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In February 2011 I took part in creating the pilot episode for an interactive Soap created by

Brunel Universitys Professor Steve Dixon and directed by Paul Murphy called Soapopolis.

This surreal comedy combined unpredictable plot with eccentric characters to create

individual worlds within Soapopolis. One of these worlds was that of the Watchers; invisible

other-worldly characters who witness the toils and tribulations of the other characters

throughout their dramatic ordeals. It is never clear how much of a role the Watchers have to

play in what happens to the other characters but what is certain is their sinister presence.

They watch the scenes played out and react only with facial expressions depending on what

they see.

The Watchers were placed in various ensemble positions and we were asked to portray a

series of emotions only using our faces and to vary the intensity of each emotion over ten

seconds at a time. This way we could learn how to, in time, be able to snap into the emotion

with the rest ofThe Watchers so we would all simultaneously present the same emotion to

eventually be shown as a snapshot on the final cut.

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Steve Dixon described images to us that would help us por tray the appropriate reaction, for

instance a beautiful sunset, then a horrific animal fight. Unlike performing on stage, film

requires actors to be precise with facial expression at all times and with the limited filming

time we had to produce these expressions on cue every time. This was quite daunting to

begin with especially as I am more experienced with theatre acting but the team was really

supportive and each of the Watchers provided inspiration for all the others. I also drew

upon my experiences and memories of times when I may have felt similar emotions to that

of the character I was playing in order to give authenticity to the performance.

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It was a worthwhile experience to have been made aware of how even the slightest move of

a persons face in performance can alter that moment in how it is felt by the audience. For

instance, Steve Dixon made us aware that blinking must be limited in the shots as it looks

unprofessional. We were then actively encouraged to reduce the number of times we

blinked during day to day activities to eventually train ourselves to keep focus when in front

of the camera.

One of the worlds was Talent Land in which the panel mimicked the real life X F actor

judges and The Watchers played various contestants showing off their audition songs and

poses. The Watchers my own talent scenes, being asked to be as imaginative as possible in

the props and costumes we chose that would ultimately heighten the stereotype of our

characters. This was a hugely liberating performance because it was completely up to us in

how far we took our characters.

This experience was exciting, challenging and enlightening and I would definitely take part in

more film projects based on how much I enjoyed the overall experience of working onSoapopolis.