This happened in Kenitra, Morocco…Yassmine Othman was around 14 or 16 years old and they had a school play, “The Wizard of Oz”, she auditioned for the Good Witch of the South but instead, was given the role of Aunt Emma. “Our theatre didn’t have a backstage so a cubicle was made and I had to wait in that cubicle for almost an hour until it was time for my acting. I only had one phrase “my child, where have you been?”, so I thought “this is my moment” and did my first improv and stood there acting and speaking for a little while…this not only surprised my fellow actress who had the role of Dorothy but also my teacher. This was the day that I discovered acting and how much I not only loved it but enjoyed it in every way” says Yassmine Othman.
indieactivity: Did you study acting?
Yassmine Othman (YO): Like many actors, this passion had to be put aside to study a career that brought food to the table and I wasn’t going to be an exception. At the age of 49, after 20 years working in international sales I had to leave my home town in search of work, my children had left home and been living their own lives, so my husband I and decided to move from Castellon a city near Valencia in Spain to Algeciras in southern Spain and near to Gibraltar. There, in Gibraltar I started to work again, after the second year I saw a casting call for a short film that was going to be shot in the area so I auditioned and started as a standing…this film EXODO has won many prizes not only in Spanish festivals but also international ones, directed by the Spanish director Sergio Postigo Cruz and produced by the well-known music composer Alberto de la Rocha who’s work is very well known in Hollywood and has been nominated in various occasions and has won the Hollywood Music in Media Awards.
Two years later I was still working in sales and started studying acting in workshops and casting for tv, film, and commercials until the beginning of this year when I decide to quit my job and dedicate all my available time to my acting career. I started studying acting at El Jinete Verde in Jerez de la Frontera with the Chilean film and theatre director Cesar Deneken, also studied at the acting school Estudio V in Madrid with Spanish film director Ángel Gómez and Spanish comedian actress Eva Isanta and Spanish screenwriter Araceli Álvarez de Sotomayor, Argentinean actors Roberto Drago and Jorge Tesone, Enfoca in Los Barrios – Cádiz with film director David Sánchez and actress/film director Carmen Lorenzo, Central de Cine in Madrid with casting director Luci Lenox, at Frank Stein Studio in Barcelona with French casting director Nathalie Cheron from Paris. And the studying never stops…
What acting technique do you use?
Yassmine Othman (YO): I’m quite eclectic when it comes to using a technique, depending on what and/or who my character is…Stanislavski, Strasberg, Adler, or Meisner or a mix of each one of them…I don’t use a single specific method, I use the one that really makes me feel comfortable with my character, the one that makes my character real.
Do you take courses to improve your craft?
Yassmine Othman (YO): Absolutely, I’m quite critical of myself but also like to see others’ perspectives on acting, be it film directors, casting directors, actors, screenwriters…it helps me grow as an actress.
What acting books do you read?
Yassmine Othman (YO): I have recently been recommended “The Invisible Actor” by Yoshi Oida, “Being/Acting” by Carlos Gandolfo, “Why?: Actor’s Trampoline” by William Layton, and “A Challenge for the Actor” by Uta Hagen.
How do you keep fit as an actor: mentally, physically?
Yassmine Othman (YO): Mentally yes I do but physically I’m in that woman’s stage where it’s quite hard to be fit…if you know what I mean, but I try my very best with power yoga.
How do you prepare for a role, when you get it?
Yassmine Othman (YO): I first read the whole script to know what the story is about and if I haven’t understood it I read it again, then I highlight my parts and read them several times straight with no emotions, then I record myself rehearsing with emotions…several times. I tend to use my husband, who is also my PA, to help me rehearse.
How do you create a character from a script into a person?
YO: I have borrowed this technique from another actress, once I know who my character is, where she comes from, where she’s going, what her intentions are, I try to imagine myself like her, and I assign her a perfume. The sense of smell doesn’t only bring you memories but also puts you in the situation, every moment or situation requires a certain smell…so depending on who, what and where my character is a perfume will allow me to be that character, live it, feel it and transmit all these sensations to the spectator.
How do you stay fresh on a production set?
YO: Good question, as long as there’s no crying scene it’s not too difficult. Maybe it’s because I enjoy it so much that until we’re finished I’m who I’m expected to be.
Explain one creative choice you took on set?
YO: My last job was only acting, no text…I had to look very surprised about something that had happened right in front of me so I mimed it all the way…it was done in two takes, so great we went home early that day!
Describe a memorable character you played?
YO: I played “Malice” in a Spanish webseries called “The Sacrifice” directed by a very young film director Saulo Arniz in 2013, unfortunately, this project never saw the light.
What do you want most from a director?
YO: Complicity, empathy, and teamwork.
What actor do you long to work with?
YO: Where to start? There are so many but I would love to work with Meryl Streep, Viola Davis, Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, and Roberto Benini.
Centro Médico TVE1 – Episodio Hepatitis Tóxica ©2016
Why this actor?
YO: I grew up with them, they have each inspired me in my acting and where I’m today, and where I will be in the future.
What advice would you give actors around the world?
YO: This might sound cliché but it’s the truth…hold on to your dreams, never give up… never allow anyone to tell you that you have limits. Find that potential something in you that differentiates you from other actors and use it and if you think you don’t have this…look for it and potentiate it. Don’t limit your acting to a language or country…acting know not of country borders so learn languages, I’m bilingual in English, French, Italian and Spanish and this has allowed me to work internationally. Don’t feel frustrated because we are many actors and at times there isn’t work for everyone, there are other acting jobs such as dubbing and voice-over which of course you also need to study and extra money from commercials can payloads of bills.
Acting knows not of age, acting knows of sharing…sharing your experiences with others, allowing others to feel what and how you feel. Learn…learn all that you can from other actors, directors, never feel that it’s a competition because you’ll miss all the fun, we each are a great actor in our own great way …and most important of all, be very very humble never forget where you come from and how you started…learn to “send the elevator down for others to use” as Kevin Spacey once said.
Briefly write about your career?
YO: “Super López” – cleaner. Feature film. Dir.: Javier Ruiz Caldera (my first feature film, link not available still shooting), “Centro Médico” – Carmen Pazos. Rtve1/ Zebra Producciones. Dir: Ismael Moreno (my first TV series) “Medidas Cautelares” – Social worker. Teaser feature film. Dir: J.A. Casablanca (never saw the light), “The Wizard of Oz” – Aunt Emma. Thomas Whilhoite Theatre. Dir.: Jim Corey ( my first acting experience).
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