Jan Jackman

It’s that time of the week again when we introduce you to familiar faces at HADS. This week’s #meetusmonday is our wonderful Secretary Jan Jackman. Jan has been with the Society for ten years now. Here she talks about her time with HADS and why she enjoys AmDram.

What made you interested in AmDram and why did you join HADS?

I’ve always enjoyed being on stage whether it’s acting, singing or dancing & was involved in various productions at school and with other groups after I left school for a few years.

When I moved to Telford in the late 90’s I decided to reignite my interest in acting & joined The Rodington Players. They were such a lovely group & I spent a very happy 4 years with them but we only had a small number of members in the group which meant we were very limited in what we could do. I really wanted to be in a musical again & so I joined The Little Theatre in Donnington for their production of “Jack the Ripper the musical” which I really enjoyed doing and I did a few more plays with them over the next couple of years.

It was when I moved to Dawley in 2008 that I came across a piece in the local paper that said HADS were looking for female actors for their next production which was “Hobson’s Choice”. As it was so local to me I went along to a reading & was delighted to be offered the lead female role of Maggie. Everyone at HADS was so welcoming & friendly that I decided to stay & do the next play with them & 10 years later I’m still here and loving every minute of it.

What is your favourite HADS play that you’ve been in?

I love doing comedies and luckily we do plenty of them at HADS, it’s so rewarding hearing the audiences roar with laughter it makes all the work & backstage nerves worthwhile.

We’ve done so many funny plays over the years it’s hard to choose but I’ve got 2 favourites “Fur Coat & No Knickers” that we did in 2010 was so much fun to do, it was a big cast with great characters and was very funny.

My other favourite is “Noises Off” from 2016. It was hard to learn as the second act was done all in mime but we had so much fun in rehearsals and although it was a bit different from our usual comedies it was extremely funny and so well received by our audiences. The challenge of playing an actress as well as the role she was playing made it even more interesting and very enjoyable.

Which is your favourite character that you’ve played at HADS?

Maggie, my very first role at HADS is probably my favourite, it’s such a good strong female role & probably one of the biggest roles I’ve ever done and I thoroughly enjoyed playing her.

What’s your favourite non-acting activity that you like to do with HADS?

I directed my first play earlier this year which I really enjoyed doing & I would like to direct again in the future. Choosing the play & cast & being responsible for bringing it all together was a challenge and something very different for me but I had lots of support from people like Edward, my husband Kev, who is our technical manager and all the cast, it was a fulfilling & really enjoyable experience. I had a brilliant cast & we laughed so much during rehearsals it’s amazing we ever got it done! It was also interesting seeing the play from the audiences’ viewpoint which you don’t normally see as an actor

Which character(s) from any tv/film or stage play would you most like to play?

Crime drama is one of my favourite genres whether reading or watching & so I’d love to play a character like Jodie Foster’s “Clarice Starling” from “Silence of the Lambs” or “DCI Jane Tennison” brilliantly portrayed by Helen Mirren in “Prime Suspect”.