Tricycle Young Company (l-r Jack Murphy, Rob Killalea, Joseph Russell, Yolanda Mercy, Alex Rand, Jessica Alade, Luke Thomas, Jade-Marie Joseph and Itai Ankrah. Photo credit: Richard Davenport
From Sunday 30 March to Friday 5 April 2014, the Tricycle Theatre will throw its doors open to its Young Company in the first Tricycle Takeover Festival. Young people aged 11-25 from Brent have developed an inventive programme taking in the whole building – from the theatre space to the foyer. Among the highlights is a film festival for emerging talent and The Kilburn Passion, a specially commissioned piece by the playwright Suhayla El Bushra, herself an alumna of the youth theatre.
One of the lucky actors taking part in the festival is Jade-Marie Joseph. A member of the Tricycle Young Company for three years, the 22 year old will be performing in The Kilburn Passion. Joseph tells Joy Francis about why she is so passionate about theatre, that young people need to do their homework on the many creative opportunities available, and how a former acting tutor made her stay true to herself.
How long have you been with the Tricycle Young Company and why did you join?
I’ve been with the company since I was 19. I’ve always been interested in acting, but my cousin was the one who took the plunge first. When I inquired and I realised that just down the road there was an acting group I jumped at the chance. After speaking to the tutor I started taking the classes and have stayed ever since.
What keeps you interested?
It’s a homely theatre, the training is very good and I’m around people who take acting very seriously. Also I’ve wanted to be an actress since the age of three. I started acting at five, went to Sylvia Young Theatre School at 12 and was in a play at the Hampstead Theatre at 15. I have been in short films and I have done a pedestrian aware advert. There have been points where my focus has drifted due to being a teenager, but acting is what I love and what I know.
What have you learned by being part of a theatre company?
To find the truth in acting. When I first joined the company my former tutor asked me why I felt the need to change my accent. He said that I should keep my normal voice. It was the first time I had been told that. When I started to use my own voice for roles the truth of the part came out. It also made the character work a lot easier to understand. I realised I could bring a bit of myself to the part.
You will be performing in one of the Takeover programme’s highlights – The Kilburn Passion. What is the play about and what is your role?
The play is about the community in Kilburn High Road and the idea that we are meant to be together but we are actually a broken community. As the problems gradually worsen people stop interacting with each other. But there is one man who can see the problems, though everyone thinks he is a weirdo. An event takes place near the end of the play which brings the community together but it is at a cost to this man. My character is Dominique who runs a clothes shop. She believes she is the Beyonce/Oprah of Kilburn High Road. She cares about her appearance and her business and is basically shallow. She has no time for other people’s problems, yet she does want to help others but by showing them how to be successful like her.
What impact do you hope the takeover will have on young people’s participation in the arts, particularly as a career?
I would like it to make someone who is unsure about getting into the profession to believe they can do it and to not hold back and go for it. Young people think there aren’t any opportunities out there in the arts, but there are. They just have get out there and network.
What advice do you have for young people interested in acting?
Don’t ever stop. There were times when I felt I shouldn’t carry on, but if you really love something you will go with it, no matter what. Some young people’s parents aren’t interested in the arts. Thankfully my parents were, and are. Go out and get as much advice as you can and do research on the internet. That’s how I got to where I am. Sylvia Young is good. Stage school just feeds your passion for acting. Got to auditions like the Triforce Promotions Monologue Slam at Theatre Royal Stratford East. Network with other likeminded people. Try out for the National Youth Theatre. It will be worth it.
The Tricycle Takeover Festival runs from Sunday 30 March to Saturday 5 April 2014.
To find out more about the Tricycle Takeover Festival visit the website.