Me and My Girl

It’s talent show season. The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing have gripped the nation once again. But, with all the emotional journeys and back-stories ( and that’s just the judges ) it’s easy to forget that the contestants are trying to pull together a whole new performance every single week, and then perform it live. We’re witness to the tears, strops and personality clashes as so many try so hard to nail it on the night. But what if 120 talented performers had to work with each other?

That’s exactly the challenge facing Eyebrow Productions as they get together 120 cast members to stage and rehearse the musical Me and My Girl at the London Palladium – all in just 48 hours.
In aid of the Anthony Nolan Trust, this is Eyebrow’s third challenge ( the first was Into the Woods in 2004, then Sweet Charity in 2006)  and is endorsed by the likes of Dame Judi Dench, Joanna Lumley, Gail Porter and Robert Lindsey.
The  open auditions have been held ( 500 hopefuls turned up ) the parts cast and now the actors are committing their songs and lines to memory (individually,so as not to break the challenge rules ) before they meet at 7.30pm on 24th October to learn the dance routines, fit costumes, know their cues and , most importantly, work together under immense pressure to create a professional show, ready for curtain up at 7.30pm on Sunday 26th October.
Emotional journeys strictly off-limits.
We spoke to Amy Castledine, who’s playing the female lead role of Sally to see how she’s getting on.

How's the line learning going?
It's under way!  I was involved in a production of Anything Goes in Cambridge until the end of last week but now have time to get the script and music learnt.

Are you nervous about the very short rehearsal time?
I think it'll be such a crazy weekend that there won't be much time to panic. As long as we all know the material thoroughly it will only be the dance routines to worry about – but  it usually takes me a good week to learn a routine. One thing that does concern me is that we will all make strong decisions about the script and then find at the first rehearsal that we all have very different ideas that don't necessarily gel.

Do you get to meet the other performers before the 24 hour rehearsal period?
There have already been a couple of socials and we’ve just worked together at the press weekend.

Have you ever been in a similar situation, where you had to rehearse or learn a part quickly?
I recently did a run of News Revue at the Canal Cafe Theatre which involved rehearsing and performing a different show every week, but that was only an hour long show and we had three days to rehearse instead of 48 hours. Good training, though.

What could go wrong?
Er... could show up on the Friday and find I learnt the wrong script?! Slightly scared I'm going to get lost backstage and miss an entrance. Backstage is always such a maze...

 Is it difficult being a working actress - what challenges do you face? Does drama school prepare you for the reality of making a living?
Many people leave drama school thinking their career is going to take off - it's important to be optimistic and driven but you have to realise that it's not necessarily going to happen straight away and even if you get a job, once that's finished you might not get another for a while. It's a bit of a rollercoaster. I just try to enjoy every moment when I am working and not think about what I'm going to afterwards until I get there - live for the day an' all that.

How often do you go to auditions?
I don't have an agent so I don't get as many auditions as I might, but I go through periods of applying for a lot of work and it's always nice when I have a few auditions in the space of a couple of weeks - even if I don't get the jobs, I feel proactive and that, in turn, makes me more confident and more likely to get work. I've been quite fortunate over the last few months.

Are you tempted ( or have you already ) applied to appear on any reality shows such as X Factor or How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
I applied for Pop Idol about a million years ago but they suggested I finished school first and come back in a few years time. I didn't...

What do you think of these shows?
It's fantastic that unknowns are given the opportunity to go into a leading role in the West End as it is really difficult to get seen for these roles unless the casting director knows of you. But it does seem unfair when totally inexperienced, untrained people end up in these competitions. I think it is underestimated how important training is. Perhaps you can't teach talent but you can refine it and build stamina. And the production teams on these programmes often focus on personality and/or sob-stories and I think a lot of very talented performers are overlooked as a result.

Do you go to the theatre often?
I live at the theatre! That's the only trouble when I am working - I can't go. I tend to go to a lot of fringe theatre as well as West End productions. Even if a show or play isn't very good, it's never a wasted visit - there is so much to learn from watching other actors and seeing new works.

What was the last play / musical that you saw?
Avenue Q - for the third time. I took my boyfriend for his birthday - he's an actor too - I can't believe he hadn't seen it before! I also saw Marguerite recently and make regular visits to the Trafalgar Studios - they put on fantastic productions.

And the last film?
I'm a fan of the big British films - the last one I watched was Bridget Jones' Diary - for the 100th time!

What projects do have have coming up after Me and My Girl?
I'm playing an Essex "street" Princess in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Cambridge Arts Theatre - so glad she's not the ordinary drippy princess character - going to be a lot of fun.

Me and My Girl, London Palladium, Argyll Street, London, W1F 7TF
26th October, 7.30pm
For more information and tickets visit www.eyebrowproductions.co.uk