Fiona 'Speakeasy' Ramsay #FanClub

I think it is safe to say that Fiona Ramsay is one of the actresses on my top list of acting icons, equal to the likes of Meryl and Judi.

Fiona's experience, credits and list of achievements is awe-inspiring and surely speaks for itself.
Only a few of her credits include...

On Screen: Homeland, Dominion, Black Sails, The Bang Bang Club, In My Country.

On Stage: Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Streets of Gold, Delirium, Sailing Somewhere, The Old and The Beautiful.

As a language, accent and dialogue coach, (her company is called Speakeasy Vocal Training) Fiona has been commissioned on several local and international film and stage productions. Notably she acted as dialogue or language coach for Stander, Hotel Rwanda, Winnie Mandela, Material and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom coaching actor Idris Elba who portrayed Madiba in the feature. In 2014 she worked as dialogue and dialect coach on The Salvation and also did work on the Charlize Theron and Sean Penn feature The Last Face that filmed in Cape Town.
Check her out on IMDb.

In December last year a few of my FADCreationS Mentorship students and I watched Fiona Ramsay in the two-hander 'The Old and The Beautiful' at the POPArt Theatre in Maboneng.


It was so great to see Fi in an intimate theatrical piece like this alongside Tony Bentel, showcasing her phenomenal skill, incredible diversity and emotional depth engaging the audience from beginning to end. The outing with my students reminded me to remain in touch with my own student spirit and Fiona reminded me to stay inspired, to use what personally moves me in my work and projects and to keep learning from the greats. 
 

How lucky am I to have had the privilege to work with her in my career (Thoroughly Modern Millie 2006) and I honestly hope that I get to do so again in the future!

I know that she is planning to bring the production Doubt to the stage soon, and will keep you posted when I find out about upcoming production venue and dates! Also, soon I will be launching the first episode of the FAD Roundtables - The Actresses online, where Fiona is one of 5 other actresses in a one hour interview chatting about our industry and their career experiences in it. I can't wait to share it with you all!!!

Stay inspired peeps!

Crazy Castings #ActressLife

Have you ever looked back at your career and really, no I mean really thought about some of the auditions and casting moments you have been faced with??

There have been some weird and wonderful requests and experiences during my career as actress... One that comes to mind was an audition for a soap where I had to portray a completely psychologically disturbed women in a hospital, who shoots her love interest during the scene, locks herself in the bathroom and threatens suicide. Which wouldn't be strange on the actual set but in the casting room with only one other person and absolutely no props or actors reading opposite you - it can get a little interesting!

Or you end up auditioning with a poker-faced monotonous 'actor' reading in the lines (often they're the wrong sex for the character). I once had to actually eat the actual (dry) cereal in the casting room with a spoon which all the other auditionees had already used, oh... and then deliver a line afterwards. I've had to pretend to speak to imaginary digital characters, fall in love with a mannequin, get pretend hi-jacked and dance like nobody's watching. I have had to do a full on made-up-on-the-spot yoga routine, pretend my finger snaps bring imaginary items to life, pretend I'm surfing and pretend I'm playing tennis (well)! I've had to moonwalk to work, dance like a robot, a drunk party animal, a cheerleader and a ballerina. I have had to imagine a horrific crime scene and become emotional over it, have had to memorise pages and pages of script for one character - by the next day and speak in several different accents, sometimes even other languages. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

What a crazy wonderful job, never quite the same and certainly never ever dull. Even once you get booked for the job, there is a large amount of the set and warderobe that isn't actually physically there (often added in post) which must be created by the actors' imagination and ability to put themselves into that possible reality. And sometimes your co-actor can not be part of a take due to space, availability or a type of camera angle for the shot. Think of a bedroom scene where the lens is filming the POV (point of view) of the person lying at the bottom, or a POV during a fight, a telephone call etc... There are many such instances where the actor doesn't have the luxury of playing off of another actor's lines or reactions.
Personally I have found that working as an improv actor has greatly improved my skill with these situations and auditions.

I hope you enjoy some of the mad pics of castings I've been to over the last while...

Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeext!!!!

Bye for now!

Sterlopers #ActressLife

Last night on kykNET was the debut night of the very first episode of the brand new Afrikaans youth series Sterlopers. Drama and intrigue, artists and relationships, dreams both realised and shattered. I really think this series is going to take the Afrikaans audience by storm and I hope it will be followed with much interest by the industry and with almost religious devotion by its fans.

I do have a certain personal bias, as I have many talented actor friends who are cast in the series; some who are celebrating their debuts along with the series and others who are just building their screen careers from strength to strength. It is so great to see fellow artists receive the opportunity to shine in their own right, doing exactly what they love to do and being celebrated for it. My hope is that this will open even more doors of opportunity for even more artists out there, just aching to be given the chance. 

Let me indulge in boosting my friends a little...

Marno van der Merwe (plays the character of Brad Jooste) - what can I say, he was designed for the screen and I had the privilege of watching him work on the Sterlopers set a few times...  

I am personally a big fan.

Follow him @marnovdmerwe.

Suzzi Swanepoel with this possibly being her first major screen credit, plays the layered Isabel Richter so well. I can't wait to see the rest of her character's story unfold. 

Follow her @SuzziSwanepoel.

Marlee van der Merwe (no relation to Marno) plays the feisty and manipulating Alexia Kriel. She is just gorgeous on camera and portrays the character you just love to hate and secretly envy with relish.

Follow her @MrsMarls. 

Nadia Beukes sinks her teeth into the character of Ingrid Cilliers. It's fabulous to see her in this kind of character that breaks away from her familiar presenting profile and showcases Nadia for the great actress she is. 

Jaco Muller (Henk) who in fact has several screen titles under his belt already, is just such a pleasure to watch. His ease and comfort, his comedic timing and brilliance. I happen to be long-time family friends with Jaco and I've a special sister-like feeling of pride and satisfaction when I see Jaco earn such well deserved roles, praise and recognition. 

Follow him @Jaco_Muller.

Trix Vivier, so beautifully cast in her role as Vicky Ferreira. She's the likable and relatable girl-next-door and another one to keep your eye on. 

Follow her @TrixVivier.

Zak Hendrikz, (only from ep. 3) as the music video director - his subtlety is genius. I wish I could climb into his head and figure out how he does that. Follow him @zakhendrikz.

Franci Swanepoel is magnificent and delightful in the role of Brad Jooste's mom, Lorraine. 

Charlie Bouguenon as the sleazy Joe de Villiers is an absolute scene -stealer. I wish we could see more of him. Follow him @TheCharlieGuy.

Jenna Dunster, whom I so admire for her incredibly strong performance and delightfully quirky character Emma Liebenberg, will undoubtedly become a crowd favourite. 

There are many other names to note and many who will only appear in later scenes... Izak Davel and Andre Swartz, who both just bring a level of professionalism to their work. The talented Edrien Erasmus, Marissa Drummond, Cobus Venter and Lare Birk, will all only appear later on in the season.
So, best you PVR those episodes on Tuesdays at 19.30!

Last night, many of the cast and crew gathered together in anticipation at the home of extraordinary Director Quentin Krog, to watch the first episode together. In my eyes Quentin has managed to truly set new parameters in this field, both with his on-set direction style and in his choices with post production and shooting style. Hats off Quin. Follow him @QuentinKrog. 

It was the best way to watch the first one, with so many individuals who shared a hand in the creation of the series rooting for each other and celebrating its fruition. The evening was filled with laughter and celebration and I feel a sense of pride in having had some small part in it. I was lucky enough to be involved on a creative level together with hubby Ferdinand Gernandt. Our company FADCreationS was responsible for the choreography and some staging of the series and we both thoroughly enjoyed working on this project. 

If you follow the episodes you may even glimpse me a few times as one of the dancers auditioning, rehearsing, shooting music videos and such. It was a crazy fun shoot and I would do it again in a heartbeat! 

Here's lifting a glass to Sterlopers Series 2!

Check out the trailer below for the season now running on kykNET every Tuesday at 19.30. 

Chat soon, 

Causing A Scene #ActressLife

To me improv is like church for actors, it's where we go to get nourishment and fuel for when we're out in the acting 'world'. Causing-A-Scene improv troupe opened their doors for a short while, to allow 'outside' actors an opportunity to come and 'play' with them (as they put it), and also for them to find a few new candidates to eventually join their regular sessions.

I was lucky enough to be able to 'play' with them every Wednesday for the past 5 weeks and last week I attended the final 'open' evening at the National School of the Arts in Braamfontein. So now, many hopefuls will wait to hear if they will be invited back as part of the Causing-A-Scene improv troupe. Either way, it has been a fantastic experience for me. I am not new to improv, but I know during the past few weeks, I broke some barriers for sure. I grew not only as an actress, but also in my love for theatre sports and improv.

It can be such a scary yet exhilarating exercise. No 'scene' is ever the same and anything can happen, I think that's what I like about it... the endless possibilities.
And when it is well executed, man, it is brilliant to see. Attending improv workshops doesn't necessarily mean you have to be the next SNL star or even be a comedic actor at all, but it allows us 'normal' actors to open up to some seriously uninhibited exploration and building your self-trust. To learn to get out of your own head a little and just go with it. To listen and to say 'Yes!' - to your fellow actors, their decisions and to whatever happens in the scene.


Through just a couple of weeks attending the Causing a Scene sessions, I have undoubtedly grown leaps in my approach, my techniques and confidence. Many of which, I can now put to use during castings, on stage or on screen and I do look forward to exploring more workshop opportunities of the same kind.

If you are interested, here are some cool sites on the subject:
http://improvencyclopedia.org/games/
http://cloudcuckoo.co.uk/jonthrower/improv_ex.htm
http://learnimprov.com/

Speak soon,