My First Job: Anni Domingo – 'my father changed his tune after seeing me on stage'

My father, who believed I would never find work as an actress in England, was reluctant for me to study drama. He only relented when I got accepted by Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama because I could do both the acting and the teaching courses and could therefore return to Sierra Leone after my training.

Determined to show my father that I could make it as an actor in England, I worked all through my three years at Rose Bruford. I travelled from Sidcup to Bush House in London every weekend to do radio plays that went out to the Commonwealth. And this was how I got my Equity card. My first theatre job after college was the musical Gone With the Wind at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London. My newly acquired agent sent me to the audition “for the experience”, but I was determined to get a part in the production. I watched the film, booked extra singing lessons, extra dance classes and worked on my southern accent with an American friend. I was ready.

At the audition, I was so nervous I could hardly walk across the stage to hand my music to the pianist. Once the music started though, I was fine. At last I was doing what I had dreamt of since I was three. After four callbacks, I was cast as a maid and as Isabel Lucas’ understudy, in the part Mammy, one of the main characters. I was beyond excited – my first theatre job and in the West End. I went on regularly as Mammy and with a cast of more than 60, a 40-piece orchestra and no body microphones. There was much to learn.

One thing I learned from that first audition was to find out as much as you can about the part: go well prepared and always be positive. The best thing about my first job was my father saying, after seeing me on stage: “You were right to follow your dream.”

The advice I would give to beginners is always to watch and listen. Learning your craft is never over. And follow my father’s advice – always have something else to fall back on. Thanks to my training, I have taught in schools, colleges and universities as well as acting.

CV: Anni Domingo

Age: Undisclosed
Training: Rose Bruford College
Theatre includes: Gone With the Wind, Macbeth, Yerma, Blood Wedding, Tartuffe, The Crucible, Romeo and Juliet
TV and film includes: Kavanagh QC, Wire in the Blood, Rough Crossings, Ultraviolet, Tripped, Outland, Wondrous Oblivion, Passion of Remembrance, Absolute Beginners
Agent: Tim Scott Management

Anni Domingo was talking to John Byrne