Actress training in theatre

Press, 26 December 1984, Page 11

Actress training in theatre

Ruth Bijl is the newest addition to the Court Theatre company. The young actress, now in the cast of “Charley’s Aunt,” will spend about a year at the theatre learning all aspects of theatre work. She arrived at the Court a few weeks ago, from modelling and television work, after giving up university earlier in the year. “I decided that university really wasn’t giving me what I wanted. It was providing an academic training, I wanted a practical training,” she said. She had decided some time ago that she wanted to “do something in acting” and felt that learning in a theatre was “better for me than going to drama school.” For someone who left school only last year Ruth Bijl has quite an impressive background in amateur theatre. While at school she took part in various school productions and in her sixth and seventh form years at Burnside High School performed in and directed school shows.

The latter she organised and staged herself. She has also appeared in two Riccarton Players’ pro-

ductions in the last year and played a part in a television drama series for children.

“I enjoy playing serious roles. I am not a naturally comic person, although I can play those roles. The parts I enjoy most are those which require a lot of emotion.”

The part Ruth Bijl has in “Charley’s Aunt” is that of a pretty little girl. She is quite happy to play younger characters in the meantime.

“I can age myself for some roles, but I don’t mind playing the younger roles at the moment. I will be able to play older roles when I get older. “There are fewer roles for older women characters. There is a gap in theatre there. Renee (an Auckland playwright) wrote ‘Wednesday to Come’ especially to fill that gap,” she said. “Wednesday to Come,” a story of women in the Depression, played at the Court earlier this year. As well as appearing in “Charley’s Aunt,” Miss Bijl has been understudy for the “Trafford Tanzi” production which opens in February. She will join the Court’s Theatre in Education programme in secondary schools for the first term of next year.

Playing to young audiences will be a challenge, , she feels. “You have to ’ make them appreciate and enjoy theatre. They are the audience of the future. It is ; a different sort of theatre.” Miss Bijl is adamant that 1 she prefers acting, of the fields of theatre. She is interested in both directing , and writing but feels she •* has much to learn before pursuing the former. “I have done a little writ- ~ ing, mainly poetry. It is something I would like to do ' much more of,” she said. She has read aloud some of her own poetry in speech - competitions, in which she ” placed top for the Canterbury region. “I am still learning speech as a back-up, an extra skill which helps with -> my acting,” she said. ; The young actress is one of four trainee actors at the , Court. All receive classes in . voice, Shakespeare, script reading and dance from ex- . perienced members of the ; company. Ruth Bijl believes she can learn more at the theatre ; than by going to Drama School. Sometime in the next few years she plans to ! travel overseas to further ■ her training.