I’ve always loved creating imaginative worlds.
I’ve worked as a performer, director, outside eye, actor, writer, and workshop leader since 2005. In that time I’ve worked with some amazing people and put my own shows on stage in venues across the UK.
by Ruby Turner
Professional influences
Holly Stoppit and Philippe Gaulier have been the biggest influences on my work as a performer. So I have this wonderful mixture of truth and lies.
From Holly and the practice of fooling I learned from her I get to play with a state of present honesty on stage. Of knowing and being myself and connecting to the audience with playful authenticity.
From Philippe I got the joy of being a liar, of keeping a secret to myself on stage, of having some thought / quality / idea / feeling / rhythm that only I know and which I keep to myself while letting it influence my performance.
I also learned about their approaches to working with people, the via negativa with Gaulier and the via positiva with Stoppit. He would only say no, until you fought enough with yourself to change something. She would only say yes and encourage the tender, vulnerable self to emerge.
Practical Love
I was really lucky to work with people who operate with love for others as a foundation. A grounded and practical love, one that seeks to understand the material and emotional conditions of the work, to see and serve the people through the process. In particular working with Holly Stoppit and Karla Shacklock has transformed my own creative practice and the way I work with other people.
This in turn has informed my support work, I get a deep sense of meaning and enjoyment from being useful. Bringing my talents to the service of other artists makes me very happy. So remaining connected to the daily needs and experiences of people I work with is one aspect of that. I want to offer the same practical love and care that helped me.
Prehistory
At about 5 my best friend and I would create a new adventure story each afternoon when we played. I began to want to share these creations which meant making up puppet shows behind the sofa. My parents got me to step on stage with the Ewhurst Junior Players aged 9 and I fell in love with it.
The feeling to putting on make-up, the smell of hot lights, the nerves before the show, the absolute joy of being so fully in the moment on stage. I wanted more but when I was asked to join the Senior Players I got scared and pulled away from it.
So after distracting myself with academia I returned to the stage in 2005 and fell in love all over again. The little run of shows took place at the same time as my finals. In a tiny theatre above a pub called the Alma Tavern. That was it, I never looked back, I dedicated myself to performance.
by Ruby Turner