Lucy Moon - The Autistic Actress

Lucy is Autistic but that has not stopped her fulfilling her dream of being an Actress.

We hear from Lucy about the types of predjuices she had to encounter at school and over come them. Masking was a way of life and continues in her adulthood.

She welcomes the challenges and talks about being thrown in at the deep end to Direct a short film.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Hello and welcome to Backstage Goss, the podcast where we dive into the entertainment world. Not just the red carpets and glitter, but the panic, the tears, the questionable career choices, and the what was a thinking moments too. We're talking to real people with real dreams, surviving the highs, the lows, and the occasional identity crisis along the way. So, grab your popcorn, this is gonna be fun. Next up, a young lady who is autistic, Lucy Moon is her name. And she's gonna tell us her story. I ask you this: if you are autistic, why? Why would you go into an industry that is unforgiving? We're gonna find out.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

My name is Lucy Moon and I'm at the Autistic Actress.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

Autistic actress? Mm-hmm. How come you've given yourself a title like that?

SPEAKER_00 1:00

Because I'm autistic and I'm an actress. So really.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

I love it, yeah, yeah. It is just a matter of fact. That's that's what I call myself, that's what I am. Lucy, it's good to see you. Now, what we're gonna do is we're we're just gonna go on a little journey. It's your journey, yeah. Um, how did you get into drama?

SPEAKER_00 1:20

I got into drama when I was 12 years old, and they were displaying like some news of a new pl of a play that they were doing.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

Who's this?

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Uh my drama teacher at my school, the Newark Academy.

SPEAKER_02 1:33

Who was that? Was it Ali?

SPEAKER_00 1:35

This is Sadler, it was. Ali, Ali Sadler, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

Yes, it was. Great lady.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Yes, it was. So I took part in that and it was a special play because it marked a hundred years since World War War started and those who fought for our country. Uh so not only was it performed at school, but it was also in Belgium for two nights. Oh right.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

Oh what you went to Belgium and played. Oh wow!

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Aye, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

What was it called? Can you remember?

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Uh Oh What a Lovely War.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Oh What a lovely war, yes it was, yeah. Yeah, very famous piece. Yeah. What part did you play?

SPEAKER_00 2:06

So we were like multi I couldn't remember, it was all like multi-roles throughout the piece. So we all had like different roles to I and I can't I can't I couldn't remember without telling you because it was a very long time ago. I'm now an old lady.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

Bless ya. Okay, yeah, from there what happened?

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Um, so I studied UCSE drama and I took part in some other stuff within the school. And then from 2016 to 2020, I studied at Grafton College for four years. So two of them were like the equivalent of three A levels. Yeah. I think it was three A levels.

SPEAKER_03 2:45

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

And then the other two were the equivalent of two-thirds of a degree at university, and um I did take part in a couple of productions outside of it with a local production company, amateur company in Granddown.

SPEAKER_02 2:57

Right. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

In college or in the loc in the in the local and run. Yeah. So when I first started, the first two years were like there were two shows a year, so one at the summer, one at Christmas. So I did two Christmassy shows and then one summer show. And from then on they started to do uh like one-out production. So there was Annie, Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Joseph and the Amazing Technical Adreenco, with that one being delayed because of the time when everyone was copied all over each other, we had to stay indoors. Ah right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Yeah. So you had a good time there? At the local Amdram or College, or both.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

Both? What I like. Give us the differences between the two.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

So I think the local Am Dram, um you get to more or less learn the stuff straight away as you uh as you start, along with a couple of like games in between. So we learnt some of the songs for the singing bit, we learnt some of the movement bits, and then for the acting stuff, before we worked on the mini play, we had a couple of games that were quite fun. They're a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02 4:13

What was the mini play that you you you did? Can you remember?

SPEAKER_00 4:16

Um, so they did so for the Christmas shows, they did like an abridged version of some of the pantomimes for the Christmas show.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

Um, and then for the summer, it was a play called an abridged version of a play called Don't Throw the Baby. Weird, yeah, it's a weird name, I'm like.

SPEAKER_02 4:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:38

And then with college, it's full on. I know it was it's full-time, but honestly, it's mainly like theory work, because once you're given the assignment, you just sort of do it.

SPEAKER_02 4:51

Right.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

I know they give information, but sometimes you have to find the information yourself, and it can be quite challenging, man.

SPEAKER_02 4:59

Because I mean with your okay, so we'll come back to that in a minute. Um, yeah, so so that's the call so the Amdram side, did you fit straight in?

SPEAKER_00 5:09

Um it took me a good few weeks to fit in.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

What were the issues? Socialising. Right, because that's part of uh you know the autism, yeah?

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Yeah. Thankfully there were a couple of newbies too, so I thought of stay away with the new stay with the newbies. Yeah, yeah. How did it make you feel? Er made me feel a bit I wouldn't say anxious, but you know when you're stepping into untar uncharted territory and you're like, what am I doing here?

SPEAKER_02 5:39

A bit of apprehension, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 5:40

Ah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

Yeah, look in oh my gosh, yeah. What are these people like? How are they doing?

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:45

I mean, with regards, let's just touch upon your y your autism, yeah? When were you diagnosed?

SPEAKER_00 5:51

I was diagnosed at three.

SPEAKER_02 5:54

Really? That early?

SPEAKER_00 5:56

Yes, but I feel like I've got an understanding better when I was in my teens, so like in year ten. Not because that they didn't hide it from me, no. They would hide all my medical records by now, but I think when you're like that age, it you don't really understand the world anyway.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

So I feel like it Yeah. Yeah, so I feel like it just takes you a bit longer to process. That that was my perspective anyway. So what what would what would be like as a child? I think the one thing a couple things I can remember as a child, three things to be specific, were that I was told that I didn't wear socks with shoes because the sensitivity of the skin. Right. I used to line up my toys like in the shop, something to do with like perfection and having structure. Right. And one of the memories that everyone's told me about was that I basically had a meltdown in McDonald's. It wasn't like your typical tantrum, but yeah. It was a tantrum that was different from your typical tantrum.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

Oh yes. Yeah, okay. Well, you lost it.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

More or less. More or less. What bring what brings out on?

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Um I would say the main thing bring it on is doing stuff like last minute, not planning ahead. Like, if you're gonna tell me something, please let me know in a week in advance so that I can get it into my head and that I can plan out my week and plan out the day so that I can see if I have enough energy to even do that thing they asked me or invited me to.

SPEAKER_02 7:35

And it plays on your mind, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Yeah, yeah, it does.

SPEAKER_02 7:38

That's incredible, isn't it? So this is what I can't understand. Oh you've gone into one of the hardest industries with your level of autism and everything else. You know, you've you've just mentioned, you know, what triggers you and it and everything else. How on earth do you manage? Why I okay listen, why would you do it?

SPEAKER_00 7:58

I'm asking that same question myself. Um I don't I feel like I wasn't sure at first, but it was only till a few years ago where I did a creative wellness retreat set up by the Acts Workshop Nottingham and Timber and Smith, which I'm sure we'll get on to in a minute. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I remember, well, even before that, when we did a session on learning about self-takes and acting for camera, I remember releasing a lot of pent-up emotions which were in the form of tears, like I was sobbing my eyes out, linking to like the activities we're doing. But the way I felt afterwards, it kind of felt like that I lost a bit of internal weight, like all this baggage, and I think that was like years of pent-up masking and learning to basically release that through creativity, yeah. So yeah, I I would say it's sort of not only a good job to go into, but I guess a form of self-care as well, because obviously I think with traditional therapies it's not really easy. I tried like talking therapies at college, CBT. It's not they weren't helpful, but it didn't have that desired effect. Whereas like being creative, even though it was in the form of literally sobbing my eyes out, I felt lighter internally.

SPEAKER_02 9:10

Strange, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 9:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:12

What what do you take from the saying, Oh you're not normal?

SPEAKER_00 9:19

Normal's boring. Who is normal? What is normal?

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Do you know? I'm with you. Yeah. Why would you want to be normal? Why would you want to be the run of the mill and everything? Yeah, I'm like I mean, we will get on to the film that we shot, yeah. Um which I you know moved you into the director's role and everything else, because that was that was something else, that was a different thing. But but yeah, just back to um to the theatre side of things, knowing knowing that you you know you you can mask and everything, was it easy to mask?

SPEAKER_00 9:52

Um I would say fairly because obviously I'm playing a different role, but there were some roles um that I can like embrace my quirky personality into. Um and when I did like previous work at Beaver Castle, which I know is not like not theatre, but it's more like the immersive stuff, I was able to embrace more or less myself into that specific character I was assigned to.

SPEAKER_02 10:17

So you just meant you just mentioned the word there, your quirky character. What is it? What is it about you that's quirky?

SPEAKER_00 10:24

I don't know, I feel like I'm very expressive and because of the stimming, I tend to be very eccentric into it. I kind of guess some of the inspirations about why I'm like that is more under heart. Because like I don't know if she's autistic, I don't know if she is, but like me, she sometimes gets herself into social situations. I'm like, that's me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Really? That's me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:50

Bless you. Because I mean when you were um when you were 18, you auditioned for a pantomime, didn't you?

SPEAKER_00 10:58

I did indeed.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

Can you remember the pantomime?

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Dick Whittington.

SPEAKER_02 11:01

Dick Whittington, and what part did you go for?

SPEAKER_00 11:03

Alice Fitzmorren.

SPEAKER_02 11:04

Let me just tell you, and I've I've I have actually mentioned this before, but obviously the listeners and I've got a note. Yeah, um, we'd already cast Alice. We knew who Alice was gonna be, and you were the last one in. And myself and Steve caught, you watched through, yeah, yeah, bless him. Um that's us all. We watched your audition, and I turned to Steve and I went, Oh my gosh, what has just happened? Because you gnawed it. Thank you. So let me ask you this when you look at a character and everything else, do you immerse yourself in that? And how do you do that?

SPEAKER_00 11:45

I think my uh method has changed over the years, so I feel like I think more or less it it depends on the character. Sometimes I'd have to work a little bit harder, other times. Yeah. I think it's all about just going with the threat with the flow. Um if we are we talking about theatre on stage or just in general when it comes to the.

SPEAKER_02 12:03

Well, just in general, I mean well, I mean for the theatre stuff, yeah, it's how you would um interpret that that character and become that character. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Well, I've I'll be honest, I've not done a proper theatre show, like week run show since 2023. Right. But I think with any role that I get into, I mainly look at what is happening, so the given circumstances, so what is happening in this moment, and then the objective, so what does that character want for that scene if it's for a specific audition? Yeah. So as long as I know what it's about and then my wants, so the objective, then I think the rest just follows through, really.

SPEAKER_02 12:42

So when it when the directors say to you, right, Lucy, I would like you to take this on board, but develop it. Develop the character. Have you ever done that?

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

You have? I amazing. Right, take me through that. Give me one character that you developed.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

In theatre, in theatre, yeah. Oh no. Um I'd say oh no, because I the only remember one I remember is when I did a TV masterclass. Um, well tell us about that. Okay, so back in 2023, I again organised by Tim Bryn Smith from the Apps Work of Nottingham, I had a TV master class with Sean Glynn who directed Brookside, Holly Oaks, uh, he's still currently directing Holly Oaks now, and a short film he made um basically about catfishing. Oh yeah. Um I thought the character I did um was the one being catfish, but it turns out that the character I'm being is the catfish himself herself.

SPEAKER_02 13:41

Oh right.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

So I basically had to flip it the other side, and I thought that was really interesting.

SPEAKER_02 13:47

Yeah. Do you get yourself right into the characters?

SPEAKER_00 13:51

Yeah, yeah. I try to, yeah. I like to say I try to.

SPEAKER_02 13:54

What made me uh what made me laugh with um Alice Fitzwarren, let's go back to the panto. Yeah, uh, is the fact that you really did embrace that, didn't you?

SPEAKER_01 14:02

I did.

SPEAKER_02 14:03

You did, yeah. So one of the stories that I always tell, um, and because you are a person with autism. Autistic person. An autistic person. That's language, person with language. Right. So here I I never know how to you know address it.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

That's fine, that's fine.

SPEAKER_02 14:20

You know, don't throw anything at me, alright? I'm not going to. Um, but it it was like um oh my gosh, do you know what? I've lost my train of thought. So yeah, when um when you auditioned and we went through, yeah, and you got the part, and then I can always remember um being on stage.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

Right in the middle of a show, and the whole everybody on stage went silent, but not you. You went and you said the lines of the person, and I looked and I went, What are you doing? What are you these people have paid good money, they don't want to hear you banging out someone else's lines, please stop! And then we went off and we got a script and we came back on and I looked at the script and I went. Oh, it's my lines. How can you do that? Because I mean you you did take everybody's part on. I mean it was it was incredible. You learned everybody's, didn't you?

SPEAKER_00 15:30

No, I didn't.

SPEAKER_02 15:31

Well, believe me, yeah, for you to be able to pull out the stuff that you did, yeah, you just seemed to be on it all the time. You knew what was coming up in the story.

SPEAKER_00 15:42

Well, I just read the script, I did the homework, isn't that the point? To look at the script of that.

SPEAKER_02 15:46

Look at you. Oh, I did the homework. Yes, but for somebody like me, yeah, and I was directing, yeah, yes, I I know you know the the premise of it and everything else. But you actually knew dialogue. That's the point I'm trying to make, yeah. You knew the dialogue, I didn't know the dialogue. I'm trying to work that out myself to be fair. Wow, there you go. I mean it's a skill though, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 16:06

Yeah, although mind you, part of artistic as well is copying and mimicking people, which is a form of masking, which is yeah, it's a form of. Oh, really? I don't know if it was linked to that, so don't ask me about that, but no, no, sure. Maybe it could possibly be linked to that.

SPEAKER_02 16:20

Yeah, maybe. Maybe yeah, I don't know. I'm I'm in a different world now.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:25

A territory that I know nothing about. But it fascinates me. The fact that you know you can you you have you have a way about you, you're like you say, you you wouldn't know just looking at you or anything else because that's the most common, particularly in women, that's the common most common misconception.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

You don't look it. No, it doesn't have a look specifically, um, because there was a content creator I follow online, she was diagnosed with both autism and ADHD at the age of 24.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Oh god.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

And the amount of times they say she doesn't look it, yeah, but she's gone to do amazing things, so she's a content creator and wrote two books basically. Oh, good helping no divergent people.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

Yeah. So let's just move this on because um you were 18 at the time when you came to meet, and we had an amazing time, didn't we? We did. We did. It was what was your best part about the panto?

SPEAKER_00 17:20

Oh, I don't. It was that long ago. I'm trying to think of just one. I just think the fact that we're having a good laugh, like I know we're rehearsing for this thing to show to people, but it shouldn't be boring and dull, but I just felt as long as we're laughing, that's all that matters.

SPEAKER_02 17:38

We certainly laughed, didn't we? Yeah, we did. We had plenty of laughs in that. Alright, so now let's just move it on, because from the age of 18, what happened? What did you do? Where did you go?

SPEAKER_00 17:50

So, from 18, from the pantomime, yeah, to um which I've lost my train thought as well. I was still at Graphon College, yeah. Um, studying my two years, which were the equivalent of two thirds of a degree. Yeah. And then um 2020 came where we were obviously stuck indoors, weren't allowed to go in the house, we weren't allowed to go out of the house. What did you do?

SPEAKER_02 18:16

How did you manage that?

SPEAKER_00 18:17

So, my lecturer at the time suggested we do like an online performance where we basically film our bits at home, send it to them to an editor to put it together. It's still out on YouTube now, believe it or not.

SPEAKER_02 18:29

Is it really? What's it called? Can you remember?

SPEAKER_00 18:31

It's called The Show Must Go On. And I'll I'll send it, I'll send it on. Yeah, yeah, cool, cool.

SPEAKER_02 18:37

So that's on YouTube.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

Yes, it's I think it's GC performing out. It's that many channels that I've got.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that's okay. We'll we'll uh we'll we'll track it down. But how did you cope through um Covid?

SPEAKER_00 18:50

Well it wasn't easy. I don't think it was easy for anyone really.

SPEAKER_02 18:53

No, it wasn't, no. But you particularly, how did you how did you cope with it all?

SPEAKER_00 18:58

Um I think it's a bit longer to process than others. Trying to get my head around the fact that other than those who need to go to work, like in the shops or in the hospital or um or the fact that we're only allowed to go out once, and the fact that I was just having this nice little friendship group, um, it wasn't easy.

SPEAKER_02 19:24

No.

SPEAKER_00 19:25

It wasn't particularly easy.

SPEAKER_02 19:25

I mean it must have yeah in my mind it must have been worse for you, and that's only because that level of social interaction, it was bad enough for me. I'm always around people. I love talking to people and mixing and finding out, but I mean, like yourself, I mean you're sitting here and you you're beaming, you know, everything's it's lovely, you know. But to actually have nobody.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

Yeah. Other than the people in my house.

SPEAKER_02 19:53

Right. Right. Did it ever get boring?

SPEAKER_00 19:57

Er I wouldn't say boring, like you do get a little bit of cabin fever sometimes.

SPEAKER_02 20:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:04

More or less.

SPEAKER_02 20:05

Yeah, never wanted to like kill someone.

SPEAKER_00 20:08

Well, I mean we have the odd disagreements with family, like, but what family doesn't have disagreements. I agree. Yeah. I agree. I told you before this, I my dad had a bit of a hissy fit with me, but he apologise and bless you. That that's just normal that's normal.

SPEAKER_02 20:22

Yeah, of course it is, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

I mean it's not nice, but you know, we kiss him makeup at the end.

SPEAKER_02 20:26

Yeah. But you understand why he had the hissy fit.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

Yeah. Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah. He wasn't he's not he's not well. I mean, mind you, I'd probably ever go to him to say, leave me alone if I'm not well.

SPEAKER_02 20:37

Yeah. You tell him.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

No, no, not specifically now, but Oh right, uh yeah, but no, in general. Yeah, in general, like in general, you would be like annoyed and angry if you're told to stay at home all this time, or if you had the time, the illness, which we don't talk about now.

SPEAKER_03 20:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:56

So it's not it's you you don't talk about it in-house.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

COVID.

SPEAKER_02 21:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:02

No, we were very open about COVID. I mean, when I got when I caught coronavirus back in October, which was a week before, a week before I was due to perform a networking showcase.

SPEAKER_03 21:12

Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

Yeah, um, me and my dad got it.

SPEAKER_03 21:15

Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

Yes, and I was surprised to even actually perform one night, even though I was negative, thankfully. Yeah, yeah. I I still went and still performed, which was the main thing. And it's also on YouTube to watch now.

SPEAKER_02 21:27

Yeah, well there we go, everything's on YouTube. Well done. Alright, let's uh let's move it on, yeah. Um, five years down the line, I contacted, didn't I? Did I contact you about the film?

SPEAKER_00 21:40

It was in 20.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

So from the panto to Yeah, we're gonna we're gonna do a big jump.

SPEAKER_00 21:46

It was 2023. Is it that long ago? I I remember it, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:50

Wow, yeah, yeah. Because I remember coming up with the idea and thinking, hmm, what can we do? And because of Of you know that level of autism that you had in my mind. I was like, I know that you could have you could take that project on. I had I had the confidence in you, you didn't have the confidence straight away, did you? No, not really. Why was that?

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Again, I think I mentioned about the college having big egos. We did a a site assessment on directing, and I think that definitely impacted all of that. Like, I absolutely hated it. Why did you hate it? I think just it's not that I didn't have the words, it's just voicing them that's the problem. Right. And again, around certain people, I feel like that if I say the wrong thing, they're gonna have a go at me.

SPEAKER_02 22:50

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

Yeah. That's what it was like at the time, like yeah. Let's just say that I wasn't bullied per se, but let's just say I had often like disagreements which didn't end up going down well. And I'm not gonna name names.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

No, no, no, no, didn't name no. Well, let me let me just let okay, listen, let me just stop that for a minute. Let's just backtrack because you mentioned the word bullied here. Yeah. Yeah. Were you bullied at school?

SPEAKER_00 23:16

Not so much bullied, but teased. In a bad way. Also there's teasing in a gun away in a jokey way, there's teasing in a bad way.

SPEAKER_02 23:24

What they used to call you?

SPEAKER_00 23:26

I um I don't think call me anything school, but just like you know, the time just being like Again, I can't word it. Yeah, but it was not nice whatsoever.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

So they bullied you in a physical way?

SPEAKER_00 23:37

No, thankfully not physically.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

Mentally?

SPEAKER_00 23:40

Nothing mentally, yeah. Like tease me, like the younger boys as well. You know what a lot of boys are like at the boys are horrible.

SPEAKER_02 23:48

Yes, that I hated every single one of them. Yeah. No, I get it, okay, yeah. And it's yeah, to be in that environment, you know, it's just like, oh wow, how do you deal with it day on day?

SPEAKER_00 24:03

Yeah, and then in college there was one particular classmate which I'm not gonna name because I don't want to be that person, but let's just say that we didn't always get on, and I think at one point she made a comment about being a having a shadow behind someone. It's because I've struggled socializing. I swear she called me a social I swear they called me a freak at one point. Freak? I I swear I heard that word somewhere.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

Wait, let me tell you, yeah? If they called you a freak, they made a song about you. Freak! Leg! You know what I mean? Well, I'll tell ya. Yeah, you're not a freak. Definitely not a freak. Thank you. But I mean when when I put that to you about the idea of the film. Yeah. What was going through your mind? No. Why does it know?

SPEAKER_00 24:53

I don't mind acting in it, it's just having that again, it's finding the words.

SPEAKER_02 24:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:59

And it's verbalising it out. I just couldn't find them.

SPEAKER_02 25:03

But what did I say to you?

SPEAKER_00 25:06

Don't panic.

SPEAKER_02 25:07

Don't panic, yeah. Don't get overwhelmed. Yeah. I'm there, I will mentor you through this. Yeah. And let me just say this on the record, yeah. You smashed it.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 25:18

No, I'm genuinely, you smashed it. I've never been on a film set, right? Over the two days it was shot. I've never been on a film set that was so kind and caring. Because I mean you you you really were. Everyone was concerned about everyone else's welfare, weren't they? Well being.

SPEAKER_00 25:37

That's because everyone, I think, but one, but it had worked with people, yeah. Autistic people. Um we had 24 autistic people. Yeah. I think that's why everyone got on, because we know we knew how each other's worked, and then you know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:53

It was it was an incredible, incredible project.

SPEAKER_00 25:56

One of us was being a bit down, then I'm pretty sure everyone else would pick them back up.

SPEAKER_02 26:00

Which was lovely to see, you know?

SPEAKER_00 26:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:03

But what what was the best thing about that film?

SPEAKER_00 26:06

Hmm. I think just being in that environment and seeing the talent up there as well. Because I think some of the stuff that I've seen is the first time I've actually watched them perform and I'm like. Like, I'm open mouth being like, where did that come from?

SPEAKER_02 26:22

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

Because I mean, you know, I can remember saying to you, right, listen, what's this scene about? Tell me about this scene. How do you want it perceived? Yeah. What's the direction?

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:35

And what did you say?

SPEAKER_00 26:38

I I just said what was on the page. You did it in the comments.

SPEAKER_02 26:45

It was literal, wasn't it? It was like, well, what's on that page? That's that's what I want. And I was thinking, she's right.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

I couldn't I couldn't ask for anything more.

SPEAKER_00 26:56

Yeah. I mean, I I mean, like, projects I get, like auditions I get, because they kind of only send you like the page of it. Right. And they don't have to account the full synopsis, so you just have to come up with that yourself. But on a film set like this, you have the synopsis, you have the whole script, so it just kind of really says what says what's on the page, really.

SPEAKER_02 27:16

I mean what's interesting is I mean, whenever I I direct or write, we um because I write and then we direct them and then um produce the things. Because there's no money in it.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

No.

SPEAKER_02 27:28

We do it for the love. We do, and the art, yeah. Um which is interesting because that way we get to make our own stuff. You know, we're putting our own our own um stamp on what it is we want to sell on the world.

SPEAKER_00 27:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:43

Um now you worked alongside a guy called Leo Long, didn't you? I did. Tell me about Leo.

SPEAKER_00 27:50

Oh, he's lovely. Lovely Leo Long.

SPEAKER_02 27:53

Why is he lovely?

SPEAKER_00 27:54

I don't know. I just think I just feel like he could be a self and like it doesn't care. Well, I think he doesn't care. He doesn't care what the people say, it's just his authentic self, like.

SPEAKER_03 28:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:06

And after be watching him in a film that's on Netflix, my my attire, I just feel like the one.

SPEAKER_02 28:13

Oh, he used to be famous, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_00 28:14

Yes. Yeah, that was a film. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 28:17

Because I mean he got that role because they needed an autistic 15-year-old, didn't they?

SPEAKER_00 28:22

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 28:22

Drummer.

SPEAKER_00 28:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:24

And what did he do? He taught himself to drum.

SPEAKER_00 28:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:27

I mean the guy was amazing.

SPEAKER_00 28:29

Yeah, I mean, it's moments like this about if you can't afford sessions or if you don't have time to go to sessions. YouTube, YouTube is your best friend.

SPEAKER_02 28:37

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:38

So how did your relationship work out on set with with Leo?

SPEAKER_00 28:42

I feel like, because obviously I could I could tell that his autism is very different to mine, so I just basically just followed him along and I met his dad, who's one of the nicest people.

SPEAKER_02 28:52

James, lovely though.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:54

How how do you mean he was different from yours? What's the difference between the two of you?

SPEAKER_00 28:58

Um I don't I can't the way I describe it is something that my nan has said, and it was like your brain speaks faster than your mouth, so I feel like he's got the words there, but the way he speaks, you know, when like a toddler is first developing their words in sentences, it's kind of like that because I remember seeing a post by the director, Eddie Sternberg, about how I think it was Eddie Sternberg, um, about how in the past Leo was non-verbal, and I think it was only when he got his assistant's dog Cash Al, because I've seen it on a video on this morning, yeah, where they support dogs for autism, about how through having Cashal he was able to eventually communicate verbally, which I think is just amazing.

SPEAKER_02 29:44

Amazing, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. He's such a lovely guy. I mean he's he's gone on to do really well.

SPEAKER_00 29:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 29:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:50

Yeah, he's um currently in a bank called The Autistics. I had the pleasure of seeing them live. Serious? Yeah, where at? Um I think they're bet they're they're London-based for definitely.

SPEAKER_03 30:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:01

Um and they've done a lot of stuff, like for the past two years they were in Hastings doing a festival called Hastings Beatles Day.

SPEAKER_03 30:10

Right.

SPEAKER_00 30:10

And they do a lot of like they do their own songs, they also do covers. One of them, a few of them are Beatles songs as well. Oh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:18

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 30:18

Yeah, I saw them last year at a place called Spiritual Bar in Camden Town.

SPEAKER_02 30:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:24

Hmm.

SPEAKER_02 30:24

Yeah. Now, any autistic people that's g that looking to come into the industry, yeah, what advice could you give them?

SPEAKER_00 30:33

I think the advice I'll give them is um I think just don't be afraid because if it helps you and it helps you thrive and makes you happy, then go for it. Um and if it puts a smile on the people's face as well. I mean, I know you shouldn't care what other people think, but I think seeing people seeing you your little one seeing you happy doing something like this make makes you happy if am I making sense?

SPEAKER_02 31:01

You are making very good sense. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:03

Um because I w I don't watch a show, but there was a YouTube click from a show called Love on the Spectrum. Yeah, where Abby uh performed a song to her boyfriend David, and it was honestly the cutest thing ever, but that was part the song was part of a speech therapy that she used, so she used music as a way to communicate verbally, and the confidence her family has seen in her as well is just incredible. So yeah, I would say just go for it if that's what you want to do, that's it, but with any profession, really. If it makes you happy, then yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:36

So what have what have been the uh the downside to it all? Is there a downside to it? Anything that you've been doing? Well, to to the actual what you've gone into, what do you see as an issue?

SPEAKER_00 31:49

Um I feel like having to turn stuff down due to like outside stuff that would be on my control. So at this moment I would say I'm working a quote unquote proper job because you don't know when the next lot's coming in, so you need a source of income to and I did actually get offered the chance to go on a tour in Pantomime, but I said they couldn't do it because they wouldn't allow the time off. And I'm not blaming them personally, but you know when it gets a bit frustrated, yeah, I actually fell into a little bit of a depressed state for a good few weeks. Um and it was also the anniversary of when my mum passed away as well, so that wasn't helping.

SPEAKER_02 32:27

No, no, no, sure, sure.

SPEAKER_00 32:28

Yeah, but eventually I picked myself up, um, and there was a saying that someone said which was um sometimes you need to get rid of the good to make way for the great. So and that everything everyone thing you say no to, you're saying yes to another. So maybe there was some sort of you know positive side to it.

SPEAKER_02 32:53

Because I mean at one point, I mean because you actually got an agent, haven't you?

SPEAKER_00 32:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:58

How did that happen?

SPEAKER_00 33:00

So I was basically because I joined a community called Act on This, which basically you look at the business side of the business, and they basically have different guests coming on, some of them are agents, they have different things, but more or less it's the same structure. So basically know who you are, you know, what you can bring to them. And I emailed one. All they need from me, need from me was a self-tape of me acting just to show them I can act for a self-tape.

SPEAKER_03 33:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:31

Um, I had a good few months to think about it because I didn't want to rush into anything, but then I yeah, and I accepted the offer.

SPEAKER_02 33:37

Excellent, well done. Let's just talk about self-tapes. What do you do? What what is a self-tape?

SPEAKER_00 33:42

So, a self-tape is basically a piece to camera, which is what we would typically get mainly now because of the time where we didn't want to talk about because everyone was coughing on each other. Your first round audition. In the past they used to be in person, but and some of them still do in-person first rounds, but I feel like self-tapes are more accessible because you're seeing more people, and for those like myself who live outside of London, trains can be very expensive. And I know part of it is investing, but there comes to a point where you don't want to invest in too much.

SPEAKER_02 34:18

Yeah, well, it's uh you as I say, the industry is very, very uncertain, isn't it? You know, going all that way, yeah. You know, with um thinking that you you could smash it and you probably would, and then it being turned down, next! You know, you just think, ah. So I I actually I I think it's a good idea that you know they are doing the digital self-tapes that you can send in.

SPEAKER_00 34:45

Yeah, like I said, some of them um still do first person in-person auditions. There's one casting office, I won't say what 'cause I don't know what I can reveal from it because obviously it's a pace commission that I have to. But they do have the option to have either in-person auditions or self-tapes via first round. Oh, right, okay. But the ratio of those who attend in person are much more likely to get the job.

SPEAKER_02 35:07

Right.

SPEAKER_00 35:08

Um, because you get to know them in person, you get a proper feel for them. I mean, obviously, if you can't go for other reasons, then yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:17

No, I get it. That's good. What you got plans for the future?

SPEAKER_00 35:23

I don't even know what I'm doing tomorrow. No, I think for me so plans to get out of the proper job. Um I think as well, just as long as I'm taking part in stuff that I want to do and what make me happy, then that's all you want, really. Because I think it's all about what's making you happy, really.

SPEAKER_03 35:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:47

Um the main one is to get that first TV credit, even if it's one line. Like it's one line on a television programme.

SPEAKER_02 35:55

Yeah, no, good for you. You've got a focus, haven't you?

SPEAKER_00 35:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:58

Because the other thing you haven't mentioned is the fact that you do write, don't you?

SPEAKER_00 36:02

Yeah, I've been sucking a little bit, but I do I do write, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:07

Yeah. Have you got any plans to shoot anything else or what?

SPEAKER_00 36:10

Um, I did have something, another film, but some setbacks I had, so an injury I had, and then other little bits and pieces like and the job I just mentioned that I had to turn down. It's been a little bit of a drawback. Um but I'm hoping to have one of the ideas um at least noticed because my acting teacher is going to Cannes Films Festival in a couple of weeks and to pitch some to mention some ideas for his next project. And he said if you have any ideas, like drop him a line and then he can bring them up.

SPEAKER_02 36:47

So yeah, good for you.

SPEAKER_00 36:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:50

Well, look, I'd like to um thank you for coming in. Yeah, good, thank you and talking to us.

SPEAKER_01 36:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:58

There is a project that myself and uh three other people are looking at at the moment. It's all about um a neuroide a neurodivergent woman who's going out with a what do they call him?

SPEAKER_00 37:15

Neurotypical.

SPEAKER_02 37:16

A neurotypical boy, man. He just doesn't understand it. So the relationship breaks down and everything else.

SPEAKER_03 37:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:24

Yeah? And then we see the um neurodivergence best friend, who's a fella, he just gets her. Yeah, you know, you have this this link, this combination, and everything. It's lovely. So we are express um exploring exploring that. Excuse me. Um and we will be talking to you about it. Alright, so bear that in mind, yeah. Hopefully that will um yeah, that will come to fruition.

SPEAKER_01 37:53

Yeah. But Lucy, in the meantime, thank you very much for coming in. You're very welcome. Thanks for inviting me.

SPEAKER_02 37:59

We'll see you again. Thank you. Right, there you have it. If you're autistic and you love uh being creative and everything, just do it. Just do it. There is nothing in this world to actually hold you up and to stop you apart from other people. But we don't care about them. We're just gonna go and do what we want to do, aren't we? That's the thing. Lucy's journey is obviously typical, I would say, listening to her and acting with um all the uh other autistic people that came to work on the film. And it was one of the most beautiful, beautiful experiences of of witnessing people caring for each other, um about the w their their well-being. You know, there was lots of mindfulness on the set and and everything else. It was uh it truly was um exceptional. But anyway, next time I'm not gonna tell you.