I can honestly say that I absolutely adored my role in 'Babes in the Wood'. When reading through the script for the first time I knew that there was a lot of fun to be had with the character of the Fairy. The Fairy was always the role I was going to audition for because even though she wasn't a main character or have a main part, she is the most important character in the pantomime. (In my opinion) The first character you meet and who sets the whole mood of the panto is the Fairy, therefore I had to make it good. I channelled my inner Fairy all the way through, which I will discuss in this blog post!
Due to me self isolating my first scene wasn't until the second week of filming so, as soon as I was back I was ready and raring to go. My first scene was on November 23rd. I was filming act 2 scene 6 along with Sadie, Kate and the Merry men. In this scene Robin asks the Fairy for a disguise so he can enter a tournament against the Sheriff. The Fairy gives a short narration at the start of this scene which is the same monologue that I used in my audition. On the day of filming I done my own hair and makeup the same way I done it in my audition. The reason I chose to do so was because I feel when you are given a character you need to fully develop it and make it your own, whether this be costume, makeup, physicality, vocally ... the list goes on! I had completed a lot of research into fairies from different movies and the fairy that stood out to me the most was Tinkerbell. (possibly the worlds second most famous fairy after the tooth fairy!) I love Tinkerbells sassy attitude and bossiness. I tried to incorporate this aspect as much as possible into my character. I feel as though I'd done this well because in act 2 scene 6 with Sadie a bit of this bossiness and sass comes through in my facial expressions and vocal techniques when talking to Sadie. I feel like knowing my lines inside and out would have really elevated this performance and the jadedness of my character which is something to improve on for the future. I chose to give my character a typical 'posh' accent, yet when she is on the phone she is a broad brooklyn-er. This choice was inspired by Joey Tribianni's agent 'Estelle' in Friends who embodies a sassy and powerful woman who puts up with no nonsense. When watching the pantomime back I would change the pace of my voice as I feel it was too fast. I couldn't tell you if this was down to nerves or excitement (or a bit of both) but the performance is very in your face. When filming my prologue as the fairy and all of my little narration pieces I think I could have appeared more jolly and excited so that there is a very clear gap between me fed-up and excited. However, I must say that I am really pleased with my monologue in act 1 scene 3 as I feel I have the perfect balance of cheery and sassy (how many times have I said that word now?) Watching it back, that is my favourite performance of mine. I also remember it only taking 2 takes because I was so confident with the speech and excited to perform it. When it came to filming my opening number I was a little nervous as I knew I had to perfect the opening speech, plus the fairy talks in rhyme so if I messed up, people would know. The first monologue went very well though I just feel I was too fast looking back. When it came to the monologue that opened act 2 I was very nervous and I remember my mouth being very dry. My head had been going fifty to the dozen all day, so when it came time to film my monologue I kept stumbling on lines. However, after a few takes we'd found a winner and I feel happy with my performance. When watching 'Babes in the Wood' for the first time I remember cringing at the fact that I wore black tights. What fairy wears black tights? If I had a time machine I'd have gone back and put a pair of flesh coloured sparkly tights on.
Peer Assessments
In order to progress as as actor it is important to be able to take criticism and learn from it. I people from the cast and crew of the panto to give me some feedback and this is what they said;
Sam Liddell: "I believe that Kate Drummond acted professionally both on and off screen of the production 'Babes in the Wood' and excelled in her role as the Fairy. She understood her role within the performance as well as understanding her character's motivations within each scene. Not only did she have a great performance energy throughout which reflected how well she understood the target audience; she also clearly researched how films were made, she understood continuity within film editing which made her by far the easiest to edit around in scenes, matching her positions with each line and even something as simple as a hand movement was remembered in each take. This made it very clear to me that she had planned thoroughly how she wanted to perform her character. Throughout the production she was also extremely professional when the cameras stopped rolling. She never complained about problems like the cold weather or being asked for another take. Kate is a perfect example of an exceptional performer that any director would be lucky to work with."
Sophie Ashcroft: "Kate excelled during panto, if it wasn't for her we wouldn't even have the theatre company! Her dedication and commitment shone throughout. I'm so proud of her. She put this whole thing together. Kate is an ideal role model for an actor and director. She can do it all."
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