NAME: Gillian Rhodes
AGE: 34
INSTAGRAM HANDLE: gillianrhodesofficial
JOB TITLE: Freelance performing artist, choreographer, and storyteller
MOVED TO THE UAE IN: End of March 2024
Gillian is a performing artist and storyteller. Having trained in classical ballet since the age of 5, she went on to graduate from Columbia University in 2012 with a dance major, mostly focused on contemporary. Since then, Gillian has spent twelve years working in Cambodia, South Korea, and Pakistan in performing arts, from choreography to teaching to performing, in theatre, universities, film, and television. Gillian describes her performing style as a mish mash of movement, physical theatre, and mime, and she writes her own plays and productions as well. She is passionate about live performance and the places where movement, performance, and storytelling meet.
Having recently moved to Dubai, Gillian is teaching acting and musical theatre with two different organizations and has also recently shot a couple commercials and modelling projects. She is currently preparing for her one-person play 'Searching for Pierrot' at The Junction next month, and will be directing a theatre play in January. Gillian is also plans to get involved with choreographing and movement/creative direction for events.
Let's see a typical day in her world:
8AM: As a freelancer, I don’t have a set schedule, and my routine will depend on what I have going on. However, the one thing that doesn’t change is my morning routine. I wake up around eight and have a glass of lemon water while I make my coffee (nothing fancy – instant!) and a bowl of cereal. While eating, I look around the internet and do my duolingo practice – for now, French and Korean, both languages I speak but need review. My French especially needs to be on the spot, as I’ll be performing my one person play Searching for Pierrot in both French and English next month on the 10th of November!
10AM: Once I’m awake and active, I usually spend the morning working on the laptop. I often have remote writing work – recently it’s been supporting a Cambodian NGO on a project around AI and digital heritage. In addition to the remote work, since I recently moved to Dubai there’s a lot of hustling to do, and I do all my marketing work to share my profile to events and entertainment companies, keep my LinkedIn active, and following up with previous contacts. My to do list is always longer than I can keep up with!
12NOON: Time for a break! I have a simple lunch, often just daal and rice. As a vegetarian, this mix gives me complete proteins – and also, it’s super delicious. I usually try to switch off the work for a bit and watch one of the only things I watch, The Great British Bake Off. I’m not really a TV or film person, and prefer to watch something with very low stakes.
2PM: Afternoon is time for activity! I often go out for meetings or auditions – these days at auditions I’ve been doing my act as the sad clown, also known as Pierrot. These days I take the time on the metro to memorize the script for Searching for Pierrot, especially the French version – I’ve performed the English version five times now in Pakistan, the US, and Dubai in July, so I pretty much have it down. Since it’s a one-person play, it’s a good 70 minutes of content to memorize, and I want to make sure that it’s absolutely locked in my memory, so I can focus on the acting rather than searching for words.
4PM: If I’m lucky, later in the afternoon I take an hour to get to the gym. I start with ten minutes of cardio to get warmed up and then use a combination of resistance bands and ballet-based exercises to work on strength and flexibility. Even after all these years of training, I’m still learning more and more about my body and how it works! I often wish I knew in my twenties what I know now…I’d have been a very different dancer.
6-8PM: The evenings are usually busy. Sometimes I teach acting classes or workshops, mostly connected to my signature style, “Storytelling in Motion.” I change up the focus depending on the context, but essentially, it’s all about how movement makes meaning, and how we can use that intentionally, to communicate, to act, or to express ourselves.
I often attend or volunteer at other theatre plays to learn from what others are doing, especially these days as I’ll be directing a play at The Junction in January, Elephant/Man. It’s also a great place to meet people! And, faithfully while on the metro, I memorize my script, often muttering out loud to myself. The other passengers must think I’m daft, but that’s all right. Now that the show is approaching I’m starting rehearsals with the musician who will provide live accompaniment, but I want to have the script ready as soon as possible. The more prepared I am, the less anxious I am (though I’m always anxious before performing, especially if it’s my own work.)
8-10PM: When I finally get home, I try to take the time to switch off and rest my brain and body. I eat whatever’s in my fridge (these days I make batches of food on the weekend and leave them in the fridge to reheat), and watch Bake Off or QI, another British talk show. Before I get into bed, I check my schedule and to do list for the next day and organize my priorities for the next day. I’m usually in bed by 10pm unless I’ve been at an event, and take 30-45 minutes to wind down by playing some good old fashioned Candy Crush, look at some pictures of trees and cat videos on Instagram, and then switch off the internet for the night. If I really feel I need to be grounded I meditate, but otherwise take myself through some visualizations to get to sleep.
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