Sherilyn’s Journey So Far- Joining the Community Cast
As we are now into technical rehearsals of ‘I Have Met The Enemy (And The Enemy Is Us)’ I feel I now have enough experience with Common Wealth Theatre as a company to share a few words about my time with them so far.
After noticing an audition flyer stating ‘No Acting Experience necessary’ I was really intrigued to find out more about this company and what they did. This particular sentence on the flyer really took away the pressure that is usually associated with the auditioning process and putting yourself out there on a stand for people to judge. Common Wealth are a no judgement company. The auditions were workshop based with time for conversation and reflection. To be honest, it didn’t even feel like an audition. There was no stigma attached to my background or my accent as we were invited to speak about where we came from and how that has made us the person we are today. This was refreshing as in the past I have been encouraged to disassociate my career in the arts with my Hartlepudlian accent.
In the first session, I was listened to intently as I spoke about my hometown and my Mother, at which point I cried realising I hadn’t much spoke about my background to many people re-iterating how much it matters to me and showing me how easy it was to tap into those deep emotions. After attending two workshops I was surprised at how my mind set positively shifted subsequently to spending just a few hours with Rhiannon and Saliha.They created a safe space where I was able to speak about my views which I would have never previously voiced. This illustrated how much Common Wealth Theatre care about individuals and their personal growth.
Since being cast to perform in ‘I Have Met The Enemy (And The Enemy Is Us)’. I have been educated vastly on the sales of British arms and inspired to learn so much more about the countries who are involved in the current wars and conflicts disrupting our planet and the people on it. So many people are affected in so many ways both directly and indirectly.
I would strongly recommend working with and associating with Common Wealth Theatre on any of their projects, they are open minded and committed to making a change.
I would like to end with the following:
I am Common Wealth Theatre. I am confidence giving. I am the voice of minority groups. I am engagement. I am opportunity. I am for everybody. I am Saliha. I am Rhiannon. I am Evie.
