Debra Hill is a 27 year old Actor and Freelance Drama Teacher from Belfast.
She admits, that her Mum would say she owes it all to her video recordings of Debra in Buzz Lighter pjs attempting to Irish Dance to the camera while her mum hummed the “fiddle dee tune” or belting out Robson and Jerome ‘I believe’ at aged 2.
She started off as a ‘wee wan’ in The Rainbow Factory School of Performing Artists for 12 years. From there she went and did her Musical Theatre grades at The London College of Music.
After High School Debra was getting so pressured to “go to drama school, that’s the only way to be an actor” when in fact she was enjoying her time there and working her way in the industry in Northern Ireland. She had such a passion for teaching drama and wanted to study more so she got her Bachelors of Arts Honours Degree from Queen’s University Belfast.
When she felt the time was finally right, Debra applied and attended The Acting Studio in New York City for their Conservatory. Now with the wonders of the Zoom world, she has continued those studies and training with them in their One Year Meisner Technique class.
What genre / style do you create in?
Any? I love a challenge. I love coming across amazing scripts and working hard to bring them to life. I always want to be better than my last performance.
I guess I always saw myself drawn to the nitty-gritty styles of performance, dramas, tragedy’s but I never realised how well I responded to comedy’s and comedic timing… apparently I do ok in that department haha.
I love to dip my toe into everything including Theatre in Education, Physical Theatre, Epic Theatre. I love to play and create in whatever setting I find that in, that provokes a reaction.
What would you be best known for?
I always hate this question lol. The taxi drives home after nights on the town… “An actor are ye ay? Have I seen you in Game of Thrones? Why not look into getting into that Eastenders thing?”
People mean so well when they ask about your job because it can be hard to say this is how you earn your living, in an industry that is never guaranteed.
In all honestly, I don’t see this question aimed at a role or a job, I hope I’m best known for my optimism, manners, persistence, support and constant strive to make every job I do fun, inspiring, real, full of love and laughter.
What would you consider your biggest achievement?
20 years on in this industry and I’m still here. I’m still grafting, I’m still loving, I’m still learning, I’m still growing.
What would you consider to be the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your industry?
Be your own boss! I grew up thinking I had to be a certain way towards people who I thought would get me places in the industry.
Never underestimate the power of YOU and if something doesn’t seem right, challenge it. You have to fight for yourself, after all, you are a business.
What has been your biggest challenge to date?
Due to the pandemic, learning how to handle myself and my life when there is no work on. We can all agree that is something that we took for granted would always be there.
The lack of jobs compared with the countless of performers out there has made this industry even tougher and every day I’m thankful to myself that I still get up and I still hustle.
Tell us a little about your personal life, are you married, kids, hobbies etc?
I love doing what I can to give back. I’ve recently started volunteering with Age NI, being there for the elder people in our community and with Communities NI helping homeless men get back on their feet.
I always say I never took this career path for the fame and fortune. If my dishwasher breaks tomorrow and I have money to fix it, that’s enough for me.
What is important is giving back to society and our communities to help those in need. The work is vital, necessary and so rewarding knowing you are making a difference in someone’s life.
I make a tonne of pasta, no joke, like 6 times a week… I love almost being in battle with myself to make spicer sauces each time, I am a bit obsessed with garlic.
Travelling and having adventures with family and friends and making new friends is a huge passion because memories are my most prized possessions.
Tell us about your most recent work?
During lockdown, I’ve been working with the wonderful Spanner in the Works Theatre Company, creating videos for Theatre in Education.
Their scripts are so impactful and the videos were a great way to still get the message out there whilst physical performances were at a stand still.
I’ve also just started back at Belfast School of Performing Arts where I teach drama and it’s been so wonderful seeing all the young people again so eager to get back to doing what they love.
Check out Debra’s Solo Art Project with Tinderbox Theatre Company during Lockdown: BOXED
What would you like us to tell people about?
I have a few filming gigs coming up which I’m super excited about and just amazed at how grateful I am in this industry to have some work ahead during a real dark time.
I’ve just started working on a film version of a theatre show I did at The Mac Theatre in October 2019 called ‘The Painted Lady’ directed/produced by Rachel Coffey and it’s been interesting getting used to working in a new way with the new regulations and guidelines however we are all just happy to be able to create together again.
If you had to describe your work to someone who has never heard of you what would you say?
I like to play and take risks and get paid for it. Take on different personas but work to bring the elements of truth to it. I want people to experience emotional reactions to my work. I like to dress up.
What’s the funniest experience you’ve had in your business?
I’ve been working in Pantomimes across Northern Ireland for 6 years and every show/experience/performance is so different. It is one of my absolute favourite jobs to do because you are so connected and engaged with the audience and with the nature of the show, unexpected things can happen at any time.
I can’t even count the many times I’ve fallen onstage or had a cast member hide a photo of me on the set so that only I would see it at a certain moment in the script. Although an incident that really sticks out is with my dear friend Rea Campbell-Hill during a performance of Cinderella.
He had to drive a golf cart onstage (he doesn’t drive) on his entrances and my job was to close the curtain behind him at one point. The cart drove over the curtain so he panicked and put it in reverse not remembering I was behind him and little Cinderella Debra goes flying into the backstage wings, I honestly can see it now in slow-mo.
The crew all ran to my rescue but as they say, the show must go on. I hobbled onstage literally about 3 minutes after and did a whole jazz routine whilst my foot was the literal size of a golf ball. Ha
What would your advice be to young people hoping to pursue the same industry?
You have to be your own champion. I always tell my young people that you have to take care of yourself and your mental health.
This industry is so full of rejection, more times than positive outcomes and you have to help yourself to not let that affect you. Boy, it’s hard.
We rarely get feedback from auditions and it’s so frustrating because we want to know whether there is an element we need to improve on or whether you are a Size 4 in a shoe and actually they need someone with Size 6 feet for the script.
However we have to take that power ourselves and trust that when we audition, we are doing our work to put ourselves into the reality of that story, so if the outcome is not what we hoped for, that’s ok. But if that is something you can not handle, it’s not the right industry for you regardless of your passion for it.
Anything else you want to tell people about yourself or your work?
You can always look at my socials for updates on my life in the industry.
I’ve also recently started to dive into the world of Casting and I’ve been taking workshops with The Casting Guild in London. I felt a real energy towards finding people for the right roles and opening up the system so that more people are given opportunities.
Diversity in Casting is so important to me and being in the industry myself, I’m going to fight.
Who do you look up to and why?
There are so many people in this industry in Northern Ireland who I look up to for guidance, support, love and advice. But I admire everyone who is out there busting their bottoms for the work that they love.