Interview: 5 minutes with Andrew James Deane, Actor, Not Waving
Part of my vision for Not Waving is to reference the sensation of the impermanence we experience as actors and creatives. We form small communities when we work together on projects that dissolve once we move on to the next job. To reference this I have asked actors I have worked in from different periods of my life to get involved as the cast.
Andrew James Deane, Actor, Not Waving
With this in mind, it seemed to make sense to reach out to someone who was there at the very beginning of my career. The first time I took to the stage (nativity plays aside) and when I realised I wanted to pursue a career in acting was in a 1995 production of Under Milk Wood at County Upper School, Bury St Edmund's. I played Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard and Andrew James Deane was Captain Cat. From there on we worked together on many projects at school, in the Suffolk Youth Theatre summer musical and for Irving Stage Company.
Life has taken us in different directions, me to London training at Webber Douglas and continuing to follow the work in the big city. AJ returning to Suffolk after training at Middlesex University and establishing The Quirk House Theatre Company in Bury St Edmunds who produce ambitious and creative new writing work.
I’m so excited that AJ has agreed to be part of Not Waving, it feels like we are completing some sort of circle. I caught up with him on the phone to find out what his perspective on being involved in the film is…well for 5 minutes anyway!
Kate Sawyer: So AJ tell us a bit about yourself and what you’ll be doing in Not Waving…
Andrew James Dean: I’m AJ Deane; 'frisbee-er' - if that's not a word, it should be!
KS: Where are you right now?
AJD: At home in Bury St Edmund's.
KS: As you know much of the film centres around water, are you a swimmer?
AJD: I can swim; I learnt at school, where we had an outdoor pool - it was freezing!
KS: So you’re a strong swimmer?
AJD: Yes. Well, I panicked once when about seven years old and had to be helped out - I went off a diving board in the deep end and freaked when I couldn't put my feet down!
A *very* old photo of AJ & Kate in a Bury Free Press article about Suffolk Young People's Theatre's production of Pendragon...can you spot them?
KS: When were you last at the seaside?
AJD: I was on a stag do in Spain a couple of weeks ago; we spent a lot of time on the beach but I didn't go in the sea - there were too many tanned and toned bodies for me!
KS: What’s your favourite beach on British soil?
AJD: Wells-next-the-Sea or Holkham sands. It's so picturesque and rugged in places.
KS: Do you have a favourite memory of a British beach?
AJD: Finding a largish block of chalk on the beach when about four and my parents saying I could only keep it if I carried it all the way back to the campsite. I did, and I still have it!
KS: Not Waving gets its title from a Stevie Smith Poem. Do you have a favourite poem?
AJD: Ooo…pretty much anything by Seamus Heaney.
KS: Yes, I’ve grown to love him too. I didn’t like him when we studied it at school, so very masculine. But I’ve revisited it and the lyrical quality is hard to resist. Okay, time for my favourite bit; quick fire round! Ready?
AJD: Ready!
KS: Ice cream or Cockles?
AJD: Ice-cream.
KS: Kiss me quick or Sex on the beach?
AJD: Sex on the Beach (if you’re talking about the cocktail!)
KS: Waving or Drowning?
AJD: Waving
KS: Sunbathe or swim in the sea?
AJD: Swim in the Sea, rather than sunbathe-usually!
KS: And finally, what are you most looking forward to about your role in making Not Waving?
AJD: Meeting some like-minded people and being creative together!
Follow AJ on Twitter @Andrew_Deane and have a look at Quirk House’s website for more details on what they have coming up: www.quirkhousetheatreco.com
*CONTRIBUTE to our Crowdfunding Campaign on Indiegogo to help us pay 20+ artists, including AJ for the time and talents they are giving to our two short films*
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