Acting Up

This week Megan and Jordan are asking themselves the age old question - is wrestling real? Why? Because Rhea Ripley that’s why.

Inspired by their newfound love for one particular wrestler, Megan and Jordan slam into the world of wrestling, starting with Megan’s brief history of the WWE and Jordan’s honourable mention to oily naked wrestling in Ancient Greece.

Discussions include films about wrestlers and the industry, wrestlers who became actors, fakery and nuance, the real dangers of safe stunts, getting hit by a car but the car is Rhea Ripley, can wrestlers break “character”, the concept of Kayfabe, Babyfaces, Heels and the language of wrestling and Divas to Champions; the women of wrestling.

Tangents include Dramione fanfiction with real tears from Megan, career updates and new headshots, vet trips, CJ and the Pokemon in Japan, kittens and cuteness aggression.

You can find us as @actingupthepodcast on all socials ;)
We are @megan_alderson_ & @jordan.skids
Artwork by @those_who.try
Wanna be on the pod? Email [email protected] 🃏

This week Megan and Jordan are joined by the wonderful performing, milk drinking, dog loving, plant father that is Thomas Walton! Thomas is here to discuss his journey into the musical theatre industry and how he’s giving back to his community.

Thomas tells his story from being a young working class lad in ‘Alifax, pursuing theatre despite the all too common lack of opportunity in his area. Discussing the importance of school trips to the theatre, Pantomime and its accessibility, reach, culture and tradition and how it upholds regional theatres, the value and quality of work that is produced by regional theatres, the journey of some of those shows to the West End and how perception of a show can change based on location alone. 

Thomas also discusses his experience at drama school, casting types and height restrictions, choreographing against those archetypes, partnering, sports massage, muggle jobs and his professional credits - including his experience with puppetry, rightfully likening it to holding an SAS stress position!

He then tells the incredible story of how he chose to give back to his community and fill gaps he felt as a child by founding his Community Interest Company - Theatre North. A platform designed to support and celebrate Northern theatre, with hopes to host the North's own version of West End Live! Acting Up could not be more in favour! Thomas shares the companies five goals and the ethos, make sure to check it out @theatre.north !

Tangents include Britney the houseplant, our mutual Mia, Borrow my Doggy Jordans rant on height misogyny, Kenyan pen-pals, sustainability and cutting down on dairy!

You can find us as @actingupthepodcast on all socials ;)
We are @megan_alderson_ & @jordan.skids
Artwork by @those_who.try
Wanna be on the pod? Email [email protected] 🃏

This week on Acting Up,  Megan and Jordan sit down with another face from their drama school days, the incredibly talented, not Spanish speaking, dance virtuoso that is Eli Follant! 

Eli opens up about their experiences within drama school and the industry, including the pressure to be a triple threat and moving away from expectations, moving out at 16, queerness, class clowning, coming out, changing your name, zoom pronouns and effective allyship. Eli gets candid about their experiences navigating institutions as a gender non-conforming person, from being made to choose gendered uniform to asserting yourself in the face of disrespect.

Discussions include being outed on open day, individuality and style in drama school, being a human before being a dancer, dissertations and graduations, can you be a choreographer and a performer? a rant on the headshot industry, professional dance contracts, collaborations across the arts and a sweet message to a future self. 

Tangents include blackheads, Jordan and Megan were like so cool and gay in college, hungover beans, the 100th episode party, where was Zoe Kravitz? Megan’s photography page and forcing Megan to dance.

You can find us as @actingupthepodcast on all socials ;)
We are @megan_alderson_ & @jordan.skids
Artwork by @those_who.try
Wanna be on the pod? Email [email protected] 🃏

You thought they were done interviewing Megan’s coworkers? Think again! This week Megan and Jordan are joined by the fiercely funny Actor/comedian Madelaine Crabb!
Maddie joins Acting Up to discuss all things her life and career (try to listen past the accent will you?). A Scottish child of Actor parents, Maddie delves into when your parent is your teacher, maybe I could have skipped drama school? leaving for London and winding up in the DUNGEONS with Ruth Jones and threatening yourself into becoming a stand-up comedian.
Discussions include comedy courses and competitions, writing, partnerships and diva moves, agent relations, Scottish identity and accents, crowd cultures and class, paternal hecklers, auditioning to be Megan’s mother, financing Fringe and how stand-up can inform your acting practices.
Tangents include charity shop hauls, 0 jobs from the pod, Willy out in the bible, clown scams and more outrageous women please.

You can find us as @actingupthepodcast on all socials ;)
We are @megan_alderson_ & @jordan.skids
Artwork by @those_who.try
Wanna be on the pod? Email [email protected] 🃏

This week Megan and Jordan are reuniting with another of their drama school classmates - they are joined by the wonderful, bilingual and certainly not too serious Sophia Cordell! 
Sophia gets off to a cracking start by telling a tale of Megan in contemporary, but soon rewinds to recount her journey from growing up and singing in Germany to upping and moving country to study Musical Theatre in the UK. Sophia spills on the flights, auditions and lessons learnt that led to her foundation course, diploma course and thus to Acting Up! Discussions include lockdown, expiring and age differences (classmate edition), discipline and taking it serious, crying during pirouettes, why am I playing the old one? and casting bubbles. 
Sophia then delves into post-grad life - from London life, auditions and learning to balance your time to professional debuts and international contracts, Sophia gets candid about her career. She spills on working in holiday entertainment and not smiling in the mascot costume, chaotic Christmas contracts, auditioning abroad, cruise contracts and breaking up with the boat. What ever could be next? 
Tangents include Lea Michelle’s illiteracy, the contextual studies basement, borrowing showers, foot necrosis sun burn, sobbing at 8:45am and Berlin vs Inthebin.

You can find us as @actingupthepodcast on all socials ;)
We are @megan_alderson_ & @jordan.skids
Artwork by @those_who.try
Wanna be on the pod? Email [email protected] 🃏

1 year, 1 podcast, 2 besties, 2 countries, 4 counties, 25 guests, 49 episodes, a million train journeys and a whole film festival later?! We're so back.
Welcome to Acting Up in 2025!
In this episode we take a moment to reflect on and celebrate one more year of the podcast, one more year of friendship and one more year traversing the industry. Discussions include the Spotify Creators Wrapped and the statistics that blew our minds and warmed our hearts (we hit the charts and didn't even know about it?!), learning to pod as we go along, we did a film festival?! the friends we made along the way and you guys - the incredible community of guests and listeners who make Acting Up what it is. We remember the highs, the lows, the many groundhog days in between and the media (dramione fanfic apparently) and hobbies that got us through it! So what's next?! We set some goals, make a game plan but really you'll just have to wait and see! 
Thank you for spending this year with us, we are truly so grateful for every opportunity and every one of you. All we ever wanted was to feel like a part of the industry, to stay creative when all the doors seem closed and to let other working class creatives know that they aren't alone, that it is difficult and that it's okay if you can't afford it right now. We are so proud of ourselves, we are so proud of you and we can't wait to spend another year together. 
Thanks for everything. 
Love,
         Megan & Jordan x
Tangents include the art of smear tests, vampire threesomes, outing Megan, the power of acrylics, we heart WWE, getting assaulted, 37p refunds, death by a thousand paper cuts and KITTENS!

You can find us as @actingupthepodcast on all socials ;)
We are @megan_alderson_ & @jordan.skids
Artwork by @those_who.try
Wanna be on the pod? Email [email protected] 🃏

This week Acting Up are joined once again by the original guest and bestie of the pod - Rhys Tinney. Rhys returns for chatty discussion on a special interest, welcome to three besties on a sofa talking about horror! 
Rhys discusses their relationship with horror and how they came to be (in Jordan’s words) ‘an infinite well of knowledge’, spills some history and gifts you all a wonderful guide to getting into horror. Jordan laments again on the death of the medium budget film and remembers the horror that was her cortisol levels while watching queer icon, The Babadook. Megan delves into the media that turned her from nightmare haver to into a fearless fan of the genre and the iconic performances that stayed have with her. 
Discussions include the relationship between societal fears, homosexuality, eroticism and vampirism, the fine line between method acting and exploitation, pillars of the genre and the formula of fear, becoming the horror vs becoming the victim and remembering the iconic talent that is Shelley Duvall. 
By the way the song Megan is looking for is Tubular Bells (which Jordan was saying!) from THE EXORCIST not Halloween!   
Tangents include Grandpa Megan, the kittens origin story, apology with tears for inconsistency and Bill Skarsgårds tesco meal deal.

You can find us as @actingupthepodcast on all socials ;)
We are @megan_alderson_ & @jordan.skids
Artwork by @those_who.try
Wanna be on the pod? Email [email protected] 🃏

This week Megan and Jordan are revisiting a question that haunted them during drama school - why do I cry when I sing?!
They each unpack their relationship with singing pre, during and post drama school, having both suffered with panic attacks while singing. Jordan spills on doing everything she could not to sing in first year and the time she had to relive being cheated on in Acting through Song, while Megan tells her past self to stop caring what other people think of her! Of course while acknowledging both the environment and external factors (being mentally ill anyway!), they ask themselves when and how can something you love become something you fear so intensely?
They then delve into the psychology of singing, and the impact of music and singing on the brain - where the research largely states it should make you feel GOOD! Though of course singing is extremely vulnerable and acting can cause a genuine emotional response, singing itself is proven to actually relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression! Ending with some wise words from a wonderful clown. 
Mega shoutout to the wonderful woman that is @hannahpreecesingingteacher !
Tangents include Christmas in hospitality and retail, casting commercials, moving forward into the new year and Megan gets cancelled by the ballet community. 
Obviously we are not mental health professionals and can only speak from our own experience, if you are struggling with anxiety whether it be singing based or not please seek professional support x
https://nopanic.org.uk/

You can find us as @actingupthepodcast on all socials ;)
We are @megan_alderson_ & @jordan.skids
Artwork by @those_who.try
Wanna be on the pod? Email [email protected] 🃏

This week Megan and Jordan sit down to talk about their new favourite hobby, Pole Dance! From personal experience to a perplex history, this week it’s time to delve into the wonderful world of pole. Guest starring Jordan’s mum!
Megan discusses how the film ‘Anora’ inspired her to start, while Jordan discusses how she followed the ballet-aerial-pole pipeline and how it’s healing her relationship with dance.
Megan goes into the nuanced and contested origin story of pole dance and how it became the art form/sport we know today and how sex workers brought it into the mainstream. Jordan delves deeper into the association between pole dance and sex work and whether or not you can honour the origin of the art without sexualising its practitioners. An Acting Up journalistic trip to the strip club may well be in order? 
Discussion also turns to whether or not we could ever see pole dance included in the Olympics and why we haven’t thus far.
Apologies for the late release, as you will hear Jordan has been super busy moving house so tune in for an enormous catch up too!
Tangents include forgetting you’re an agent, a year in review teasers, being a victim of the crime of doing admin, why is moving the worst thing ever, chatty kitties and PS this is a PRO GRIP PODCAST! 

You can find us as @actingupthepodcast on all socials ;)
We are @megan_alderson_ & @jordan.skids
Artwork by @those_who.try
Wanna be on the pod? Email [email protected] 🃏

This week Megan and Jordan are joined by another dynamic duo, Melodrive megaminds and the founders of Gloucester Independant Film Festival; the wonderful Joshy Lee and Oscar Wenman-Hyde!
Joshy and Oscar delve into the inspiration and process behind founding a film festival in a community previously lacking one, nurturing a creative partnership, highlights from the evening itself and taking inspiration from authenticity.
Joshy reveals the formative media that kickstarted his career (Transformers 2) and his journey into the industry from college  to writing, directing, producing and editing his own feature length film.
Oscar admits to sneaking into Devon holiday parks to make films as a child, finding music while trying to avoid football and running with it all the way into university. However, the itch to tell stories persisted and Oscar found himself as a writer/director! 
They both spill on casting for your own writing (it’s a vibe check), the conception of Melodrive, the life cycle of a film, curating the perfect crew and what’s to come.
Tangents include getting kicked off the Cannes red carpet, nacho madness, REBRANDS, 8 follow up episodes, I think Coolsville sucks and CATS!!!!
Also we are so sorry we are still having tech issues, we are working on it but please do remember we are poor and equipment is expensive!!!

You can find us as @actingupthepodcast on all socials ;)
We are @megan_alderson_ & @jordan.skids
Artwork by @those_who.try
Wanna be on the pod? Email [email protected] 🃏