Charlotte Arrowsmith
Show People Feature, The Stage January 2006

How did your training equip you for a career on the stage?

I didn't come to my career through the usual route of drama school. Although I had always wanted to act it seemed an impossible dream as drama was not available in the educational setting I was in. I decided to go to Reading University to do a BA degree course in Theatre Arts, Education and Deaf Studies. As part of the course I was required to do productions and stage performances and I became enthusiastic at the opportunity to communicate on so many levels. I knew then that I definitely wanted to follow my dream and become a performer.

What do you most enjoy about being on stage?

I enjoy bringing everything to life, making words real, being part of an interaction with the audience which is challenging, raw and real.

What was Deaf Idol 2003?

It was a brilliant idea for a charity event to raise money for the National Deaf Children's Society. The idea was inspired by Pop Idol and it really took off in the deaf community.

What was your experience?

Very mixed! I learnt a lot and had to recognise the limitations of my own signing skills. It's very difficult to do pure BSL to interpret songs written by hearing people for hearing people. I love doing sign songs but had to search for my own opportunities to perform more, to gain skills and experience and I found hearing people had no idea of what we did.

What has been your favourite role to date and why?

Whatever role I am doing at the present time is my favourite because it's new, exciting and challenging. The production I'm working on at the moment is Igloo Hullabaloo for Half Moon. It's aimed at young children aged 2-6. Children have fantastic imaginations and are totally accepting of the bi-lingual (BSL and English) format of the play. I am finding the experience amazing as I am playing a character who just happens to be Deaf – the play is written so that I dialogue with the hearing actors without the need for interpretation. I also have fond memories of the university production Guildenstern and Rosencrantz because it was a difficult role with lots to memorise but great scope to develop the character as the play goes on.

How is your current project Igloo Hullabaloo working out?

This production is particularly exciting and varied, with beautiful puppets and lots of dance sequences, which means precision, subtle visual and physical cueing among the cast to make the performance work. This way of working has really helped me, as learning my lines is always something I find incredibly hard and my sequencing skills are poor due to having mild cerebral palsy. I have found the process very tiring and I must be disciplined about getting enough sleep. That's sometimes boring if you want to socialise but the job comes first. The show is touring for 4 months all over the country so it will be great to visit lots of different venues.

Is it important to you to work in mainstream companies rather than integrated/disability groups?

It's important for me to experience the full range and variety of approaches to drama. Integrated groups, like Face Front who I have worked with in the past, have so much to teach the theatre community about the challenges and triumphs of disabled people and in a very entertaining way teach us all to embrace difference in our fellow man. Mainstream companies are accepting a challenge in that they enable us to show our skills and they themselves learn about the particular difficulties we face as actors with a disability. Working at Half Moon Young People's Theatre has been great as Chris Elwell, the Director, is very experienced at working with integrated casts.

Do you find yourself pigeonholed under the disability/arts label and is it something that bothers you?

Yes. No actor wants to be pigeonholed but it's inevitable that you are forever connected to a successful past role or a striking characteristic. For some people the striking characteristic that I have is that I am Deaf…my challenge is to show that as a positive difference in whatever medium people want to employ me!

What are your plans for the future?

To get better and better at what I do. To take on all the challenges that life throws at me. To show Deaf children that it's worth holding on to the dream and to aim for the stars.

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