Name: Lizzie Coad
Course: Psychology with Forensic and Investigative Psychology
Year: 2nd Year
What made you choose to join the SAL Drama Society?
- I’ve always been interested in and involved with Drama and other Performance Arts since I was very little. Since Secondary School, I haven’t had much opportunity to engage in the hobby anymore due to COVID and other commitments that took up my time. As such, I’ve been looking for a way to reconnect with drama and get back into it, looking to restart my membership with NYT and join groups and all sorts, and SAL fit the bill! Everyone seemed very friendly and welcoming, and I was more confident going into 2nd year that I could actually do it, so here I am! :)
If you could play any character from a play or a movie, who would it be and why?
- There’s so many! My first musical I performed in when I was 7 was Seussical, and I would be so honored to play Gertrude or Mayzie or the Sour Kangaroo, just to fulfill my childhood nostalgia. Otherwise, I’d love to play the heroine in a story for once. It doesn’t matter which one! I’ve been typecast as a villain for so long it’d be nice to take a break!
What’s the most challenging role you’ve ever played, and what did you learn from the experience?
- At the time, I didn’t think it challenging at all, but looking back on it I can understand how it was. The Duchess from Wyrd Sisters was my first properly managed play, and I had no idea about the context of the character or how to play my role to the audience. Looking back on it now, I realise the importance of taking context into consideration for a show, and playing into the character with proper understanding of the text and the audience and so on. It’s really hard to create a full, fun and engaging character without thinking it all through bit by bit.
If you could act alongside any famous actor or actress, who would you choose and why?
- Ok, so a bit of wish fulfilment, but Christopher Eccleston, Catherine Tate, David Tennant, they would be more than fantastic. I know them all from Dr. Who originally, but I love their stage shows and Catherine’s skits and Eccleston’s stuff strikes me as very well-crafted and I’d love to learn from him. Stephen Fry also fits into that category. Any experienced and beloved actor from my childhood would be a dream come true - I’d learn SO much!
If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future, and why?
- I know I’m supposed to pick one, but in truth I’d go all over, wherever I fancied. I wanna see everything, know everything, all the time. I’d adore that. If I were only able to go once, though, then I’d go back to around when my parents were born back home in Cornwall. Dad talks about how it used to be, and the people, and I’d want to know what kind of a world he grew up in, and what Cornwall used to be like before the mines went bust.
If you could live in any fictional world, which one would it be and why?
- Let’s be real, the Pokémon world would be crazy cool. I don’t care if I’m a trainer, or if I’d landed in some Mystery Dungeon game, making friends with crazy magical animals and exploring the land to your hearts content? Infinite camping?? With cute and/or super cool creatures??? With exciting mysteries and lore???? C’mon, it’s got everything. Even if I wasn’t a protagonist, if I lived there I’d be thriving.
If you could have any superpower for a day, what would you choose and how would you use it?
- The ability to give myself a superpower for longer than a day! Then I would choose immortality. Not the ‘forever ageing kind’ but the ‘stuck in whatever body you started with’ kind. I just don’t like the for-a-day thing. I’m the kind of person who wants to do amazing things for the rest of my life, and do things that make me and others happy for the rest of my life. ‘For a day’ would be a taste of paradise and then knowing I’ll never get that experience again for the rest of my life! But, sure, if it’s only for 1 day and no loopholes to make it longer, then the ability to fly. It’d be epic as all get out, and it’d save on transport costs!
