“An Actor’s Life for Him”
A talk by Albert Welling - December 2015
At their meeting on 15 December, members of ACU3A were entertained with some very amusing brushstrokes from the working life of this “jobbing” actor who started his presentation by emphasizing that those who enter the acting profession certainly do not do so for the money! He said that a recent straw poll of some 1800 actors had revealed that “75% earned less than £5,000 per annum, only 2% earned more than £20,000 and 1 in 5 failed to secure a paid acting job at all”. Therefore you have to really want to do it.
His own acting career was launched in his school days when he played Ko-Ko – the Lord High Executioner in “The Mikado” - and he knew immediately that this is what he wanted to do with his life. From that experience he progressed to the National Youth Theatre under the direction of the late Michael Croft, which subsequently stood him in good stead for a role in “Macbeth” at The Round House. More significant parts were to follow, notably as Falstaff in “Henry IV, Part II” at The Shaw Theatre and also the role of the Duke in “Measure for Measure” at The RSC.
Television work followed, during which Albert “honed his craft”. He believed that it was not possible to teach acting (editor’s note: RADA, eat your heart out!), but insisted that “It is about ‘being’ the person; ‘inhabiting’ the role; ‘becoming’ the person; it is not about ‘pretending’ to be someone else”. As his career progressed, he was fortunate enough to work alongside masters of the art, for example Ian Richardson (editor’s note: remember Richardson’s conniving and totally believable portrayal of the Chief Whip in “House of Cards”?), and his all-time role model Sir Laurence Olivier.
At this point in the proceedings, the presentation equipment failed and, despite Ralph’s best efforts to revive it, time was against him. But by this ironic twist of fate - and quite undeterred - Albert skilfully demonstrated his acting prowess by ensuring that “the show must go on”. He immediately turned into a seasoned raconteur, concluding his session (without the help of slides or video) with a vivid account of an after-show dinner party in a well-known Oxford hotel at which he was the guest of his hero, Sir Laurence Olivier (call me “Larry”!)
As to how long Albert intended to continue with his acting career, he insisted (as had others before him) that it would be “For as long as I can remember the lines and don’t fall over the furniture”. Altogether, an enjoyable hour in the presence of someone who had thoroughly enjoyed a colourful career committed to his art.
Janet Cato – December 2015
His own acting career was launched in his school days when he played Ko-Ko – the Lord High Executioner in “The Mikado” - and he knew immediately that this is what he wanted to do with his life. From that experience he progressed to the National Youth Theatre under the direction of the late Michael Croft, which subsequently stood him in good stead for a role in “Macbeth” at The Round House. More significant parts were to follow, notably as Falstaff in “Henry IV, Part II” at The Shaw Theatre and also the role of the Duke in “Measure for Measure” at The RSC.
Television work followed, during which Albert “honed his craft”. He believed that it was not possible to teach acting (editor’s note: RADA, eat your heart out!), but insisted that “It is about ‘being’ the person; ‘inhabiting’ the role; ‘becoming’ the person; it is not about ‘pretending’ to be someone else”. As his career progressed, he was fortunate enough to work alongside masters of the art, for example Ian Richardson (editor’s note: remember Richardson’s conniving and totally believable portrayal of the Chief Whip in “House of Cards”?), and his all-time role model Sir Laurence Olivier.
At this point in the proceedings, the presentation equipment failed and, despite Ralph’s best efforts to revive it, time was against him. But by this ironic twist of fate - and quite undeterred - Albert skilfully demonstrated his acting prowess by ensuring that “the show must go on”. He immediately turned into a seasoned raconteur, concluding his session (without the help of slides or video) with a vivid account of an after-show dinner party in a well-known Oxford hotel at which he was the guest of his hero, Sir Laurence Olivier (call me “Larry”!)
As to how long Albert intended to continue with his acting career, he insisted (as had others before him) that it would be “For as long as I can remember the lines and don’t fall over the furniture”. Altogether, an enjoyable hour in the presence of someone who had thoroughly enjoyed a colourful career committed to his art.
Janet Cato – December 2015