Interview – Carolyn Maitland – Ghost On Tour

Carolyn Maitland Thank you so much, Carolyn Maitland, for letting me interview you about your current role in Ghost The Musical, playing leading female role, Molly Jensen. CM: No problem 🙂 To start off What interested you in working with Bill Kenwright’s production of Ghost the Musical, With the Orchard Theatre for this project? And Had you seen any of his previous work? “1st off it’s a really lovely part, so when I got the opportunity to audition I jumped at the chance. I had never seen BKL’s production of Ghost but I had seen the original west end production & the film. But I have worked on a Bill Kenwright production, Jekyll & Hyde with the lovely Marti Pellow :)” With such an Iconic film played by Demi Moore, how do you feel you portrayed Molly? Hopefully with integrity & truthfulness! I’m only just starting my 3rd week as Molly here in Torquay, Devon. So I still have many exciting months ahead of me to find lots of layers & colour to add to my interpretation. What drew you to becoming an actor and theatre plays? In the very beginning, it was the feeling I got from being around music & from dancing. And as my career progressed my passion grew from being around more experienced actors & falling in love with the feeling I’d get loosing myself in a part. And a great singing teacher who opened my eyes to so much. Who have you been inspired by in your acting career, and why? No one person, as I mentioned above my peers inspire me, a special singing teacher, also performances I would see on stage & in the film. What part in all of your stage performances have you enjoyed the most? No one performance as there are elements from each that I have loved differently. Ellen in Miss Saigon really touched my heart & really stoked my passion for acting. Kate & Lillie in Kiss Me Kate was enormous fun, such a versatile part to play…yelling, laughing, fighting, singing! Legally blonde had so many different characters & cameos to enjoy …..all of them in different ways.   How do you prepare so that you’ll bring the right amount of realism and emotion to a scene? Really listening to the script does most of the work for me, trusting the words & letting my self-go with what I’m feeling.From time to time, I need an extra lift or emotional connection in which case I refer to memories & my life experiences & use them to enhance my connection to the character.   When playing emotional roles, how do you stop yourself from getting carried away into the part your playing? Haha! Sometimes with great difficulty, but that’s a big part of my love for theatre. I find I can never predict how emotional each different performance will be. And sometimes when you are overcome with emotion the battle to control it adds an extra layer to that character. I find it very exciting 🙂   How did you feel about getting close to other co-stars? And how do you make it look like a real love scene?   This sounds like a contraction to make it real, but it works for me to not overthink it….and just go with the flow.If you think about convincing people you’re in love I feel it gets a little forced.  

We all know people get nervous before a show, Carolyn Maitland, what are your top tips for handling the nerves? Slow deep breathing is pretty helpful x So you have played many roles, from Molly Jensen in ghost musical, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, to name a couple so what’s next, any up and coming shows to look out for? Who knows? Watch this space 🙂 What would be the ultimate part that you would love to have a chance to play and why?   Anything which will challenge me!Like many, I’d love to open my umbrella & fly over an auditorium with a spoonful of sugar. But I’m happy as long as I’m pushing myself!   And finally, if you were to give to someone the best advice about wanting to perform on stage, what would it be? Above everything….”Enjoy it” Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, I wish you well in your future roles and look forward to seeing more performances from you! Best wishes Clarissa

TO SEE MY REVIEW ON GHOST THE MUSICAL

>> CLICK HERE <<