糖心Vlog

Melissa Johns is an actor, who trained at East 15 Acting School, graduating in 2012 and we are very proud today to announce that she is our 2019 Alumna of the Year.

But this accolade isn鈥檛 just for acting 鈥� it鈥檚 also for Melissa鈥檚 activism, and reaching out, and making change to better the world around her.

Melissa grew up in Ledbury, Herefordshire and knew from an early age that she wanted to make acting her career. Melissa was aware of the fact that acting was the preserve of middle class kids, or those from wealthy backgrounds. Sadly, this still remains a common perception.

But undaunted, when she was nine years old she responded to a local theatre casting for the play Through the Dark Clouds Shining. They were looking for a main character, a child evacuee... and Melissa jumped at the opportunity. She said in a recent interview: 鈥淚 was born without a right forearm and hand, but at the tender age of nine, in my naivety, I didn鈥檛 even think my disability could be a barrier 鈥� I just knew I wanted that part!鈥� And she got it, and the acting bug had bitten.

Fast forward several years and Melissa has now landed parts in TV dramas, including the BBC鈥檚 Casualty and Doctors, and she was selected from over a few hundred applicants to take part as one of ten actors in a day-long workshop for ITV鈥檚 Coronation Street, which was specially hosted to invite interest from actors with disabilities.

By the end of the day, Melissa was asked to keep in touch 鈥� which she did, for three years, sending them clips of roles she had landed. Her patience and persistence paid off, when out of the blue, in May 2017, she was woken by a 2am phone call from her agent saying she鈥檇 been cast in Coronation Street 鈥� without needing to audition 鈥� and filming started just four weeks later.

Melissa says: 鈥淭his proved to me that even when you feel like things aren鈥檛 going your way, you have no idea what鈥檚 going on the other side of an interview or a casting door 鈥� things can change so quickly!鈥�

It鈥檚 no mystery that acting can be a notoriously risky business. In Melissa鈥檚 view, building up a strong personal resilience is essential. She says: 鈥淚t鈥檚 the same for anything in life, you鈥檒l get knocked back, but you have to build up a resilience and find out what your fight is and fight for it.

鈥淭hings don鈥檛 come to you, you have to chase them and let the world know why it should be you. I鈥檇 advise anyone looking to pursue a career in acting to do some detective work and establish a connection then keep in contact.鈥�

While acting is undoubtedly a huge part of Melissa鈥檚 life, she hasn鈥檛 stopped there.

Today she also uses her voice to promote female empowerment and body-positivity. She believes that we should be proud of our bodies, and she thinks one of her biggest achievements has been learning to embrace and celebrate the body that she was given.

She says: 鈥淚 had an awful time as a teenager coming to terms with my disability. I felt so isolated, nobody in the media looked like me, it鈥檚 still not where I think it should be, but the creative industries are slowly getting better at embracing under-represented groups, and I鈥檓 very proud to be part of that change.鈥�

And she is still being part of that change: she puts words into positive action, as co-founder of an organisation called Triple C 鈥� the creative confidence collection 鈥� that develops projects that break down the barriers for inclusivity and representation of disability in the arts.

As part of their remit, Triple C workshop teams visit special educational needs schools and colleges, where drama has been cut from the curriculum because of funding 鈥� with the firm belief that all children should have the right to explore creativity through drama, including, and especially, disabled children.

As part of TripleC, Melissa also co-created the Disabled Artists Networking Community, which encourages professional disabled artists to network with professional industry guests鈥� such as directors, producers, and casting directors 鈥� to work towards making a pledge to help break down barriers in the industry, by enacting change in their own organisation. For example, an executive producer may pledge to see at least one disabled actor for an audition every role that will be cast.

Melissa says: 鈥淭his industry isn鈥檛 easy. But I don鈥檛 need to tell you that. You would have already been told it a million times. Just keep going, remind yourself daily why you chose the path, work on your resilience and always bounce back.鈥�

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the 糖心Vlog Spirit. And we say 鈥淏rava, Melissa!鈥�

Chancellor we present our Alumni of the Year, Melissa Johns.