The Road to Edinburgh. A diary reflection. 

I joined the production of JoMarZeb with a great deal of hesitation. Before committing, I spent a long time thinking about whether I should take part at all. I had no previous acting experience, so I was unsure if I could do it. I spoke with Ramon, and we had several extensive conversations about what joining the production would involve. Understanding my concerns, he offered me twelve Sundays of rehearsals and training. I immediately saw it as an opportunity to learn and develop a completely new skill.

The training, however, was far from straightforward. Most of the difficulties came from my lack of experience. I had no understanding of the physicality required in acting, no voice projection skills, and very little awareness of how to use body language effectively. In many ways, I was starting my acting journey from scratch. There were moments during the training when I doubted myself and questioned whether I could succeed. Despite these challenges, the positive aspects of the experience far outweighed the negatives. Each rehearsal taught me something new and gradually helped me build confidence.

Eventually, the big day arrived: the first performance. I was incredibly nervous, so much so that I ended up forgetting and messing up some of my lines. Fortunately, that turned out to be a one-off experience. The remaining three performances went much more smoothly, and I was able to enjoy the process rather than simply survive it.

Following what I considered a successful beginning to my amateur acting career, I travelled to Brighton with the rest of the cast. Thankfully, my scenes remained unchanged, giving me the opportunity to revisit my London performance and improve upon it during the Fringe Festival. Brighton was a valuable learning experience in its own right. The stage was unfamiliar and pushed me outside my comfort zone, forcing me to adapt and grow as a performer.

Now, a new challenge lies ahead. I am preparing to take centre stage in the newly reimagined Invasion JoMarzeb. This time, I will be taking on a new role, one that helps hold important parts of the narrative together. It is a significant step forward from where I started, and as I look back on my journey—from someone with no acting experience to someone trusted with a central role—I feel both proud of how far I have come and excited about what lies ahead. The entire experience ranks very highly for me on various levels. tbc