Kevjet - The Podcast with special guest, Darcey Simmons: The Pulse of Performance and Life Beyond the Stage

When the curtain rises and the spotlight shines, what truly goes on in the heart of a performer? Darcey Simmons, a dynamo of the performing arts, takes us behind the scenes from her rigorous training days at Urdang Academy amidst the pandemic to the moment she dazzled in her West End debut. Through the peaks and valleys of dance, song, and even modeling, Darcey's narrative is a testament to the magic and mundanity of showbiz life—revealing the electric charge of performance nights contrasted with the grounding pull of day jobs.

This episode peels back the curtains on the bonds formed in the isolation of the pandemic, the kinship fostered through screens, and the resilience to keep the arts alive through adversity. Darcey regales us with tales of her whirlwind experience at the MTV EMA Awards, the transition from commercial gigs to the theatrical limelight, and the nomadic lifestyle of touring. Ever wondered what life on the road is like for those who bring stories to life on stage? Or how it feels to adjust to a new city's tempo every other night? Darcey's candid reflections offer a rare glimpse into this vibrant world.

Wrapping up with the intimate intricacies of pre-show rituals and the close-knit fabric of personal relationships, Darcey shares her philosophies on life, love, and the pursuit of happiness in the arts. Whether discussing fashion faux-pas, dating disasters, or the treasured advice for up-and-comers in the industry, her wit and wisdom are as infectious as her performances. Join us as Darcey charts her intentions for the future, emphasizing the joy of the journey over the destination, and invites us to share in the laughter, lessons, and love of her craft.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to another exciting episode of Kevjet the podcast. I'm excited to introduce to you this week's guest dancer, singer and model, darcy Simmons. Darcy tells us about her time at Urdang Academy in London.

Speaker 2: 0:18

I went through college during Covid, so like half of my years were taken up by online lessons. I don't even know how we all did that, but yeah, it feels like a fever dream. You have these really high expectations of what you think it's going to be, but I don't like to look at anything in life as a let down, because I do think that, no matter what path you are, no matter where you are, it's happening for a reason. I think. If you try to over plan or overthink things too much, it stops you from being in the present moment and you're just constantly letting go of opportunities that might be coming your way.

Speaker 1: 0:52

She explains to me how she felt when she came back to London after her very first big gig.

Speaker 2: 0:58

I just remember coming back to like my normal job as a waitress, Working long hours on your feet, and it was like wow, I just did this amazing job and I had so much fun and I got paid for it. And now I'm back working here, not getting paid as much. People are talking to you badly and you just, yeah, but it's all a part of life and growing up and life lesson. You do live in a fantasy land for a while and then you come back and it's like okay.

Speaker 1: 1:25

Darcy tells me how she got into theatre and how it found its way into her blood.

Speaker 2: 1:30

I wasn't really wanting to necessarily go into theatre. I always knew I was going to at some point in my life, because I trained in it and I've sung all my life and I've always wanted to do it. But initially I actually thought that I was going to come out of college and go to theatre first and then maybe in future would have done the cool commercial jobs and eventually go on tour and stuff like that. But it happened the other way round for me. So I was kind of in my flow with the commercial work and didn't really expect to.

Speaker 1: 2:03

I asked her about her West End debut in the musical Grease.

Speaker 2: 2:08

That was my first West End gig and it was probably one of the best summers of my life so far.

Speaker 1: 2:17

Darcy tells me how she's been a performer since the age of three.

Speaker 2: 2:21

I have been dancing and singing since I was three. My mum always tells me this story and I just going to say it because it's quite funny. She said I just went up to the table, got on the table and just introduced myself to them all, stood off on the table and I think from then I think I knew, or my family knew, that this was going to be, it was destined for me, and I didn't stop dancing since that show was here.

Speaker 1: 2:50

And of course we hit her with some quick fire questions.

Speaker 2: 2:56

Let's be real here.

Speaker 1: 2:58

Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy my conversation with the delightful Darcy Simmons. Welcome to Kevjet. The podcast Darcy Simmons. Thank you, hello. You've just come back from Manchester. It was the big night of musicals.

Speaker 2: 3:19

It was, it was and it was. I performed with Grease the musical this time, and we finished our contract on the around the 28th of October, so it was kind of like a mini reunion. We came back for a rehearsal and then we went up to Manchester and did the performance and it was really, really amazing.

Speaker 1: 3:37

That's amazing how many shows performed there there was quite a few.

Speaker 2: 3:40

There was Hamilton, there was Hades Town, which hasn't even opened yet, so that was like kind of like a sneak peek, which was really cool. I love Hades Town. I saw it at the National Theatre a couple years ago, just before COVID.

Speaker 1: 3:54

It's. It's amazing. Yeah, I'm really excited to go and watch that.

Speaker 2: 4:00

So there's quite a few few there Love 17,000 people arena, oh my goodness so how does that work? Backstage, with everybody, everybody trying to get ready and every?

Speaker 1: 4:09

musical was different because obviously every production team was different.

Speaker 2: 4:13

But we actually was like based at the hotel that was around the corner. So we kind of had it quite nicely because we could come back to our hotel, chill, get ready, like, and then we just went there to do the performance, Whereas some people had like dressing rooms at the arena so they would be there all day is quite. It was quite like a. It's like you wait around for a while and then you go to the hotel. It's like you wait around for a while and then you go. It was so, yeah, and it was very, very cold and we was all just like trying to keep warm the whole time. But that's showbiz, hey.

Speaker 1: 4:44

It's very showbiz. You sit around and wait. That's what you do.

Speaker 2: 4:47

Yeah, Just got to try and stay positive while while being there.

Speaker 1: 4:52

It's true, I know. Just tell me. Tell me where you're from, introduce yourself to our listeners, tell me all the exciting.

Speaker 2: 4:59

Okay, so I'm 22 years old, I'm from Harlow, which is in Essex, and then I lived there till I was about seven years old and then I moved to somewhere called Suffolk, which is like near Cambridge sort of way. So then I grew up there from when I was seven till I was 16. And then I moved back to London when I was 16, went to college at Erdang, did three years there, graduated in 2021. I went through college during COVID, so like half of my years were like taking up by online lessons, which was I don't even know how we all did that, but yeah, it feels like a fever dream.

Speaker 1: 5:38

Was that kind of a let down because you get to a prestigious college?

Speaker 2: 5:42

You have these really high expectations of like what you think it's going to be.

Speaker 1: 5:45

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 5:47

But I don't like to look at like anything in life as a let down, because I do think that no matter what path you're on, no matter where you are, it's happening for a reason. So I don't want to look back at it as a let down as such, but it was an experience Like I had an amazing first year. So I really felt like I had like the full London college experience in my first year and obviously I was 16, 17. So like I was just loving my life. I wasn't one of those like kids that came and was like homesick, like I literally was like pack my bags, let's go. I can't wait to be in London by myself. I'm like quite independent, which is like, as I've gone older has, like I would say, settled a little bit. I'm definitely more of a home girl now and.

Speaker 2: 6:29

I want to go home and see my mom and stuff. You don't realize how much you need them until you get a bit older and you realize that they're there for you always through whatever you go through. So my first year was really amazing. And then my second year was like COVID riddled. And then third year like we kind of came back, but it was still during COVID times. It was still like masking rehearsals and like still had to isolate and things like that. But yeah, it was kind of just a blur, like I don't, it just happened. And then I graduated and then I'm here, still learning, still got a long way to go, you know.

Speaker 1: 7:06

Did you find that you were able to bond through COVID?

Speaker 2: 7:10

Yes, in a sense definitely with like the people that I'd already like connected with in first year, because obviously everyone was in their hometown, so everyone London was our base, but like everyone was like from everywhere. So with the people that I was closer before we definitely did bond. Because it's like you realize, I feel like in COVID you just found out that like everything that you had that you maybe took for granted before like came to presence and you was like I realized how much I needed my friends and so we would speak more in FaceTime and have like group FaceTime sessions and like do quiz nights and things you know. But then again, at the same time it was hard because certain people you don't know what they're going through, just through a screen and they might be having a spot on their face and think everything's okay but actually it's not so.

Speaker 1: 8:00

I think some of the best heart to heart conversations I've had in my whole life were during FaceTime connections during COVID.

Speaker 2: 8:09

Yeah, because you feel that kind of sense of security. I guess that you're. You can be a little bit more vulnerable without feeling the pressure of being actually in front of someone.

Speaker 1: 8:20

So yeah, I know we had like groups, different groups of friends. We would have like FaceTime parties and we would have the music on and we have drinks and we'd be having a great time, sometimes even dinner parties. But the conversation just flowed and it was just so much fun.

Speaker 2: 8:36

I agree, I do agree.

Speaker 1: 8:38

But I think that if I were studying and I was looking forward to this whole experience and then you're told, oh gosh, it's a pandemic, everything happens behind a computer screen, I don't know, I don't know how I'd feel of that.

Speaker 2: 8:53

I kind of think as a human being, I kind of just take everything that comes at me and like, make it work. Like that's kind of how I've grown up, is like, whatever you've been given, you work with what you have and try and make the best of it as much as you can. So I didn't let, I didn't allow myself to get too caught up over the fact that these are my three years of training and they're getting taken away from me or it's on Zoom, because otherwise I would have just used it as an excuse. But I didn't want to like, I didn't want to look back on it, regardless of it being over Zoom, and think that I like took it for granted or didn't use it to like my best ability, if that makes sense.

Speaker 1: 9:38

Yeah, of course so.

Speaker 2: 9:39

I tried to take the best that I could with what I had. In a way as well, I was kind of grateful because I had Zoom to see my classmates every day, and at the time as well, I was working night shifts in a supermarket to pay a deposit for a flat for when we went back to London. So I was really just like it felt like a point in my life where I was like no, I just need to work and work hard and allow it to pay off. So yeah, that's amazing.

Speaker 1: 10:15

What was your first gig after college?

Speaker 2: 10:18

My first gig after college was the EMA Awards, the MTV EMA Awards.

Speaker 1: 10:23

So nothing, little it was amazing.

Speaker 2: 10:27

Yeah, it was. Yeah, I went straight into the deep end and I really did. And I just I remember I I was with AMCK, the agency, and I like just dreamed about signing with them and being with them from when I first came to college and found out about all the different agencies. So I remember I just went to an open it was like an open audition in like a I think it was in East London. I was in a massive studio just have your numbers on.

Speaker 2: 10:56

You know has an audition goes a heels routine. You learn the routine, you do it, you get recalled, you film it and then you like go away and just wait to hear and I just took it all as experience. Initially I was like, wow, I'm here. This is so cool. There was so many people like in the room that I like really looked up to and I was just there like being free, like I wasn't putting any pressure on actually getting the job or like any expectations, like cause. I always think if I lower my expect, not lower my expectations, but if you expect too much of something and it doesn't happen, you feel disappointed.

Speaker 1: 11:34

What was that experience like when you got there?

Speaker 2: 11:36

I was. I think I was in central London at the time. I was just like working in a restaurant and I was like I think I finished my shift and I got an email through saying that they wanted to offer me representation, like through the agency. So I hadn't been confirmed on the job yet. It was just them like we would love to represent you. So like I was just like, wow, amazing. Like even if the job doesn't come from it, like this was like one of my dream things that I had thought about for many years. So that happened. And then I got confirmed on the job and it just felt surreal. One of my best friends was doing it as well, which was just amazing. So I got to experience it with her. Like we kind of grew up together so I had her by my side, but it was a whirlwind. It was really amazing. It was in Budapest.

Speaker 2: 12:23

I learned a lot on the job. I feel like when you get there, you learn more than if you was to just like train, like at college, and I was very young. I was just being so open and free and just being me like as I am. But I think that it was in a time when you're new to some place or like an environment, people are trying to get used to you. It was like an experience of like learning how to like conduct yourself in a room. Like knowing what to say, what not to say, not to overshare too much. Like at the end of the day, we're here just to do a job, like we're not here to like have like obviously we want to have fun always, but we're not here to just we're not at college anymore Like this is where it starts to get serious. So I definitely learned a lot coming away from it and looking back and Was it frightening the first time you hit that stage?

Speaker 2: 13:18

Yes, it was. It was surreal, like it was amazing. But one of the like we danced with a guy called Maluma and he had rain, like we had like fake rain, so another checklist it was amazing. So I remember I cut my knee, like in the tech rehearsal, and like there was blood running down my leg and I was new to like obviously this whole team and everyone and I didn't want to like waste anyone's time, so I was getting rained on and it was like a whole thing and like it does it's the first time I stepped on the stage was the tech rehearsal. So that was when all that happened and it felt really scary.

Speaker 2: 13:55

But the agency that I was with was so supportive and just like took me to the side and was like, don't worry, like this is your first time being on a stage like this, just breathe, get through it, you're doing amazing, don't worry about anything. An amazing time. Once we got to the performance, it was like a dream come true. It really was. But yeah, I think when I was that young, my panic set us in quite quickly and I didn't know how to cope with it, whereas now I think I could say I definitely do know how to cope with it now.

Speaker 1: 14:27

But yeah, do you ever get starstruck?

Speaker 2: 14:29

Yeah, I think I do Like I get starstruck, like when I watch shows. I think everyone probably has a different interpretation of what maybe starstruck means to them, but to me is just kind of like when you're in that state of you're just so focused on something or someone and you're just so engaged with what they're doing, nothing can distract you Like. I think that would be like what I would kind of describe starstruck as to me, and I guess I do feel like that when I watch a show and someone's really amazing, like the time just goes by really quickly and you're just really engaged. But yeah, I think I've been starstruck a lot, like dance is very expressionate, so like when I'm in my training environments, when you're watching someone truly expressed and they're letting their hair completely down and really going for it, like you're so just in awe and in connection with them, that I think that I feel starstruck like quite a lot.

Speaker 2: 15:30

And I think starstruck doesn't have to mean like this amazing thing. That's like whoa, I'm starstruck, like it can be. You can be starstruck by someone in a coffee shop and have a conversation with them and they're just and they've complimented you or they've asked you how your day was, and that's kind of a beautiful thing as well in life that you kind of forget about. It's not always glitz and glamour and showbiz and stuff. It's heart to heart, human things too. So I love that answer because that is so true.

Speaker 1: 16:02

It just brings you back to like you think of us when you meet a stranger sometimes and you're like, oh my God, some of the nicest conversations I've ever had or the nicest compliments, I like that, I like that. So you come back to London from your first gig at the awards show and does it feel like a letdown?

Speaker 2: 16:24

It wasn't that it felt so much like a let down, but it was almost like reality sets back in and I really like because it was the start of something. And when you have a dream you've wanted your whole life and it does feel like it's now our arms reach, like you're kind of getting there, I feel like I put a lot of pressure on myself to do everything perfectly and that kind of put me in and I would say, yeah, like a negative headspace with it, because it was like no human is able to do everything perfectly and like I think if you try to over plan or overthink things too much, it almost stops you from being in the present moment and you're just constantly letting go of opportunities that might be coming your way. So I feel like everything happens for a reason and you have to learn these things. So I don't look back and think that I was really upset and it was a let down, but I just remember coming back to like my normal job was like a waitress and it wasn't working long hours on your feet and it was like, wow, I just did this amazing job and I had so much fun and I got paid for it, and now I'm back working here and not getting paid as much and people are talking to you badly and you just, yeah, but it's all a part of life and growing up and life lessons.

Speaker 2: 17:52

So, yeah, I was definitely. It was definitely hard, but at the same time it was so amazing because I it was the start of something new. So you had like you had no inhibition. I had no inhibitions, really like I was just like going with the, with the flow and I guess you knew it was like life was going to.

Speaker 1: 18:11

You knew it was like just the start of something great. So you're going to laugh at that.

Speaker 2: 18:17

Exactly, yeah, there was no. There's no other than the like wanting to be perfect. There was nothing really that was going to get in my way. I was. I was still really looking forward to see seeing what happens.

Speaker 1: 18:30

Yeah, it's kind of like a hangover when you finish. It's like because I'll do like, I'll tour, manage for some friends and we'll go on tour and you come home and you're like now what? Yeah, because you live this kind of like fantasy life, it's, it's not, it's not real life. You come home to your real life and you're just like when's the next tour?

Speaker 2: 18:50

Yeah, yeah, it's true. It's like a little glimpse, isn't it? Because they're always quite like the jobs I have done before. Theater was there was always. They're always just short live, so they're like short bursts of time. So you do live in a fantasy land for a while and then you come back and it's like okay, but you just have to find your own little rhythm with your life outside of dance and performing. That, I found, has really helped me. When you come back, you still feel like you're coming back to a life that you enjoy.

Speaker 1: 19:24

Yeah, like real life. Yeah, a meaningful life. What happened after that? So yeah, your next.

Speaker 2: 19:30

I was just training a lot, going to lots of open auditions and things like that, and I think that you just I just kind of allowed things to flow and happen for me and I did get some amazing opportunities. I met some amazing people and did some amazing jobs and and all at the same time trying to balance life alongside of that, when I met Chris you know very well- yeah, I'm your tool, friend.

Speaker 2: 19:59

Yeah, it was a real pinnacle point for me where I was like I felt like I've kind of established myself and he was like really supportive dancers in. It was just it felt secure, like I felt looked after and I felt not what I never did before. But it was just when I first I think it was when I kind of started to discover like who I was as well. So it kind of aligned at like the right, the right time that was. That was that I did some cool jobs with dancers Inc and then they also have they have a split agency, so they have it I and C artists as well, which is who I was signed with also, which did a bit more theater work. And I wasn't really wanting to necessarily go into theater. I always knew I was going to at some point in my life and I like because I trained in it and I've sung all my life and I've always wanted to do it. But initially I actually thought that I was going to come out of college and go to theater first and then maybe in future would have done the call like commercial jobs and eventually go on tour and stuff like that. But it happened the other way around for me. So I was kind of in my flow with the commercial work and didn't really expect to go into theater.

Speaker 2: 21:12

And I remember Melanie was texting me saying there was this audition, this audition. And I kind of was saying no, because it wasn't, didn't feel like it was aligning with me. And then she was like that she sent me one for Greece and it was a six month gig, so it wasn't a long, and it was at the Dominion in central London and she was like, do you want to just go? And I kind of, in a way, was like I didn't necessarily want the job to start with. I was just like, let me just go and see how I feel, see what happens, because something was telling me to go the universe or whatever. Like my energy was just like, actually I will want to. I kind of want to go to this one.

Speaker 2: 21:50

So I ended up going and then I did what I did a dance call and we did a dance recall and then we did a singing round and then we had another recall for material and I got material for Rizzo. I ended up getting cover Rizzo and cover Frenchie and it was really, really amazing. That was my first West End gig and it was. It was probably like one of the best summers of my life so far. It was a beautiful cast, beautiful team and it was summer and it was in central London and I mean, what more could?

Speaker 1: 22:32

you ask for. Really, and that's the exciting bit you just said it was the most exciting summer so far. It's just the beginning for you.

Speaker 2: 22:40

It is still yeah, yeah, it's so true.

Speaker 1: 22:45

When did you realize that show business was what you were going to get into?

Speaker 2: 22:49

I have been dancing and singing since I was three and I my mom always tells me this story because and I just going to say it because it's quite funny Because I used to go and watch when I was two years old, I used to go and watch the older dance girls because I wasn't allowed to join the classes until I was three. So like my mom used to take me out, she used to watch through the window. And then the the first dance class once I was three, when I went in, she said I went in and I stood up. They had like a little like I guess you would say, like you know, in an audition room when there's like a table at the front with a panel, yeah, it was kind of like that Like all the kids were in there, all the moms were in there. She said I just went up to the table, got on the table and just introduced myself to them all, stood off on the table.

Speaker 2: 23:38

And I think from then I think I knew, or my family knew, that this was going to be, it was destined for me, and I didn't stop dancing. Since, like I, I never took that break, like, I think, in your teen years, where some people would kind of take a little bit of a break, so to call for it or whatever, like I really didn't stop. Have not stopped since I was three years old.

Speaker 1: 24:01

So yeah, I love that, and you just finished a Vita.

Speaker 2: 24:08

Just finished a Vita. Yeah, yes, that was in Leicester.

Speaker 1: 24:12

How was?

Speaker 2: 24:12

that theater. That was it again. It was so much fun. I struggled a little bit in the city Leicester. Obviously, I've lived in London for since I was 16 now, so I'm used to that fast pace lifestyle. So I think outside of the show it was, it was tough being in the city.

Speaker 1: 24:36

You're down time.

Speaker 2: 24:38

The show was yeah, the downtime because it was cold and yeah, it was tough. So and it was a whole new experience to me and obviously that was my second theater job and it was very different to Greece in the sense of it was like from scratch. So like their choreography and the direction and everything was, it was a brand new version. So the rehearsal process was like very different to Greece because Greece was already set in stone. Everyone knew how the show run, how it worked, has been done before, whereas Vita was like all the amazing ideas that you had not necessarily always worked out, so there's a lot of workshopping, going back, scratching things. So it was very different process for me and it was nice to experience something new. There's a different type of show as well. It's a lot more serious and Greece is very have fun with your friends and your school kids, whereas Vita was there's a lot more political and serious, so it was nice to do something that was contrasting, yeah.

Speaker 1: 25:42

Do you prefer being on the stage in a West End show or do you prefer being on a musical tour?

Speaker 2: 25:50

I definitely like couldn't say that I preferred one or the other just yet. I think I very much enjoy learning new things and I constantly like to feel like I'm growing and evolving. Right now, after doing two back-to-back contracts, I'm looking forward to having a break from theatre, not for a while I don't know when the next one but for a bit, because I miss dancing, I miss expressing, I miss the freedom a little bit more. So everything has its pros and cons and you always think the grass is greener on the other side. But ultimately, I'm so grateful for the fact that I can live the best of both worlds and I kind of want to continue doing that because I have so much care for both industries.

Speaker 1: 26:43

And it sounds like you're having so much fun with every experience that comes your way.

Speaker 2: 26:50

Yeah, I really am. It's all a journey and a lesson and I think recently I've started to just discover to just like go with the flow a little bit more and like listen to what I actually want. So I could have gone into another theatre show or started auditioning for another theatre show, but I was like actually it's not right for me right now. I want to go back to dancing, I want to. I miss that like feeling of training and being around all my friends that I've made like before, and I'm moving house right now with one of my friends. So, yeah, it's going to feel like 2024 is going to feel like a nice fresh start for me and I just want to be happy and be grateful for everything that I have and see where the universe takes me really.

Speaker 1: 27:42

Has your circle of friends changed since you have found successful jobs?

Speaker 2: 27:49

No, actually, obviously, naturally people is so hard to stay in contact with everyone all the time because we all have our own things going on. But if anything like my initial like close circle of friends have always stayed the same and they will always stay the same, and if anything from now, like I've just made new friends which is beautiful.

Speaker 2: 28:18

No, I think, yeah, naturally, like after you leave college, like certain people that you are friends with you lose contact with but you still will see them and catch up and say hi, but it's not like a everyday communication sort of thing. And I think that I'm quite lucky with the friendship group that I have, how supportive and how much we care and love for each other, which I'm very grateful for. But I can see how certain, like I guess some people will feel like they lose friends if they start to succeed, like with what they're doing. If friends like maybe feel like they can't quite get there or they wanted to do that but they can't, like. I can understand that, but I think ultimately, like, if people are meant to be in your life, they will be there for you regardless. So if they, if you feel like you've lost a friend or you're upset that someone has you feel like they've distanced themselves, it's because they're not aligning with you right now and it's nothing to do with you. It's just you're not compatible so much anymore.

Speaker 1: 29:32

That's true. What do you think of the phrase you're the sum of the five people you spend the most time with? Do you agree with that?

Speaker 2: 29:40

I love that phrase. I completely agree, and I always say and like me. And my friends always say like my friends are like a testament to like who I am. So I like to surround myself with like-minded people because if they meet someone and they say, oh, I'm Darcy's friend, it's like it's nice that they will then be able to trust that person because they will know that there's do you know what I mean? So I do. I do think that that is definitely something your friends are definitely reflection of, or I believe for me, my friends are reflection of who I am. Yeah, I completely agree.

Speaker 1: 30:20

There's a word for that as well the five friends and I can't remember what it's called, what a group of five means. I do know it because I am a part of a group of five and I brought it up in the conversation and it's so true. I love that. Saying yeah, I love it. Do you have a pre-show ritual?

Speaker 2: 30:44

For theater. I think it kind of depends on the con. Like I've obviously only done two. From what I've experienced, I had different pre-show rituals with different people on each job. So like, for example, like me and my friend Liv we had like a handshake that we did like every time before show and then she actually joined me on a Vita and we like carried it through before every show and yeah. So there's like little fun, quirky things like that that people have.

Speaker 2: 31:21

For me personally, like I didn't like to get ready. Some people like to get ready like really early and be ready to go like half an hour at the half an hour call, but I didn't like to be last minute. I was always on time, but I like to just get there, get ready and then go on stage. I didn't like to sit across the nades, so I guess that was kind of like a pre-show ritual for me. I was kind of ready at the moment and just going with my like leaving everything from the day with behind, and like get ready for the show, doing the show, and then, yeah, that was it.

Speaker 1: 31:54

We're slowly going into the quickfire questions.

Speaker 2: 31:57

Okay, ready, hit me.

Speaker 1: 32:01

How do you wind down after a show? So especially the West End show. So you wait all day for the show. Basically, you do this massive show, you have a standing ovation, it's high energy. You get on the train and go home, yeah.

Speaker 2: 32:15

Yeah, that is a humbling experience in itself. I must say it took me a while to kind of adjust to the kind of theater schedule. I'm naturally quite an early riser so I would wake up quite early, and I naturally wake up quite early. So I would get home from the show and you're hungry because you've just done a show, so you end up eating at like 11 o'clock at night, which is not the norm for me. Anyway, I quite like to eat dinner quite early and get a night's rest. You know, wake up early and all that. So then you get home, you have some food and then you kind of stay awake for a few hours. You kind of have to like shift your day because you can't go straight to sleep because you upset your stomach if you go straight to sleep after you've eaten. So I used to every day kind of varied as well, but, like once I got into it, I definitely like to have a shower before I go to sleep, just so that you wash the day away.

Speaker 2: 33:17

I recently as well started journaling before I go to bed and that was more of an avita thing that I started for me. I didn't so much do that in Greece, but it just journaling before you go to bed, putting your phone down, and also we're all like human and it's like habits. So I would, some nights, get home and go on my phone and scroll through TikTok Like it's part of the norm. Now. It's like, don't beat yourself up too much about it. I try not to anyway, because you can't be like stick to your routine all the time, but I think that definitely a shower was a must for me. A nice dinner, a cup of tea and yeah, whatever you felt like doing in the evening, just allowing your body to just kind of do it, do what you needed. Some nights I would go home and not feel hungry and feel so tired that I just had to go straight to sleep. So I would kind of just listen to your body and what it needs.

Speaker 1: 34:13

Sure. What is your dream role?

Speaker 2: 34:18

My dream role. That's so hard. I always I mean Rizzo was a dream role for me. I didn't realise it was a dream role until I was there and was in the audition room and started reading for it and stuff. So I don't have like a specific dream role. I'd really like to play Nancy in Oliver. I think that would be so fun. It's just kind of like where I'm from, like the cockney sort of accent, Like I thought I could really tap into that, and my family are like they kind of speak the same way. So that would be something that I would love to do at some point in my career. But ultimately I'm kind of open to like letting things happen. See what comes up for me.

Speaker 1: 35:05

That's exciting. The most embarrassing mishap you've had on stage, oh my goodness Okay.

Speaker 2: 35:12

So when I went on, I think it was my Rizzo debut, and when I went on for my debut, I found out at like three o'clock, I think that I was going on at 7pm, so, and I did have some dates scheduled in for like the week after and this was quite like few months into the run as well. I think it was around, I think it was around the 17th of August, and we opened it about like midway through June. So I had a quick turnaround and it was a whirlwind. I just went straight to my dressing room, looked through all my notes, looked through all my spacing, made sure I knew what I was doing.

Speaker 2: 35:49

But there's a moment where there's like a grease lightning reprise with Kinicky and she's kind of like going at, like taking the mic out of the car, basically pretending that she doesn't want to be in it when really she does. But at the end you have to climb up onto the car from the ground and I had a little pair of heels on and the song ends with me standing, rizzo standing on the car, pushing Kinicky into the car. But I slid, I stood up on the car. I stood up on there kind of ended with me like stood at the bottom of the car, whereas normally I'm stood on top of the car and then I just had to climb on and like just keep moving forward, and everyone afterwards was so kind and like reassured me that, like you know, it is actually okay, like things happen and it's fine. People probably wouldn't have even realized unless they knew you and knew the show. So, yeah, that was probably like the biggest missed hap so far that's happened for me, and now it's now. It's now it's funny to look back on.

Speaker 1: 36:51

It is the last song you downloaded.

Speaker 2: 36:55

I think recently I've been. I've redownloaded Frank Ocean's album onto my Apple music, so that was probably the last like one of the songs that I downloaded was a Frank Ocean song. I'm not sure which one, but it was from the whole album.

Speaker 1: 37:13

Social media. How important does that play a role in your career, If it does at all?

Speaker 2: 37:19

I think that it in this day and age, I think it definitely plays more of an impact than it used to, but I also think it's important not to rely too much on it because, at the end of the day, social media is it's, it's a part of who you are and sometimes people want to look at it and see they just want to see the mundane things that you're up to Like if you're going out for a coffee or going to do a workout class and things.

Speaker 2: 37:49

I think that if you keep it too professional, you kind of just become the same as everyone else. So it does definitely play a part. I think you got to keep it professional, know that people are going to be coming to have a look at, like what's on there, so make sure you're what. What people choreographers or producers, directors, anyone would need to see is easily accessible to them. So like a dance video, a singing video, a portfolio picture is accessible, but then everything else I think if you want, want to be kind of an if, if someone wants to work with you, they will, regardless of how professional your Instagram looks and stuff.

Speaker 1: 38:33

Favorite venue you've ever performed in.

Speaker 2: 38:36

I think that it would be the. It would be the Dominion for Greece West End for sure, favorite performance of your career to date.

Speaker 2: 38:48

I feel like I'm on a Greece roll. I don't keep saying the same thing, but I do think that my Rizzo debut was probably one of my favorite things, because it's something that I never thought, that. I always thought I was going to do theater, but I didn't think that I would be able to. I didn't know if it was going to be possible for me to play a lead role, so for me to sing and for my family to be able to see me sing because with the stuff like the commercial stuff is quite hard for your family to be able to watch so the fact that my family were there and I made them really proud like that, yeah, that was really important to me.

Speaker 1: 39:30

That's lovely, the best advice you've ever been given.

Speaker 2: 39:35

I would say just that. It was just to stay. Stay true to yourself. Someone said that to me and she's has a lot of experience and she's very amazing, and she was just like don't worry about what other people are doing, just stay in your own lane and figure it out for yourself, because ultimately, regardless of everything else in your career and everything, you are the only person that is in control and truly knows how you feel and truly know that you will never know how other people feel. It's kind of out of your hands. So don't focus too much on that. Don't focus on yourself, and what's meant to be will be.

Speaker 1: 40:22

Oh true, On a scale of one to 10,. How good are you at keeping secrets?

Speaker 2: 40:29

Oh, I can't say that I'm very good. Let's be real here. I know I, if someone I'm very good at keeping secrets, if someone's told something not my best friends are going to know, because my my, like you said, like your close circle, like they, they, I trust them with my life and like I know that I can tell them anything and say them and they wouldn't repeat it. So, yeah, I would say I'm probably, I'm like a six, seven out of 10, because the three, the extra three, and me telling my friends, Do you have any pets?

Speaker 2: 41:06

No, I don't, and I never had pets like close to my family. My nan had a dog growing up, but that was kind of kind of it. I've, yeah, don't have any pets. I love animals, love all animals, but I just don't have them.

Speaker 1: 41:23

If you had to wear one color for the rest of your life, what color would it be?

Speaker 2: 41:29

I think it would have to be black, because if I ever doubt what I'm, what I need to wear, what I want to wear is always a black outfit can never go wrong. You can never go wrong.

Speaker 1: 41:45

Totally agree Heels, flats or sneakers.

Speaker 2: 41:51

Oh, I think if I was to choose one, I would choose sneakers, but recently I've been into a kitten heel, so like a really tiny heel because you can wear them all night and they don't hurt your feet and they look classy.

Speaker 1: 42:07

Amazing to find yourself in three words.

Speaker 2: 42:10

This is coming from pure, like a pure heart. I would describe myself as loving. I would describe myself as honest and warm, very warm, warm and cozy.

Speaker 1: 42:24

Love that Current TV character obsession.

Speaker 2: 42:30

I do use Netflix and I think, friends, in light of what's happened recently with the guy that played Chandler Matthew, I love Monica, I love her, so let's go with Monica. From friend.

Speaker 1: 42:45

Love it. What's one thing you wish you had known at 18?

Speaker 2: 42:49

At 18,. I wish I would have known that everything is always going to be fine, no matter how you feel in that moment. There's a quote that says and my auntie always says to me it's this to shall pass. So, no matter where you are, no matter how you feel, it's always going to pass. It will always shift. You're never going to stick in that feeling forever. So yeah, Love that.

Speaker 1: 43:19

Do you play any musical instruments?

Speaker 2: 43:22

No, I don't. I say that my voice is a musical instrument. It is, so that is technically my musical instrument. But no, I don't.

Speaker 1: 43:31

What's the worst date you've ever been on?

Speaker 2: 43:37

Oh, I think the worst day I've ever been on. It started off really well. We went to a wine tasting bar and you'd think that that sounds like a great date and it was great because you had you got to try so many different types of wine, which is great. I love wine but you get so drunk and you don't realize how drunk you're getting because you're constantly sipping wine and they're bringing extra to pour over. So and then I think that I kind of got so drunk that I wasn't really engaging with the guy that I was on a date with and that was probably the worst date that I've been on.

Speaker 1: 44:24

What is the most used emoji in your phone?

Speaker 2: 44:28

Let's have a look. It is the laughing face.

Speaker 1: 44:35

Right Love that Something you've learned about yourself in the last three months.

Speaker 2: 44:41

I think in the last three months, I've learned how to slow down and actually how to slow down, rather than thinking that I'm slowing down but I'm actually not Just allowing myself to listen to what I actually need in that moment and rolling with it rather than forcing something else. I think that's what is the best thing to do.

Speaker 1: 45:05

Who do you look up to the most in your life?

Speaker 2: 45:08

I look up to my grandparents a lot all of them because they are just. I feel like they're part of you and part of who you are. You always come back to them and feel at home.

Speaker 1: 45:26

So true, do you have a nickname?

Speaker 2: 45:29

I do. People tend to call me Darcy and people tend to call me Doss. I really like my family growing up always call me Doss. When I meet new people, it's really nice for them to slowly start calling me Doss.

Speaker 1: 45:45

I like that. What advice would you give someone starting out as a performer?

Speaker 2: 45:53

I would say if you love it enough, just keep going. If it's generally something that you really truly want, you can get there. Just stay honest, stay true to yourself and just take it day by day. Don't think too far into the future. Focus on the present moment.

Speaker 1: 46:19

Do you think you've had your I've Made it moment yet?

Speaker 2: 46:25

I think I've been close, but I don't think I've had my I've Made it moment. But I think that's only because of my age and I think that there's so much more to learn and to come. I feel like I've made it when I've. I feel like I've taken from all the experiences that I possibly can and look back and think I did that.

Speaker 1: 46:53

What can people expect from you next? What does 2024 have in store for Darcy?

Speaker 2: 46:58

My New Year's resolution this year was to take the focus away from the industries as such, because I think that when you put too much pressure on something, it kind of does the opposite. My New Year's resolution was to spend much more time with my friends, much more time with my family, do all the little mundane things, the simple things in life that really really make me happy and make me part of who I am, and I want to work really hard. I want to get I'm not too focused on the outcome right now, I just want to. I just want to look back when I get to the end of this year December 2024, I want to look back and think I really grind it this year.

Speaker 1: 47:43

Good, it's been lovely to talk to you, darcy.

Speaker 2: 47:46

Thank you. It's been so wonderful. I've had a great time.

Speaker 1: 47:49

It's been great and I can't wait to see what's in store down the road for you, and I'll be keeping a lookout and sharing all your things on social media.

Speaker 2: 47:57

Amazing. Thank you so much.