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1 Jul 2022 | |
Alumnae News |
Bursting with energy and passion the 25-year-old returned to LEH this week (29 June 2022) to talk to star-struck pupils and former teachers about her career, which this year alone has seen her playing a dance-crazy psychopath in Stay Close, a dead social media influencer in Chloe, and a miners’ strike activist in Sherwood.
Poppy told students: “I’m so grateful that I didn’t get into drama school straight away, my life experiences in that year, all the mistakes I made, have been so useful. Being uncomfortable sometimes is fine, it helps you to see that it will work out.”
Asked why she thought she hadn’t got a place straight away, Poppy said “My life was quite small. I went to a private school, I had a comfortable life and there’s nothing wrong with any of that and I’m very grateful to my parents, but I needed to live a bit more and make a few mistakes. Signing up for a gym, falling in love, working in a bar, all those things make your life a bit bigger. When I came to select my audition pieces second time round, I chose them because I like them, and they spoke to me rather than because I thought they’d be impressive or expected.”
When she finally got there, she really enjoyed the experience: “Nothing on this planet can prepare you for being at drama school – it’s just so bananas. In addition to acting, you do acrobatics, circus skills, and movement. The freedom you get when you’ve pretended to be a ring-tailed lemur for 12 weeks is phenomenal. Nothing else feels that scary!”
To help her really get into a part, Poppy keeps a notebook for each character she plays. She fills it with background research, cutting out images from magazines and helping build a rounded life. She creates playlists that the character would listen to and even finds the perfect perfume to spray just before she goes on set to help her find the right character.
What’s the best thing about being an actor, she was asked? Poppy smiled widely and said: “All my friends have grown up jobs, while I get to be other people and I also get to be a little eccentric! Lean into that. I still feel like that young girl who was outside in the playground here, messing around and having fun. How brilliant is that?”
What’s been her favourite role so far? Poppy hardly hesitates before explaining it was playing Chloe in the BBC ONE thriller, “even though I died in minute two of the six-part series!”. She added: “It was an all-female production company and the film-maker Alice Seabright made it feel so special. It handled some really important topics like grief, suicide and self-harm. All the acting was brilliant, and I can say that because I was dead for the whole thing!”
What was the best piece of advice she’s been given? “It’s from my Mum and she always says: ‘Let it ruin your day, don’t let it ruin your week’. If you don’t get a part you really wanted, be upset, that’s natural. But the next day, wake up, take a shower, put it behind you, move on.”
Poppy’s three top tips:-
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