Practitioner Research: Arran Hawkins (Gold Unit 1 Part C)

A written interview with theatre maker Arran Hawkins from Theatre Anon as part of research in to a more advanced practitioner at Gold Arts Award level.

I’ve decided to interview Snow Queen actor and producer Arran Hawkins about the company Theatre Anon, working in the arts, and how to enter the industry.

Firstly, could you introduce yourself, and give a quick summary of your show?

My name is Arran Hawkins and I run Theatre Anon, a Shanghai based western theatre company. We have produced The Snow Queen, an adaptation of the classic Hans Christian Andersen story. We stay true to the original tale of a little girl searching for her best friend Kay who has been stolen by the story's titular figure. We bring the many characters to life with an ensemble cast, adding music and songs, vibrant costumes and fast paced scene changes.

What is your earliest arts memory?

We had a big bay window in the house I lived in growing up, with big velvet curtains that separated it from the rest of the room. I used to get my younger sisters to perform shows with me for our mum and dad, grandparents, neighbours, anyone who would pay attention, using the curtained off area as our stage. My mum, either out of enthusiasm or annoyance, persuaded the headmaster of my school to start an after-school drama club. I've been hooked ever since.

What first encouraged you to become a performer?

Harrison Ford, probably. Watching him run away from a giant boulder, swing across chasms with his whip, hold his breath on the top of a submarine for several days. I just wanted to be like Indy. And if that was an impossibility, then I wanted the next best thing, which was to pretend to be like Indy, or Han, or whoever. So, I became an actor.

Do you remember your first professional performance, and how did it go?

By professional I assume you mean paid to perform. That would have been in the first "Professional" show the theatre company I worked with in Cornwall staged in 2005, although we had formed the company as teenagers and put on shows for many years before, doing it for the love of theatre. It was a show called Laughing Gas, by Nick Darke and Carl Grose, and it was the same company under a different name. We toured it for two summers and it was a huge success.

What do you feel is the best thing about your job?

There are several. Getting paid to do something you love. The camaraderie of working with other professionals from different fields, especially in festival situations such as The Edinburgh Fringe. Everyone supporting each other and making future plans for collaborations. And the feeling you get from your audience when you have done something special, knowing that you have brightened their day in some small way.

Conversely, what is the worst?

The lack of security. Not knowing where the next job is coming from, or if there is a next one. And the erratic hours. You're either waiting around twiddling your thumbs, or you don't have time to stop and take a break. It's all or nothing.

How do you decide whether or not a show has gone well?

Usually the audience will let you know. If their enthusiasm seems lacking and they leave in a hurry, its a safe bet that you didn't do a good enough job. At the same time, you can come offstage frustrated that it was a terrible performance, and yet the audience will tell you it was great. From my perspective, even if a show goes really well, there is always room for improvement.

If you could work with anybody, dead or alive, who would you choose to collaborate with?

Far too many to mention. But here's a few. In film, Hitchcock, Kubrick, The Cohen Brothers. In theatre, Pinter, Coward, Kneehigh. I would love to do a two man show with Eddie Izzard. I think that would be fun. Unlikely, but fun.

If you could travel back in time and give 16 year-old you one piece of advice, what would it be?

Start earlier. I left it a while to really focus my mind into doing what I am now doing, whether through a lack of self belief or sheer idleness I'm not sure. A bit of both. But I would like to slap the old me into getting going a lot sooner.

What advice would you give to young people like me who want to enter the industry?

Don't quit. If it's what you want to do, don't ever let anyone put you off doing it. I meet many people my age who say, "I wanted to be an actor once, but my parents/friends/psychiatrist told me I should get a real job". It's your life, not theirs. Do what you love. If you fail, do it again and fail better. If you get a bad review, use it as the driving force to prove them wrong next time.

How has Arran influenced me?

I’ve learnt that it can be hard work to become an actor, but that it can be very rewarding to live a life of creativity and camaraderie. It’s also good to know that not all decisions in life have to be made early, and that like Arran I could pursue other interests and still come back to a life of theatre. I think I will look to form a small theatre company in my spare time with friends to see if it is something I might want to do after education.