Alice Finlay

New to Seattle in August 2019, I hail from Bolton,  England. I have resided in the US for the last 10 years, living in Los Angeles, Western Montana, a short stint in Texas, and now here in beautiful Seattle. I have been involved in Theatre from 2 years old, and it seems to be stuck in my bones, no matter where I go or what I do, I crave it and never feel like myself or complete without being involved in it in one way or another.

From my first experience on stage, age 3, I devoted all my spare time growing up to theatre rehearsals and  classes. At 16, I attended Pendleton College for Performing Arts in Manchester, England (in British Education, sort of an Associates level), before attending The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, in Los Angeles, 18-22. The focus there was obviously the performance side of the arts, but (having knowledge in sewing from teachings from my nana who was dressmaker by profession) I did work-study in the costume department for the entirety of my 4 years at the school, so felt like that was a course in itself, as I learnt and experienced the production side of theatre during this time, too.

Since then, I have done professional theatre and a few short films, whilst also traveling and adventuring around the States and Europe and Asia, too.

My 2 biggest passions in life are performance and travel. I want to see as much of the world as I can in my lifetime. I want to experience all the different cultures out there because this is what adds the  color and dynamics to our world. But, from my experience so far, the slight differences of cultures and language that we see, only shed’s more light onto the unity of humanity. As a species, we are one, who all go through, and want, and feel the exact same; the exact same human condition; no matter where we are born or what we believe is after this. This, too, is what I think is the most important reason to keep theatre alive in this day and age. More than in any other media form, and especially today with the domination of egotistical social-media and tech-platforms for self-promotion, Theatre is a medium that is, and always will be, pure, raw and human. Always a “we”. “Theatre is a form of knowledge; it should and can be a means of transforming society. Theatre can help us build our future rather than just waiting for it. Theatre is the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it means to be a human being.”

I have been fortunate enough to have been able to experience working on and in a vast variety of theatre styles in my few decades of life so far. Originating in the UK, Shakespeare has obviously always been a strong force and focus both in my performing world and also in my academic education. Through being exposed to the Bard’s works, from both angles, from a young age, I have developed a strong and confident familiarity and understanding toward his work and language. Musical Theatre was a big part of my life growing up, I have been in dance training since age 2, and have had singing training also. I love love love musical theatre, and am a strong dancer, but I always felt my real strengths benefited heavier in other styles.  Needless to note, I have obviously worked on and extensively studied many classical plays and playwrights, both pre and post WW2, European and American, and also contemporary works across the continents, as well. However, more of a niche that I have had significant experience in, is physical theatre. My college in England had a section within the performing arts department with a very strong physical theatre focus. My first deep exploration into this style was in a groundbreaking production of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Grey”, back in 2007. I would love to get into great detail about this project, what we did and how it affected me, but to keep this a bio, not a book, and to save your eyes and time, I will skip the intricacies (but would love to talk about it more if invited to!) But, in a nutshell, we worked with directors with strong drives and past-experience with meta-modernism and experimental theatre styles, and also our contemporary dance tutors, to collaborate a modern-day (1980’s-2000’s) set of Dorian Grey, with switches from realism scenes to absurdist, physical movements (scenes). It changed me as a person and a performer, and opened my eyes to this entire new world with, what feels like, no boundaries. Theatre became even more exciting for me in this moment. I adore traditional schools of theatre and practice, and it is truly thrilling to keep true to these styles, feeling you’re creating so similarly to what the original productions would have felt like, but I also find it so stimulating to know that we can take a Sophocles, or a Shakespeare, or a Shaw, or a Shepherd and blend in these new-age styles to keep theatre developing, and moving forward whilst still hand-in-hand with the greats.