All-Female Satirical Show Considers The Rejections, The Rejoicing And Regrets Of An Actor

She Productions, Theatre Company in Residence at the East Riding Theatre, is back by popular demand with a new comedic review show, after the sell-out success of Beverley Does Broadway in 2015.

As an actor, no matter how hard you try, there is always one role that you know you will never get! Surrounded by an industry based on physical appearance, race, and gender, She Productions are here to break boundaries and turn typecasting on its head. MissCast is an evening of familiar songs and sketches performed in revolutionary ways.

Artistic Director of East Riding Theatre said;

“She Productions’ are a great asset to ERT. Their creativity, enthusiasm and commitment can always be seen in their work and their shows continue to delight audiences of all ages.”

She Productions was formed by a group of local actresses who, after leaving the area to train at drama school and work professionally in TV, theatre, and film across the UK, gravitated back to the East Riding in 2015 to set up their own theatre company, committed to devising and writing innovative, multimedia theatre for intergenerational audiences.

Company member and Mountview Academy graduate, Annie Kirkman said;

“The everyday battle to get through the door of an audition to then be told you don’t ‘look’ right for the part, before you’ve had the chance to show what you are capable of, wears you down. It has been so refreshing to work with a group of like-minded actors who have experienced the same plight and want to be creative and do the job they spent years training to do. MissCast was born from our own altercations with the acting industry.”

Ironically, She Productions held a casting day of their own in February in the hope to expand the company, and have engaged several local actors to collaborate with on future projects this year.

“Auditioning is so exposing; you stand in front of a group of strangers and bear your soul, desperate to be ‘liked’. Being on the other side of the table was a real eye-opener and made us extremely conscious of the need to create a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, avoiding some of the awful audition experiences we have all endured” explains, Alice Rose Palmer, She Productions’ member.

She Productions is made up of seven members Annie Kirkman, Jessica Duffield, Rachel Barnes, Hannah Levy, Alice Rose Palmer, Hester Arden and Ellie Claughton all originally from and local to Hull and the East Riding. Mariana Barbera, Mexican actor who is based in Beverley, has joined She Productions to devise and perform MissCast. She says:

“We all feel that in some way or another we have been ‘typecast’; repeatedly assigned the same roles. Directors have often discounted me because I have an accent and unless there is a role for a ‘foreigner’, regardless of which country they are from, I won’t even be considered. In which other industry could you legally employ or not employ someone because of their ethnicity?”

“MissCast addresses these huge concerns in true satirical fashion. We’ve re-written popular songs, dramatized our own ridiculous encounters and exposed artists’ everyday disasters to immerse the audience and put them in our shoes for the evening. Let’s hope we can keep a straight face!” Rachel Barnes, She Productions’ Musical Director, tells us.

Their new musical It’s Different For Girls, inspired by 60’s Hull girl-band Mandy & The Girlfriends, premieres 6th-23rd September at the East Riding Theatre.”