The joy of being accepted into a group, without anyone having any preconceptions.
John Smeathers talks about his experiences of acting in Pagelight's 'A Very Victorian Scandal':
I suppose I had never stopped to think about the historical aspect of LGBT, and had assumed that a section of society had always been regarded as 'different' and pigeonholed by the majority. The fact that the term 'homosexual' had not even been coined until the late 19th century was enlightening in itself.
We all identify with sections of society through our work, play, geographical location, social standing, etc. Those different idents crossing numerous boundaries, i.e. one's working social group my be totally different from one's passtimes social groups.
We all of us have a need to 'belong'. When that belonging has to be hidden and without the opportunity to say publicly 'I am what I am and this is what I do' - in any context - must be a horrible existence, and one which I have not had to cope with personally. So I guess I learned and/or came to some appreciation of social challenges outside of my personal experience.
Well, life is one long education! As with any section of the community there are areas with which I am more familiar than others. Although I have had gay friends and acquaintances for many years - and indeed my eldest daughter is married to another girl (they recently upgraded their civil partnership!) - there are certainly elements of the LGBT community I know less about than others and the AVVS experience has helped to broaden my knowledge and understanding (I hope!).
A very happy and enjoyable experience. From the basic acting experience of the challenge of working with a group of people who you've never met before (almost - I did know and had previously worked with Gareth), to the social experience of getting to know a diverse and new set of friends. The joy of age not being a boundary. The joy of being accepted into a group without anyone having any preconceptions. The joy of contributing to an exciting project.
John will be playing the role of Mr C. H. Rickards in 'A Very Victorian Scandal: A Magistrate's Tale' on Wednesday 24th June 2015.
