We were lucky to catch up with Fara Boyce recently and have shared our conversation below.

Fara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Firstly, I think that learning a new skill and art form does not have a timeline or a speed at which you can learn. As an actor I am constantly learning and growing as a performer. That’s the wonderful thing about this art form, there are millions of people around the world to draw inspiration from and learn from. Humans are so complex and I think we are never a ‘finished product’ and that is the same with acting. Just because you live as a character for a while doesn’t mean that it ends there, you can explore so much more and discover things that might even surprise you.

What I have learn’t from drama school is that listening to your scene partner is the most essential thing. You can do all the character preparation in the world but if you are not listening to your partner, it’s not going to make sense. I watched a wonderful interview of Viola Davis talking about her process for preparing for a role and she said that once you’ve done all the ‘homework’ you should leave it at the door and be ready for what your partner is going to give you. In my opinion the most exciting performances are when something unexpected happens and you get a pure, truthful reaction from the actor.

I don’t particularly think anything has ‘stood in the way of learning more’ because you can learn something from every experience. If something doesn’t go the way you were hoping, it was probably for a reason and down the line you will realise that and you will be happy that it worked out that way. I think that life directs you to what you want in life, it might not be in the way that you were expecting but life has a funny way of working out.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Fara Boyce. I was born and raised in Maidenhead in the UK and I moved to New York just before the age of 21 to train at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Prior to this I trained at The Oxford School of Drama and did multiple acting programmes in the UK. I had always wanted to live in NYC and when the opportunity came up I just had to go for it. I am very grateful to have such a supportive family who have always pushed my to do and be better and they have always supported my career. Since leaving drama school and entering the ‘real world’ of acting I have been doing constant auditions and classes to improve my skills. I recently performed in a play called the Suppliant Maidens at the New York Theater Festival which was so much fun and I loved being on stage again. It was such a wonderful experience and I am very proud of all the work that went into it. I am also shooting a WebSeries called Hashtag which should start airing in the coming months. It has been a great opportunity to meet new people and be in front of the camera again.

I am really proud of myself for moving to America. I was 20 when I left the UK and decided to start a new life from scratch in a different city. I had previously visited New York in 2017 with my sister and it was wonderful but it is a totally different experience living here. I have gone through a lot of challenges living in NYC and I have definitely learnt so much from being here, which I know will make me stronger, but it was tough at times. I am proud that I persevered and kept going. I know it sounds cliche but Frank Sinatra was right when he sang ‘if I can make it here, I can make it anywhere,’ New York is not for the faint of heart. My friends and family have been so supportive and I am extremely grateful for everything they have done for me.

I have been acting since a very young age and I just love everything about it. I know that it is a very challenging industry but I like to remind myself that so many actors didn’t ‘make it’ until they were older. It takes time and perseverance to book meaningful jobs and work on bigger projects but when I do, I know it will all have been worth it.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think that this is a very interesting question because people consume media and art every single day without even thinking about it. It has become the day to day norm to listen to music or put on the radio or sit down and watch a movie at the end of the day. Even if you don’t do these things the graffiti that you pass on the street, the clothes you buy, the design of a building. All of these things have come from someones mind creating something for others to enjoy. During the pandemic I’m sure a lot of people would have really struggled without some form of outlet and escapism. However, when it comes down to actually supporting the arts, it’s another story. The funding for artists is so behind and in the UK the Government actually cut the funding in schools for the higher education of music, dance, drama and performing arts; art and design; media studies; and archaeology by 50 percent. In my opinion, this is so detrimental to young people and the industries themselves. If you put aside for a moment that you are depriving children of an education and a creative outlet, there are so many children who struggle with learning Maths, English, Science and other subjects that are seen as more ‘academic’ and yet they really thrive in the creative arts and feel like they can be themselves and stand out. To take that chance away from children to discover something that they might absolutely love or have a secret talent for is so sad. I think that one of the ways that society can support artists is to help reverse this funding cut which is probably happening in more places than we know. I think that society loves to consume art and media yet when children say they want to be an actor or a singer, for example, it can be really frowned upon and seen as an ‘unrealistic’ dream when it isn’t. I really hope that more people can support young aspiring talents to pursue their dreams and not tell them that they need to have a back up plan or study something that can set you up for a good job. Will Smith once said ‘there’s no reason to have a plan B because it distracts from plan A’ and I think that is so important. Give your dreams everything you’ve got because you never know when you are going to get that breakthrough role or get signed by a music label. We are only around for such a short time and I think we should make the most of it whilst we are here.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

You know when you go to see something in the cinema for the first time and you leave feeling like you are on top of the world and you can achieve anything and you have this buzz in your chest and excitement and thrill for life because you have just watched something so spectacular and exciting? Thats why I love being an actor. To be able to make people feel that way or feel seen or connect to something that you brought you to life, that is the most rewarding thing in the world.

There was one show in particular that did this for me. Jamie Lloyd’s Cyrano De Bergerac starring James McAvoy is still to this day the most magical piece of art I have ever seen. I saw it once in London at the Harold Pinter Theatre and twice at the BAM in Brooklyn. When I say that those performances blew me away, that would be an understatement. I cannot put into words how phenomenal that show was and how it was better every time I saw it. I have never sobbed like that before and felt so moved and inspired by a show. That is the power of acting to me.

Being an artist can spark so many wonderful connections and conversations. Even if you didn’t like a performance or painting or show it is all subjective which is what makes it so beautiful. How boring would it be if we all thought the same thing?! It sparks such rich and meaningful conversations and can help change or alter someones viewpoint on something. Sometimes we cannot express something unless it is through another medium and if someone is watching a movie and can say ‘that is exactly how I feel, I didn’t know anyone else was feeling that way’ it can really save people and help them. That is what makes it so beautiful.

I feel extremely lucky to be apart of this industry and among such talented, creative people who are always coming up with fresh, new ideas.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.backstage.com/u/fara-boyce/
• Instagram: faraboyce

Image Credits

Luana Seu, Tamsin Hurrell,