Pocket Size Theatre and Liza Heinrichs (Captured by Liz) have teamed up again and created our new series 'Coming Home'. In this new piece, we look at the reopening of Theatres in London and around the country and celebrate our industry coming back. We got together some performers who will be some of the first to return to theatres and created this piece to bring some positivity to the theatre industry which has been through one of the toughest years in our lifetime. Whilst it is important to acknowledge the hardships we've all gone through, it's important we pull together as a community and celebrate our beloved industry finally coming back!
Over the pandemic, the theatre industry has been hit hard. There's no denying it, we’ve all struggled. Maybe some have been in better positions than others, but we’ve all had our livelihoods on the line. But out of this uncertainty, so many wonderful things have happened, and as much as it is important to acknowledge and not forget the struggle we’ve been through we must also celebrate the wonderful things that have come out of this situation. One of them being, the celebration and support of recent drama school graduates entering this industry.
Its always been difficult coming into this industry as a fresh graduate but more so right now than ever because the industry hasn’t really existed! However, there have been a few projects and companies supporting those and giving them a chance to shine, something that wasn’t necessarily available prior to the pandemic. Megan Cerys-Holland, a recent graduate of the Arden School of Theatre, is one of the graduates who has been featured in some of these fantastic opportunities.
Megan has been working with ‘The Grad Fest’ on quite a few projects, the company does fantastic work in giving opportunities to those who have recently left drama school and gives them a chance for exposure in a new way beyond drama school. She has appeared in Spooktacular, The Grad Fest’s Big Night In, Graduates at Cadogan Hall and also featured in the collaboration between Grad Fest and the online concert series, Leave a Light On. On top of this, she recently appeared in the film production of 'In Pieces’, a new musical by Joey Contreras with Future Spotlight Productions. Talking to Megan about it she says “I’ve met so many incredible people and have created memories I’ll treasure forever.”
On top of this, Megan also chats to us about how people should give themselves a break. As a graduate in this pandemic she threw herself into as many things as she could and even though she has done some wonderful things that she couldn’t speak higher of, she does tell us that she did forget to look after herself and take a break to relax. “Our career is important but it’s also important to take time for yourself and to remember that everybody’s ‘going back to normality’ is different, so just focus on how that feels and looks for you!”
As someone who is new to this industry, it can be tough to try and get to grips with how it works, especially during a pandemic! But over the pandemic we have been having so many open conversations about what needs to change in the theatre industry, meaning new performers coming in have been educated and given an insight into the changes we should be implementing to make this a better place for everybody. Megan has a really refreshing attitude towards this, which is something we can all learn from. “Our industry is beautiful, but it’s the people in it that makes it so vibrant and alive. However, these people are diverse and sadly the industry is yet to fully show this. We are heading in the right direction, but have a long way to go. I think we need to learn to listen. Therefore, to move forward, we have to respect one another. As people, we are called to love one another and this needs to be demonstrated no matter what.”
One thing that Megan does so well is support her friends and others in the industry, all you have to do is look at her Twitter feed to see the outpour of support and love she gives for her friends when they achieve something wonderful. It's so lovely to see and is a good reminder to all of us that supporting costs nothing and lifting one another up is so important.“I cannot wait to see new upcoming talent, like the 20/21 Grads, shining on stage and also to see the passion from the actors and seeing them do what they do best! I will be supporting in any way I can and giving it gorg!”
Much like a lot of other people we’ve featured in this series, Megan's answer when we asked what show she’d most like to see now theatres are reopening was, of course, the phenomenal Six! She tells us how electric the atmosphere would be in that show now it's back and, of course, being able to sing along to those now-iconic songs in the megamix; “I want to be SCREAMING, Yes I said SCREAMING the megamix and having a good boogie!” And Megan, we will totally be joining you!
Megan is a wonderful talent and is sure to be one to keep your eye on, a future Carole King maybe? She’s sure to go onto some wonderful things and we cannot wait to get the chance to see her perform live as soon as we can!
Want to sponsor this article? We have business opportunities available, just get in touch and drop us a line at contact@pocketsizetheatre.com.
