Rock Has Always Been Close To Me:
An interview with Gemma Louise Edwards (Clive Nolan musicals)
How did you get involved with the Caamora Theatre Company and what role do you play in “She”?
Gemma: I auditioned for "She The Musical". That's how I met Clive. I went to his house and we run through some songs and he offered me the part of Ustane, which is one of the lead female parts in the musical "She". And it's a really great role for me - the songs are absolutely fantastic and they are actually slightly challenging for me, because it's not a soprano role. It's a mezzo role and it's not usually where my voice is placed for songs. So, it's a completely different style and I'm finding it really exciting and enjoyable. Ustane is quite a strong character but obviously the Queen is the one who leads the tribe, so, Ustane's under her command, but she is a very good character to play. Definitely!
How are the rehearsals going?
Gemma: The rehearsals has been going really really well. We've done act one and we're about to finish act two and it's been really great to work with the other characters in the musical. We rehearse a few times a week and we've been going really great. Everyone is lovely. The cast is really brilliant, which makes it feel like it's not really a chore, it's not work, it's just good fun.
What do you enjoy most about this group of people and this music?
Gemma: One thing that I enjoy most about working with all the cast members of this musical is that everybody is really professional and also very friendly. We have a laugh and enjoy each others company and it's quite easy going, but we do work really hard and we seem to get through quite a lot of stuff.
What do you do outside of The Caamora Company?
Gemma: As a singer I do a lot of different types of gigs and different types of shows. I originally started as a dancer a long long me ago. I studied Musical Theatre - dance, drama, acting and singing. But this musical is quite a new thing for me - I haven't done it for a while. My main work previous to the musical was weddings - I worked as a wedding soloist. I do a lot of shows. I also have a one hour show which I take abroad and perform to audiences in the UK and across Europe. I've also been in lost of different bands. I've been a lead singer for a 6 piece band on cruise ships, or ferries. And two years ago I auditioned for the Voice UK, so I was shown on TV for about 34 seconds but didn't get through, unfortunately. In the future what I'd like to do is release my own classical album. I also write a lot of symphonic rock and metal songs as well and I've been in various bands in the style. I am actually working on a metal project at the moment, which hopefully next year will turn into an album.
I'd like to say I'm really glad that Clive asked me to be a part of this musical. I'm glad I was successful in the audition, as it's a very different style to what I usually do. It's non classical and I enjoy the rock elements. Rock has always been close to – I've been involved in many rock projects over the years. But this is slightly different, so, I am really grateful to Clive for letting me be a part of this amazing musical. I'm really glad to have met him and all the members of the Clive Nolan family and I'm really looking forward to the future.
Interview by Magdalena Grabias
August 2015
Photo by Ron Milsom
