A Welcome Change: Working in the Arts in Rural Ireland
Late 1999, London – I sat in a small office. There were books stacked to the ceiling, and paper drifted from haphazard mounds on the cramped desk onto an industrial carpet. It was not beautiful, it was barely functional. The man that sat in front of me looked tired and bored. I got the feeling that I was wasting his time, but I didn’t understand why. I was being interviewed by him as part of an audition process to gain a place at the London drama school he worked for. He looked at my application and wearily asked me how often I went to the theatre to see shows. I confidently told him that we went once a year to see a show in Edinburgh. He sighed and spat out ‘if you don’t watch theatre, where is the evidence that you actually want this?’ he didn’t wait for my answer. He proceeded to tell me that I should go away and think about why I wanted to be an actress, and if I was serious I would go and watch some shows, but he didn’t believe that I was committed.
