A great year in Andrew's bid to realise acting dream – now for the hard work

AFTER an “amazing” year learning and honing his acting skills, Teesdale thespian Andrew Stainthorpe is the first to admit the hard work really starts now.

Mr Stainthorpe decided to follow his dream of becoming a professional actor after undergoing a second kidney transplant.

To turn dream into reality, he successfully auditioned for a place on an MA in acting at the ArtsEd campus, in Chiswick, London, raising £11,000 to cover his costs through a series of shows at The Witham, Barnard Castle, and establishing a patron scheme.

“The course was amazing. It was full actor training in one year,” said Mr Stainthorpe.

“The core was voice work and movement techniques. We looked at comedy and post modern acting. At the end of every term we would do one or two rehearsed projects – not always full plays.”

This ranged from Shakespeare and Cherry Orchard, by Chekov, to modern work such as Bull, by Mike Bartlett, and An Accidental Death of an Anarchist, by Dario Fo.

Mr Stainthorpe and his fellow students also produced a showcase which was put before theatrical agents and concluded the course with a production written specially for them.

Called Applause, it was written by up-and-coming playwright Poppy Corbett, while a director from outside the college was brought in to oversee the production.

“It was set behind the scenes of a TV show similar to The One Show. The premise was that the show had been sold to Italy and the story took place on the last day of the show before it went,” said Mr Stainthorpe, who took the part of Paul, a professional TV runner.

“We did it for four nights. We had developed all these skills and used them to put this on.”

Mr Stainthorpe said the eclectic mix of students on the course had resulted in friendships being forged.

“There were 27 of us on the course, with the youngest 20 or 21 and the oldest 47.”

Mr Stainthorpe was not the only person embarking on a new direction – he met a former psychiatrist as well as a teacher who part way through the course decided acting wasn't for her but used the new-found skills to return to the classroom as head of drama.

“It was well worth it. I learned such a lot. I don’t think I realised there was such a lot to learn about acting.”

His time at ArtsEd may have finished, but Mr Stainthorpe is clear that this is still the beginning of his acting journey.

“I am currently working with an agent. I see this first year as more planning and investing in myself. I have got to realise where my gaps in skills and knowledge are.

“I want to learn horse riding, play the ukulele and work on accents. I need to put together video show reels and audio work – recording some monologues.”

Mr Stainthorpe also says he has a couple of ideas for shows he plans to stage in the future.

He now splits his time between Teesdale and London – “the industry is so London-centric,” he says – where he shares a house with others from his course.

“I am not relying on things coming to me. It is no use sitting back and waiting for an agent to ring.”

Mr Stainthorpe said he was extremely grateful to all who had supported his fundraising campaign which enabled him to attend the course.

“I could not have done it without them. I raised more than £11,000 in six months, which exceeded what I set myself. The three shows at The Witham were really successful, along with raffles and the patron scheme.

“After two kidney transplants, I may need a third one day in the future. The kidney could last for life, a couple of years or maybe just until tomorrow.

“One of my philosophies is that doing what you love and being who you can is really important and I think a lot of people bought into that.”