When Monique Humphreys set off to Europe to pursue a career in performing arts three years ago, she had no idea she would end up doing virtual rehearsals in a room so small she could touch either side.
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The Maitland-raised singer, dancer and actor said it had certainly been an interesting experience living and working overseas during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But after a few months in limbo stuck in England's lockdown, the 21-year-old is back on the stage as part of a project that was recently included in the virtual Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Monique, who went to school at St Joseph's and St Peter's in Maitland before going off to the National College of Dance, performed in a nine-minute short film entitled Are You Numb Yet? which centres around the Black Lives Matter movement and the coronavirus crisis.
"It was created in response to what's been happening," she said. "It's quite confronting.
"It was created by a young company, Matsena Performance Theatre, who I'd been working with for a year and a half.
"It started as a bit of a passion project, which was quite tough rent-wise. But we realised it could really be something."
The actors held rehearsals via Zoom for about three months during the coronavirus lockdown, and Monique said at some stages she was rehearsing in a room so small she could reach out and touch each wall with her hands.
"I hated the Zoom rehearsals," she said with a laugh. "When you're with people in real life the energy is just something you can't describe, especially compared to kicking your toe every five minutes.
"It definitely made me not take real-life rehearsals for granted as much."
As the world-renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival was cancelled this year, Zoo TV stepped in to run the event virtually and Are You Numb Yet? was included on the online lineup of performances. It was given a four star review by Scottish national newspaper, The Scotsman.
Last weekend Monique performed a live adaptation of the piece to a socially distanced crowd, which was the first time she'd performed live since last year, and is also set to be part of a feature-length version of the short film, called Geometry of Fear.
"We're hoping to tour it next year," she said.
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Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
