVIEW NEXT WEEK…

The post An American In Paris – 2 part Interview with Haydn Oakley: Part 1 first appeared on Simply Theatre.