Melanie Davies: Freelance Workshop Facilitator and Actress

Arts, culture and entertainment/Education

Melanie has volunteered her time to tell us about her former careers as Freelance Workshop Facilitator and Actress. She has also done a lot of education based work through Museum of London, Science Museum and London Transport Museum which you can find out more about on this page.

"A challenge in a job is important. Imagine going through life knowing what each working day will bring? I feel lucky that my job leading museum workshops challenged me in terms of my knowledge and my ability to communicate with the groups I met."

Melanie Davies

Melanie has answered both sets of questions in her video/interview below:

Museum role:

What was the best thing about running workshops?
Did you handle any rare objects? Which countries were they from? How old were they?
Do you need any type of type degree for this?
Is it hard to remember technical names?
What was the most enjoyable part of your role?
What challenges did you face?
What was your favourite museum to work for and why?

Acting:

How did you become an actor?
Is there a better chance if you have a GCSE in drama to do acting?
What are some of the difficulties of the acting business? Can acting be stressful sometimes?
Do you act in tv shows or do you do live performances?
How much do you struggle to remember lines?
How do you try and remember lines if you forget?
How hard can it be to actually perform in front of audiences
How competitive is it to become an actor? - How do you handle those situations when you are not elected for the role?
Are all actors paid well?

My experience of working in museums:

Firstly. you asked about my role in museums

The best thing about running museum workshops was knowing that I was getting people to enjoy learning. You can often wander round a museum feeling really bored because you just don’t want to know more! My job was to find ways to really engage my groups and lift the lid on the stories behind the museum’s objects. I also enjoyed meeting the experts working in the museums because I had so many opportunities to learn from them. My work was very varied so that in one week I might be running workshops in 3 different museums and on 3 different subjects..
I did handle many rare and precious objects including a leather bucket dating from the time of the Great Fire of London in 1666 (so possibly used to help put the fire out!); artefacts connected with the transport of enslaved Africans in 18^th century and Victorian glove stretchers! The value was never in how much they were worth, but rather in the human story behind the object.
Although I had a teaching degree, it was really just luck that got me working in museums. A friend told me that a theatre company based at the Science Museum was looking for actors and after auditioning, I got a job with them. Initially I worked as a museum actor and that developed into leading workshops.
I never found it hard to remember the facts or names of anything. If you are really interested in sharing information you just sort of keep it in your head.
I always enjoyed the feeling that I had helped my groups understand more about a subject through enjoyment.
The challenges of running workshops are mostly around understanding the people who are coming to them. You can’t just say the same things each time. I really had to know what I was talking about certainly and sometimes that was tricky, because people can ask you anything at all so you have to know your subject. I also had to be confident to stand in front of a group who perhaps weren’t going to be that interested to start with. It can be a bit nerve wracking but I learned to work with whoever was in the workshop which included primary aged children, adolescents, family groups and teachers.
I don’t really have a favourite museum. I learnt a lot from everywhere I worked. Thinking back, I suppose what’s interesting is that I was never really into museums at all as a child. Maybe the most amazing thing was that I discovered that I really loved history, which I was rubbish at when I was at school.

My acting career:

I wanted to act from a young age. My family did a lot of performing locally and I was always involved. We got taken to local amateur plays too which was very lucky. After A levels (I didn’t do very well) I got a teaching degree in drama and English, but I really wanted to be an actor and managed to get work in a children’s theatre company which toured schools in England. From there I did loads of short-term jobs in theatres with lots of small companies.
Being involved with drama in any way, whether it’s through school and taking a GCSE in drama or at a local drama group, means you are developing your interest and understanding of what you really want to do. People sometimes think they want to act, but actually they want to be on the tv. Just doing as much drama as you can and going to the theatre is all very important.
There are so many types of acting or performing work and there are many ways into acting. Understanding how to get work is one of the difficulties. You don’t necessarily need to get a degree. You do need to find where the work is and how to get auditions. Most actors have an agent who helps to get auditions. But getting an agent usually means they have to see you work first. I did a lot of profit share plays where you only got paid if and when there was money coming in. I learnt a lot doing this and eventually an agent did see me performing and took me on.
Most of my work has been theatre. I ran my own theatre in education company for 3 years because I wasn’t getting work so I made my own. We toured schools with all sorts of issue related productions. The most memorable for me was one which looked at the issue of racism and the hypocrisy or two-faced attitudes some people have towards race. This was in the early 80’s and we played in many London schools. Then I worked for many small companies often for very little money. I cleaned people’s houses to make ends meet. I did several tv roles and 2 short films.
I’ve always been good at learning lines. I think you can always learn things if you are really interested in them. When I started work as an actor in museums, I was asked to create a piece around the history and science of electricity! I didn’t have a clue about any of that, but the research and then how to make it all come alive for an audience was fascinating and I have never forgotten any of it!
If I forget a line I usually improvise. Mostly the problem is if you give the wrong line it messes up other actors you’re on stage with. That always makes me feel guilty. Acting is so much about the other people. You can’t be selfish.
I love being in front of an audience. Theatre is very immediate. Getting applause at the end of the play is very rewarding. How many people get applause for doing their job? It has been terrifying for me too. Stage fright is a very real thing. I remember an occasion when I was playing a huge part with loads of lines and complex language. On opening night, I stood in the wings thinking ‘please let there be an emergency so that I don’t have to go on’! I could hardly walk I was so scared, but as soon as I was on stage, I wasn’t me, I was my character and everything was okay. Over coming that kind of fear is actually really useful come to think of it?
The acting profession is very competitive. Many jobs are though. The thing with acting is that the competing is continuous. A job might only be for a few days. Having self-confidence is essential because you are always failing to get work. I tried not to see being turned down for a job as failure. Often you just don’t fit what the casting people are looking for. I always tried to learn from each experience of being told ’no’. I was often disappointed that I didn’t get the part I auditioned for, but knew I had acting talent and I kept on trying.
Most actors never make much money. Only once in my life did I make really good money for 2 days filming on a tv advertisement. There are minimum rates of pay set by the actor’s union Equity, but quite often you work for very little just to get the experience. I would say if money is very important to you, being an actor isn’t your best bet.
There are several drama schools and it can be an advantage to go to one of them as part of their role is to showcase their students, inviting directors and agents to performances. To be an actor you have to realise that you need a lot of skills. It isn’t only about having the skills of an actor. You are always trying to get the next job.
All actors have to be realistic. Estimates are that at any one time only 2% of actors are working. I stopped being a regular actor, always auditioning and searching for work and moved across to building a career as a museum actor and then workshop leader. This was mostly because I’d had enough of the uncertainty of an actor’s life. When I look back though, some of my best times were had touring shows with great people and just doing what I loved. It was often very rewarding.