Leading lady launches drama school
2009-04-16
Liezl Dyson
THE leading lady in the Princess Diana movie, “Diana - A Tribute to the People’s Princess”, has made Paarl her home and is planning to help others hone their acting skills. Actress Amy Clare Anley (née Seccombe), who played the part of the late Princess Diana, hails from England, but has been living in Paarl for more than a year with her husband Cameron, and their two-year-old daughter Holly. She met her South African born husband in England where they married before moving to Durban, South Africa. In Durban, Amy volunteered at an orphanage where she for the first time saw her adopted child. “I have known Holly since she was ten days old and we adopted her when she was seven months old.” According to Amy Paarlites don’t recognise her as the actress who played the Princess of Wales. “In England people would often stop me when they recognised me, but here in Paarl they don't recognise me. “Not even my neighbours know that I played the part of Diana because I don't really talk about it,” she said, smiling. Amy said that being in the movie had taught her a lot of things. “The acting business is hard and you have to have a huge amount of determination. “You should also appreciate every day that you are working and it is a lot of fun, but you have to keep your feet firmly on the ground and not allow yourself to be swept up in the media frenzy.” “I really liked Diana. Before everything went wrong for her it was just this fairy-tale. It was lovely to play her. I practised very hard to be like her, the way she talked and the way she walked.” She said that after the movie was filmed she had to stop herself from behaving like Diana. “My daughter and I are now experiencing looks and stares from strangers, as we are a ‘rainbow’ family. And although my daughter is too young to understand why there are looks, I suspect the questions from her will all too soon arise. “I now have a new admiration for Diana’s success in trying to protect her sons from the attention whilst teaching them to understand why they were the focus of it and how to cope.” Amy plans to give acting classes to people older than 16 years one evening a week starting in May. The classes are aimed at older people - those who loved drama when they were younger and who want to do drama again, as well as those who have never tried it. She also aims to teach techniques for interviews, demonstrations and presentations. “Acting skills can help you with things you do every day. Also the classes will allow you to be somebody else once a week which is great fun.” She also invites all adoptive parents and their children to join her and Holly on Saturday 18 April. This is aimed at getting adoptive families to meet each other so that the parents can share experiences with each other and children can get to know one another. With this she hopes to get a local support group up and running. To be part of the acting classes or to join her and other adoptive families on Saturday 18 April, contact 021-872-3788 or send her an e-mail to anley@cybersmart. co.za.
More
News
|
