Rachel Seirian is currently performing as swing in the production Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World, in the UK tour. Seirian trained at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World is an empowering pop musical, from one of the producers of the worldwide sensation SIX, and is based on the popular book by Suffragette relative Kate Pankhurst. Join inquisitive heroine Jade as she breaks away from her class to take a peek behind the scenes at the not yet open Gallery of Greatness in the local museum. Along her journey she is surprised to meet the incredible wonder women: Frida Kahlo, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, Emmeline Pankhurst to name just a few. Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World is currently showing at The Lowry in Salford, Manchester. Get you tickets here.
How did you get into acting?
As a child I had a huge imagination, and could often be found in my room coming up with imaginary stories for hours on end. My parents thought this energy would be put to good use in acting classes (and also give them a break from being roped into starring in my stories all the time haha), and therefore signed me up to join the drama club at my primary school. I continued with the club for many years and fell in love with acting along the way. I soon realised that my love for acting was something I wanted to pursue professionally, so made the decision to train at drama school with the hope I’d be successful enough to have a career as a professional actor someday; which incredibly has come true!
How did you find the process of researching your characters for the show? Did you find any interesting facts?
I loved researching all the incredible women I get to portray in the show. I’ve always loved history, there is always a lot to be learnt from the past. I did a lot of reading up about each woman, especially as I hadn’t heard of some of them before doing this show, as we were never taught about them in school. Gertrude Ederle for example, the first woman to swim the English Channel. She set a new world record as she did so, becoming the fastest person, at the time, to complete the Channel swim. An interesting fact about her is that she actually had measles as a child and it ended up affecting her hearing. Later in her life, she was almost completely deaf. After her record-breaking Channel swim, she spent the rest of her life teaching swimming to deaf children.
How do you approach being a swing? Do you have any tips for memorising lines?
Repetition, repetition, repetition! Honestly as tedious as it sounds, it’s the only way I find I can get information to really stick in my mind. I also create something called a “Swing Bible” which essentially is a document of all the roles/tracks I cover in the show; what they do or where they are situated onstage during a particular number/scene. A “Swing Bible” is a very individualistic thing for every swing you speak to. Mine personally is a hand-written book. I will write things in it such as where a character enters from, or exits to. If they have any props with them onstage, when they use those props and what they do with them. I also draw diagrams for any choreographic blocking, so I know the formation that we the actors are creating onstage and where each character is placed during that time.I make sure to decorate my “Swing Bible” and use lots of colours and highlighters to make it really fun to look at and read through.
Who is your favourite fantastically great woman to portray in the show?
So far my favourite fantastically great woman that I’ve gotten the chance to portray onstage in the show is Emmeline Pankhurst. She’s full of such grit, determination and power. I feel like a superhero when portraying her. Emmeline herself did so much for woman’s rights, it’s a privilege to portray her.
What is your favourite song to sing in the show?
Rosa’s Lullaby. The lyrics are absolutely beautiful and I love the message it sends. No matter how tough or how bleak things may seem, if we keep dreaming of a better tomorrow and keep fighting for it, things can and will get better.
Why should people come and watch Fantastically Great Women?
Because, as the name says, it’s fantastic! It’s a show for absolutely everyone! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, but most of all you’ll come away having learned all about of these fantastically great women from history, and hopefully be inspired by all of their incredible stories.