Lockdown has been so hard for all of us. But we’ve kept busy and have worked hard to adapt to the ‘new normal.’ We received over 500 applications for the role of Alain, the ‘Ça C’est Paris’ musical host presenter and the honour goes to Louise Woodhead.
We would like to thank everyone who participated. With special thanks to the 15 finalists for their talent, courage, and enthusiasm, which were nothing short of incredible!
For Louise Woodhead, creativity has been a constant thread throughout her life. At the age of four, she took herself to her first piano lesson. At school, she played piano and percussion orchestrally. She had a strong aptitude for writing and language.
Having been invited to do an honours degree in pure French at the University of Glasgow, Louise spent a compulsory year living in Paris. Here she fell in love for the first time – both with the city and with a local. Needless to say, her fluency came quite quickly! She was also scouted as a model that year, which launched a different kind of love affair – with the lens.
Following her year in Paris, Louise returned to the UK to finish her studies and got herself signed with a leading model agency. At the time of her graduation, her agent gave her the opportunity to move to Milan to pursue modelling professionally.
Louise went on to pursue a business career in London, delivering marketing and communications for corporates. And for the next two decades, she worked for the world’s top banks, law and accountancy firms.
Performing Dance & Arts
Louise has also been sporty, although she never studied performing arts or drama as a child. But one random day, ten years ago, she took the notion to book a drop-in dance class. And not any old dance class… Louise went full-out for the exotic variety: a pole dancing class. And immediately got the bug!
Louise then began her 10,000 hours of training! She cast her net far and wide and went on to study a range of dance styles from Russian classical ballet with a world expert at the barre through to private one-to-one lessons with a professional table dancer in a different kind of bar, then she started to perform.
Louise’s dance speciality today is Cabaret and musical theatre. She’s performed on internationally renowned stages such as Hippodrome Casino and The Clapham Grand, she has also been cast in some incredibly fierce female roles like Satine in Moulin Rouge and Velma in Chicago.
As Louise evolved as a dancer/performer, her thoughts inevitably turned to ‘what could have been…’ had she taken another path – a model. So, in 2018, to establish if her younger dreams of being a model still had legs, she entered the TOP Model.
After much preparation for the competition (Technical. Physical. Mental), Louise was selected as a finalist and ultimately crowned the winner. She then spent months building her portfolio as a mature model and got representation.
As Louise studied and practised acting from a theatrical perspective, she naturally became interested in transitioning to screen. Although still relatively new to this space, she has already worked on a range of high-profile TV and film sets, including a Spielberg production.
Acting, audition, casting
Just a few weeks into lockdown, a casting call for a ‘Pantomime Dame’ popped into Louise’s inbox. And as she read through the detail of the role: Drag King host of an established French cabaret that was touring for the first time in in the UK, she knew it was something special. Louise applied immediately and later that same morning, we invited her to an introductory Zoom call to discuss the opportunity.
A few days following the intro call we emailed Louise inviting her to a callback audition, in the form of a 2-minute self-tape. The ask was to create the host character, ‘Alain’ and to deliver a speaking scene with the protagonist.
Louise set to work immediately – not just to showcase her skills as a lead actor and cabaret performer, but with the goal of delivering above and beyond what was asked. Instead of just delivering the audition scene in her self-tape, Louise planned and delivered multiple scenarios, around how she might play out the role of Alain in the full show.
Two days later we messaged Louise to check that she had safely received the callback email. Louise replied immediately to tell us that she was about to forward us the self-tape. Hers was the first audition that we received.
We loved Louise’s tape. But there still much work still to do. Three days later we invited her to a second callback – this time asking her to deliver a second speaking scene with Gaston the protagonist.
Louise had taken a bold approach for Alain in her first audition. So, in an effort to project breadth in her acting abilities, she chose to take a different route with the second: to display strength through vulnerability.
Again, Louise worked quickly. She invested much time in getting herself to the required emotional state, via the Strasberg Method. The process was emotionally exhausting but absolutely worth it. We responded quickly and invited her to another Zoom call the next day.
We then sent Louise a mood board and suggestions for the character of Alain. And, although, the shared material wasn’t accompanied by a formal ask, Louise saw this as another opportunity to stand out. So, this time, leveraging her skills as a fashion model, she created a self-taped photoshoot comprised of over a dozen looks for Alain. It landed well, and so Louise was through to the final round!
This consisted of 15 finalists and in-person meetings with us. A few weeks later, we met Louise for the first time in person, via social distancing. And in the weeks following that, we began to talk, meet and create on a regular basis. On 10th July Louise secured the role. Just as the government advised that theatres and performing venues were reopening.
Louise Woodhead Actor | Model | Dancer – Showreel
2021 will be a special year for all of us… We’re excited to bring Louise into the French-Cabaret family! To shape this new role with her and to see her bringing Alain to life on the UK stage from April next year.
Mesdames et Messieurs, watch this space! Ca, C’est Paris’ isn’t just another theatre show… This will be an experience you will never forget!
Book tickets for Ca, C’est Paris Tour 2021-2022 when they go live!
Salvatore Cirasuolo & Mark Wickenden
