Rising star Olivia Saunders joins us on Close-Up Culture to talk about her acting journey, making her professional debut at the National, playing the lead role in Billie the Kid, and much more.
Hi Olivia, welcome to Close-Up Culture. What are your earliest memories of falling in love with acting and performing?
Hello! Gosh, that’s quite a far way back to think! I’ve always loved it, I know most everyone says that, but it’s true. I feel like one of the earliest memories I have is when I was in Year 2 at school, we got told the casting for the nativity and I got to play Mary! I remember being utterly overjoyed at the time and taking it very seriously haha! I really started to get serious and passionate about it in secondary school – I think the first time I sort of had the inkling that I’d like to do this as a career was during the school production of ‘Fame’ when I was 14 – I played Serena Katz and felt so at home up on stage, singing and acting.
You’re a graduate of ArtsEd. Can you tell us about your experience there and any other big influences in learning your craft?
I think, personally, ArtsEd was everything I needed it to be. I learned so much about myself as a person and who I wanted to be in the industry. The training was tough and rigorous and definitely not for everyone, I had such low points but also some of the best times of my life so far. I was lucky enough to meet some tutors there who completely changed the way I viewed my training, and I left with so much knowledge that has allowed me to maintain my skills without the need for the consistent check-ins that training offers. I think for me, so far, the biggest influences have been the ones that have either forced me to see my craft in a different light, or have shone the brightest light on what it already is and provided the clarity that you sometimes need – a good shake!
You recently played the title role in Billie the Kid at the Vaudeville Theatre. What was your approach to playing Billie Belle?
From reading the material during my auditions, I knew this was a part I just had to get my hands on. I see a lot of similarities between her and I, which were useful when it came to playing her. For me, with any character, you have to go through the script, find out what they do during the show and understand why they do it/say it. Normally what I do is work off of instinct with text and then refine it, try new things and see what feels right. I know if something doesn’t feel right when I say it then there’s something I haven’t quite discovered yet. The rehearsal process for this show for me was a lot of using how I, Olivia, felt that day and seeing how that might correlate to some of the moments Billie goes through, and then amalgamating all of those specific moments to create the arc.
How did you find the challenge of leading a production?
It was just so much fun! I was surrounded by such a glorious group of people – there was never a moment on that stage where I felt like I wasn’t supported. When I was doing the show, it never really felt like I was ‘leading’ per se, because I was just doing the thing, speaking the text and singing the songs. I think I just feel so lucky to have had such a 3 dimensional part, that had a nice chunk of material to get my teeth into.
You also recently had a role in Hex at the National. What can you tell us about that experience?
Yes! Gosh, that was just the most wonderful experience. That was my professional debut, and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better one. That building is full of so much collaboration and creativity, I was awestruck every day that I got to work there. I think what was so special about Hex was that it was truly a project created with love; it had so much heart and that shone through in every line, every bit of choreography. The design on that show, by Katrina Lindsey, was stunning and the music written by Jim Fortune was sublime – I’d leave rehearsal every day with a different song stuck in my head! Plus, I got to hang 50 feet in the air from the top of the Olivier stage dressed as a fairy every night, something I’ll never forget!
You are a multi talented and versatile performer. What type of roles and projects would you love to take on in the future?
Something that has always been super attractive to me is new writing, literally anything new. I find the rehearsal rooms that are collaborative and active to be the ones that I’m drawn to the most and the ones that fulfil me the most. So really, anything that’s in development or a new revival of an old show is where my heart is!
Do you have any upcoming projects or ambitions to share with us?
There’s never a dull moment in this career, things are always shifting and changing. One moment you could be working your job to pay the bills and the next moment you get a call from your agent and you’re in the rehearsal room the next month! I think for me, an ambition I’ve had for a while is to delve deeper into voice and singing teaching. My teacher at uni was honestly the best thing to happen to me at that school, he helped me discover this hunger for knowledge in that section of training and it’s something that has stayed with me since – I’d love to develop that and one day be able to have students of my own. I’ve also always had an interest in direction, so I know in the future I’d love to dig deeper into that side of the arts.