A theatre life in training - interview with George Fairclough
George Fairclough a soon to be 20 year old guy who's recently moved to London to train at theatre school on a musical theatre performance course at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. He started his blog to keep his friends and family back home up to date with his life but he has ended up reaching more people than expected across the world. We have conducted an interview with George.
How did your first job experience for your audition change you?
My first paid job experience in the industry was a bit of voice-over work for Nickelodeon's 'Yo Gabba Gabba.' They'd already had a great success with the programme in the US and wanted to transfer it to the British screen. That day was a very exciting day. I remember waking up extra early - it was like Christmas. I had so much fun just being in the studio and the team were all very friendly and helpful. This was the start of many other opportunities. It released a spark inside of me pushing me to grab everything that happened to come my way. It was a great first experience as it opened my eyes up to a whole variety of jobs that are accessible in the industry. In a way, it made me even more determined and reiterated the fact that this is where I want my future to be.
In which ways do you think pantomime work and experiences are important and help a stage performer?
I think regardless of the role or show, any experience is important - even the bad ones. You learn so much from your experiences, you really do. I'm lucky enough to have learnt some of that knowledge at a young age. Panto was some of the best years of my childhood. I made some amazing friends and was introduced to several industry professionals. Panto has been around for years and will continue to be so for years to come. Meaning that there is always stability and jobs available in this field of work, so the more experience you have the more familiar you are going to be with it. as a stage performer you've got to know your audience and what might work for them and panto certainly is the type of show that is for the audience and the family fun sides to things. Panto helped me become more aware of the professionalism that is expected of you within the industry and taught me a lot in regards to discipline and certain etiquette so to speak. there are so many characters inside a pantomime that can really help you when playing similar roles. For example prince like roles.
How did you discover your talent in the performing arts?
This one is quite hard to pinpoint to an exact time in my life. From an early age, I played football for a local team with my twin brother, Jason. I'd been doing it for years and I guess I just got bored of doing so. I decided to tune my focus into something I'd always done - singing. I'd always be singing a Whitney Houston song whenever I was walking around the house and this is still true today. I decided to enrol at Stagecoach Warrington, a theatre school for ages 4-18. It was here I really started to develop my love for the arts every Sunday. With their support, I took my craft with me into high school where I landed the lead in Oliver, in my first year at The Heath School. Since then I've been working on continuously improving myself as a performer. That's what I like about this industry - there's always room for improvement and expansion.
What is your goal in life? What do you aim to achieve (and by when do you hope to reach there)?
My goal in life would be ultimately to be happy - sounds cliche right. I think I've always known that the arts is what I love doing. It's what brings me my biggest joy. Nothing can truly beat that rush of adrenaline you feel before going onto that stage or the joy you feel when creating a new piece of work or the frustration in getting blocks in acting or a routine or when you finally reach that note you've been working on for the past few weeks. The goal for me has always been to be on that stage. I don't have a dream role or anything like that but when I connect with a character I invest al of my time into that role as much as I can. I love just throwing myself into new things and I'm the type of person that would be happy doing absolutely anything in the industry. I'd love to try my shot at directing, acting for screen and writing as well as being a performer. Who knows where my future is headed but I know I won't give up. I don't think anyone ever really has a plan so to speak, I believe they can set you up for failure. I prefer to think of my future as an opportunity, whether that be right now or in ten years time. Recognition isn't what I'm after, I do my work because it's something I love doing and being part of a team that shares that and is creating something beautiful on stage is what I want I strive for. Everything in my life up til now has come together like the perfect jigsaw piece but the puzzle is still out there for me to solve.
What is the most powerful kind of encouragement or inspiration/motivation you have ever received? How did it impact you?
I guess the most powerful kind of encouragement I've ever received would have to be the power of someone believing in you when you don't always believe in yourself. One of my absolute favourite quotes would have to be Theodore Roosevelt Jr's "Believe you can and you're halfway there." It speaks so much resonance to me. Sometimes just the inability to progress and move forward puts you in a place where you’re left asking Why? What more can I do? Why isn’t this working for me? Why can’t I just let go? Am I good enough? These are all questions I’ve asked myself and I think every performer has their own set of questions they ask themselves in every class. We have people from all around us believing in us every day even if we don't always notice it, they're there cheering you on in the corner striving for your success whether that be your family, your friends or your teachers or even strangers. Last term we were working on duologues and this was the perfect boxing match for myself and my doubt. But like everything in life, I overcome it. My teacher was pushing me to find more of a sense of my character. She took me by the hands and spiralled with me around the room telling me to close my eyes, it was just me and her; everyone else disappeared, all the while asking me to find my character through my breath – something that was relatively new to me in an acting sense. There was something so magical about this moment. Whilst spiralling there were, for a brief moment, glimpses of me just letting go and being free almost. It felt like I was teleported to a room where everything was white and serene. It was like being in a meadow full of daisies and greenery being 5-years-old again playing without a care in the world. I was lost but in a good way and when she finally let go of my hands allowing me to find my feet and embody the character through my senses, text and physicality I found it really helped me get to know this person and become him. What I’m really trying to get at is, just have the faith to say ‘yes I can do this’ and go with it. Let go of all inhibitions prior to that moment and leave them at the door. Having someone who believes in you even when you don’t always believe in yourself shouldn’t ever be disregarded. Thank that person.
