Rachael Keiller talks about feeling angry and wanting change in PROPELLER at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your performing background?
Originally from Leven in Fife, I’m a 24 year old actor and drama facilitator living in Glasgow. I absolutely love it.

My Gran took me along to the local youth theatre in Buckhaven and ever since I’ve wanted to work in the arts. I trained at Telford College in Edinburgh and have just finished my degree at New College Lanarkshire.

Tell me about your show, what it is all about?
Our show is about feeling angry, about wanting change. We’ve got an intensive three weeks this month to build our piece drawing on our own experiences working with How to Resist by Matthew Bolton as our starting point. It will be created by the Scottish Drama Training Network ensemble and directed by the incredible Caitlin Skinner.

How long have you been working on this show and what is it that makes it relevant to audiences in 2018?
It will be fresh and relevant for our audiences as it will have just been made: this show is a reaction to the world right now. With what’s going on in the world, people are frustrated and angry, but are unsure what to do about it. This show is for them. This is a show about channelling anger to make change.

Do you have any top tips for surviving the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – both for performers and visitors to the event?
This will be my first Fringe experience as a performer and I’m so excited to dive into it! I know it’s tiring and can be a bit overwhelming so my advice, to myself as well as others, would be look after yourself. Don’t overdo it in the first week. For visitors, plan! I have wasted so many tickets because I didn’t planned well enough.

What has been the funniest or most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you on stage?
I had to get changed on stage once – I got my dress stuck over my head and fell over. Not fun. My lovely pal protected my modesty with a towel and picked me back up. I was lucky it was only a dress rehearsal in front of a select handful of people.

Who are your biggest inspirations in the industry and why?
My biggest inspirations in the industry right now are the artists who are challenging the norms. Julia Taudevin is an inspiration of mine. There’s a lot of exciting female writers in Scotland just now.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Yes, I brush my teeth. I do my warm up which includes a lot of breathing as I get hit by so much adrenaline. I always have to pee just before the show too!

What other acts are you looking forward to seeing at Edinburgh Fringe?
Too many to mention! I’m really looking forward to checking out Paines Plough’s Roundabout venue in Summerhall this year for some new writing.

I didn’t get to see Midsummer by David Greg last time round so I’m definitely going to catch that.

But my main aim this year is to see things I wouldn’t normally get to!

Why do you think people should come and see your show over the thousands of others on at the fringe?
Go and see lots of stuff at the Fringe but, for me, the theatre which has always stuck is the work that made me want to do something, which inspired me. I think theatre can be a tool for change and that’s exactly what Propeller hopes to be.

Propeller
Pleasance Courtyard (Above), 60 Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ
Wednesday 1st – Monday 27th August 2018 (not 13th or 21st), 13:00

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