Short Work

THIS PROGRAMME CONTAINS SOME STRONG LANGUAGE

-I go quieter, the more nervous I get.

-Rachel is 24, a drama school graduate,

with a promising acting career in front of her.

She's waiting for a phone call which will transform her life.

If I get it, I'm going to be amongst the best young actors in the country,

not like the best short actors in the country or the best dwarfs in the country,

just as a whole, the best actors in the country.

For many dwarfs, show business has been the main source of work for hundreds of years,

but most of the acting roles they're offered have limitations.

Stop smoking!

It's bad for your "elf".

DWARF COUGHS

I think every actor will say, short or tall,

it would be great to have more roles but being politically correct

and all of that stuff, actually is going to get in the way.

Somebody who's creative, who's writing,

you cant dictate to them what they create.

So what can the next generation do to break through the stereotypes?

I've often walked away from parts

because they just didn't feel appropriate for me.

I don't want to be the joke.

I want it to be, like I'm involved within it

and if I can't be in on the joke, I don't want to do it.

This film follows the fortunes of several talented young performers

who dream of being taken seriously.

The ultimate aim is to be a famous comedian, where my height

is not the primary thing that people think of.

But in an industry obsessed with image,

will their height always overshadow their talent?

PHONE RINGS

Hello.

Yeah, hello...

From a bungalow in Peterborough,

specialist actor's agency Willow is run by Peter Burroughs.

There's stunt training in Fieldsway Farm.

We have over 150 people on our books, that's worldwide.

That's from here, America, Sweden.

We've got plenty of jobs going on.

I've got projects going on, Snow White and The Huntsman...

Life's Too Short.

We've got a bit of BBC

and of course, we've got pantomimes coming up...

Willow was set up by Peter and his son-in-law Warwick Davies

to help get dwarfs equality of pay in show business.

Willow Management was started in 1995.

My father-in-law is also a short actor and we talked about how

if other short actors really came together

and stood and said, we won't do it for any less than...

..X amount of pounds,

then it would put us in a stronger position.

Could we stand together? How would you do that?

Let's create our own agency, and so that's what we did.

The agency was named after the movie Willow,

which gave Warwick his big break at only 17 years old.

George Lucas wrote the part for Warwick

after casting him in Star Wars.

He then built the most successful career of any short actor in the UK,

playing every creature role going.

Now, Warwick is about to star in Life's Too Short,

a fictional version of his life and work.

I've already done my dream role, in Life's Too Short.

I've had a desire for years to do comedy.

I've also had that desire to...

..just be able to walk into work on a film

and spend five minutes in make up, come out looking better than I did when I went in

and just wear regular clothes and it all came true.

I mean, it was the perfect role for me.

Life's Too Short

is the first time a short actor has played the lead role in major sitcom,

and directly confronts issues around height in show business.

The fact that the Warwick character I play in Life's Too Short

is short, I suppose...

It throws a different spin on the whole thing.

But I wouldn't say intrinsically he HAS to be short, as it were.

You know, the series is about a man's life

that is descending into chaos

and he just makes a lot of the wrong decisions...

But it's not anything to do with his height,

it's just the person that he is, do you know what I mean?

STAR WARS THEME RINGTONE

Hello, Willow Personal Management.

Hello, Rachel. How are you?

One of Willow's newest signings is Rachel Denning.

For three years, she's been searching for her big break as an actress

and is now hoping Willow can help.

It was only when I was 14, 15,

I decided that I wanted to do it seriously as a career.

I didn't think about how difficult it was going to be.

# Better not to light my fire... #

I think people try and unpick it a bit.

Everyone always seems to think actors have some hidden insecurity.

I don't feel I'm that insecure.

Maybe if I went down that route,

it would be because I was always stared at,

so I may as well be doing something,

if you're going to be staring at me anyway.

Also I guess that gives me control. Like, I want you to be staring at me.

A little boy I was working with the other day was really concerned.

And he's like, "Why are you so small?"

I kept telling him, I was just born small.

"But why are you a small adult?"

I said, I've just got a condition, I don't grow.

"Why don't you eat something? Have you tried eating?"

I said, "Yeah, I just grow that way."

He's like, "Hmm...."

Willow have sent me... "Ooh, Wil-low"!

They've sent me an application form.

There's the measurements,

so its obviously for costume work and things like that.

I haven't actually measured my height for a while.

It doesn't say that on there.

Rachel is the first short actress to graduate from her drama school.

On graduating, she signed with an average height agency,

but they've not been able to find her any work.

Very important inch.

Mountview gave me that inch.

I'd stopped growing for ages

and when I was doing all my movement work and stuff,

when I was doing Alexander technique,

I did something to my spine and I got another inch

and I hadn't grown for about four years up until then.

It was mad. OK.

Shoulders into wrist.

-Arms straighten.

-The arms don't go straight.

My arms don't go straight. LAUGHS

Whilst she hopes Willow will find her more serious roles,

she knows that the majority of work available for dwarfs is costume work.

This can range from big budget Hollywood films,

to being handcuffed to party goers on stag and hen dos.

Waist, 26.

What kind of creatures do you think this is a suit for?

Gremlin. Goblin...

Cupid. LAUGHS

Fantasy stuff, fantasy films.

Ewok?

Would you want to do something like that?

I think I'd have to judge it on the job as and when it comes.

If it came, I don't think I could say whether I'd want to do it or not.

So it would have to depend what it was for, what company it was with.

If it was a promotional thing, I don't think I'd be up for it,

but if it was, if I got to fly off to New Zealand or something

and be in a costume, I think I'd be all right with that.

-14.

-Is that right?

I thought we did waist before.

We've got waist twice.

Oh, wrist, that is.

I've got a 26-inch wrist!

Never seen a dwarf like that before.

THEY LAUGH

Do my wrist.

LOW GROANING NOISE

HE CACKLES

GIRL SCREAMS

HE CACKLES

That's my warm-up, really!

It's what I do.

Lovely day for it.

Another drama school graduate is 21-year-old Ben Goff.

Sweet Daddy B's ready to rock'n'roll.

Come this way, sir. I want to chop your head off. Oh, come on!

You big sissy pants.

He hopes to become a star of musical theatre.

-You can feel that, can't you?

-Yes.

-Yes, that's the blade.

But, at the moment,

his day job is chopping tourists' heads off.

..two, one, bye-bye!

It is quite dead at the moment,

but hopefully we will get some more people as the day goes on,

which is normal, about half-past eleven,

we have the big groups coming in.

It does get very busy.

What about you? Can I chop your head off?

Hello, you lot on the bus!

People do laugh at you and point at you

and they kind of take the mickey out of you.

It's not just me. Some of the guys across the road, Ross,

the guy over there, he's 7' 2",

and people kick him cos they think he's on stilts,

so he gets a bit bullied, I get bullied sometimes.

All right. Who's in charge?

GIRL SCREAMS

You big sissy pants.

Another day. Fresher and fun.

Over and yes!

One thing I do like is taking that wig off and letting my hair go... ah.

The only reason I'm doing this job

is to keep the bills being paid and stuff like that.

I kind of enjoy it, really.

But it's not something I desperately want to do, shall we say.

If you come back in five years, I hopefully will not be here.

Right, people. Loving you and leaving you.

Bye, Ben! See you!

Bye, Ben!

In great secrecy, I transported the entire population

of Oompa Loompas to my factory here.

Hey, Daddy! I want an Oompa Loompa!

I want you to get me an Oompa Loompa right away!

All right. I'll get you one before the day's out.

For many of us, Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory

provided one of the most iconic and enduring images of dwarfs on screen.

Ben's dad Rusty was one of the original Oompa Loompas.

-How long ago was this?

-This was 40 years ago. Here we go.

# ..doo-ba-de-doo I've got another puzzle for you

# Oompa Loompa, doo-ba-de-dee...

-First.

-# If you are wise You'll listen to me. #

When did you realise that your dad was an Oompa Loompa?

Um, I suppose it was that first time when I saw the film,

about five, six years old, something like that.

It was on over Easter or Christmas, one of those ones.

When Dad kind of mentioned that was him,

I just kind of got a bit star-struck really, I suppose.

Ah, my dad's one of the Oompa Loompas!

My name is Rusty Goff, I'm 4' 2".

I'm 62 years of age and I own him.

He owns me.

He loves it when I stop!

After 50 years in the business, Rusty's starred in everything

from Harry Potter to Are You Being Served.

-# The little green pig said...

-It just can't be!

# He looks like a purple people-eater to me! #

Being an Oompa Loompa himself,

Rusty's aware of the potency of the on-screen stereotyping of dwarfs.

There are various things I would draw the line at.

Not for myself, but to protect people, who...

..there's dwarfs born every day.

75% of dwarfs are born to normal people

and these people suddenly, "Oh, God, what I have got here?"

Er... I want to protect those people.

-Back in the day, do you reckon you could've done it?

-Yeah, I could do that bit...

Like his dad, Ben's a performer.

-But from then on, it's you.

-No.

-Turning, spins, no.

No. I can do spinning.

Ben got his break when he was 18, dancing with the Beat Freaks.

# Somebody's watching me... #

Whilst aware of their inherent USP,

Ben and Rusty wants to see more progressive casting.

All the dwarf actors around at the moment,

they just want to be treated as normal people.

Why can't a dwarf be a doctor?

It's happened in real life, why can't they portray it on the screen?

OK, so with the right script, why couldn't you be Superman?

-Spiderman?

-Exactly.

-Easy.

TRUMPET

For now, Ben's targeting the bright lights of the West End musicals,

competing for roles alongside average-height actors.

Tomorrow, I've got an audition for the Royal Shakespeare Company,

which I'm really excited about.

It's for their Christmas show, called The Heart of Robin Hood.

I've got an audition to play the character of Little John.

"I dare not go any faster in the storm, sir.

"This is Robin Hood country.

"We crash here, we come out with nothing."

Since leaving college, this is the biggest straight acting role I've had,

because it is the Royal Shakespeare Company,

everybody knows about the company itself.

So it's kind of an honour and a privilege

for somebody just starting out in the business,

being asked to perform for them.

But it's also quite nerve-wracking as well.

You think, OK, I've got to be good here.

"Sir, these horses are newly broken,

"they won't take to roughness."

"Sir! These horses are newly broken.

"They won't take to roughness."

-What's the date today?

-That should be in date.

Like most people with dwarfism,

the rest of Rachel's family is of average height.

Gareth is 6' 4" and Joe is 5' 7", so Rachel's the....

-The special one.

-The special one, yes!

We don't know where she came from!

I didn't know Rachel was achondroplastic when she was born.

I took her to the paediatrician.

He said, "Well, you know what's wrong with her?"

I said, "Well, I didn't know there was anything wrong with her,"

he said, "She's an achondroplastic," and I said, "What's that?",

and he said, "Oh, it's like the people in a circus."

Erm, you know, you just don't... it's not very good bedside manner.

Turns out, 24 years later, I don't have the skills to be in the circus!

I wouldn't mind that, I might be working!

MUM LAUGHS

I think short people have always been seen as...the funny ones.

Like, I think that goes way back in history

with entertainers and...clowns and stuff like that.

So, I think that makes it difficult

when you're looking for serious acting roles as well

because, traditionally, you were the funny character.

Rachel has always applied for parts which specify her size,

but after several recalls, she's so far been disappointed.

When a part comes along that's about a four-foot blonde girl

and then if you don't get it, you're like...

but that's me? What else would I get?

Now she's decided to broaden her search

to include roles that don't specify her look.

Old Vic are looking for the next lot for the 24 Hour Plays.

I think it would be really good to work on

cos you're working with new directors.

You're all in the same boat, young directors

and, erm, producers and writers.

They never specified height, but it says,

"Please indicate whether you consider yourself to have a disability."

I chop and change with that.

some forms I'll say no,

and some forms I say yes.

Like, there's no actual official register, really.

I think, in a way, short people aren't seen as disabled when they are

and I think that's overlooked a lot by society in general.

It's like we're not disabled, we're just short.

Like, so you can laugh at them.

"I have restricted growth and since graduating

"I have found roles limited and I see this as an opportunity to have fun

"and to showcase my acting skills that I do not often get to display."

I sometimes feel like I'm writing to Jim'll Fix It,

"Please give me a chance, I want to be on the stage!"

It's like that sort of thing. It's like, "Ugh."

But, erm, I've tried everything else, though!

Rachel dreams of being taken seriously as an actress...

..and Hollywood is a place where dreams can come true.

On the surface, a superficial town...

..but Los Angeles is teeming with ideas, optimism

and the potential to make lots of money.

28-year-old Nic Novicki is making a name for himself in Hollywood,

he recently starred in Martin Scorsese's Boardwalk Empire.

-What's with you?

-I'm done, Carl, we all are. No more midget shit!

Midget shit is what they are paying us for.

It's a huge show, everybody loves the show

and to be a part of that is amazing.

What if I can get us a raise?

'I've definitely put a lot of blood sweat and tears into my career,

'so it was nice to have a little gratification'

of being a part of something like that

and that they keep bringing me back, so, it feels good.

I've worked more out of New York recently, with Boardwalk Empire,

but Hollywood is Hollywood.

There's no place in the world that you can...

get as many opportunities as you can in LA.

Especially if you're short, I think there's more opportunities cos there's more projects.

-'Nic, what's going on?'

-Hey, what's going on, man?

Despite his success as an actor,

Nic also getting involved in other areas of the industry

as a budding producer.

What we'd need to do is I'd have to lock you guys

into a developmental contract.

-'All right...'

-All right, buddy, talk to you soon. Bye-bye.

What were you trying to sell there, Nick?

That was a reality show about a...

a guy who, er, forecloses houses.

Who knows, it could be a comedy or could be a drama, docu-drama.

Have you sold that kind of thing before?

Erm, no, I've never, I honestly still haven't sold anything.

I make all my money acting, erm...

but most of it I just put into other projects...

to try to sell.

I've been close, a lot, I once...

This, er...

with a handicap sticker, you don't have to pay for parking in LA.

God bless California!

-KNOCKS ON DOOR Yo, yo!

-Hey.

Along with his business partner, Azel,

they've managed to get Scorsese's support on one their film ideas...

..and they are also pitching an idea

about a match-maker who's a little person.

Two minutes with each person, after two minutes, circle yes or no

if you feel there's a connection with them.

Yeah, everybody likes her, you know? All the networks, but it's just...

-You have to find a fit, I guess.

-Right now a dating show is not it.

There's a lot of little people shows and they feel it's saturated.

Me and the boys want a raise to work the Celtic dinner...

Nic's worked tirelessly for the last ten years

to get his break on Boardwalk Empire

and he feels that his height has been an advantage to get him noticed.

-What do you call it?

-Show business.

But in the most competitive place in the world,

Hollywood's inherent optimism does have its limits.

It is, it's hard.

You know, I think starting out, it's better to be a little person

cos there's not as many people and it's so easy to get in to,

you know, to get in to a huge room.

Like, being in a room with, you know, mega producers,

like Jerry Bruckheimer and stuff, or like CSI, when you're two years in.

You know, that doesn't happen for most average-height people,

but then when you get to a certain level, like where I am

and other, you know, established little people actors are,

then it's hard because you don't get...

-It's hard to just keep getting.

-Like, a lead, like a leading role.

The break-out roles, cos there's just not that many for little people.

Really good supporting roles, there's always supporting roles,

but it's never, like, that lead role, you know.

Sometimes it is, but it's like, "I'll fight for that,"

somebody's going to die!

-You know, if you get that far! I mean, seriously...

-I got a gun!

..if a little person, you know, lead role came out,

big studio film, it would be blood in the streets.

It would be, like, Nic and three dudes that he knows,

they would be fighting.

It's really just a hustle until you get that one thing.

I mean everything, as an actor, as a producer, it's a hustle,

You got to just keep going, keep going, keep fighting,

stay in the ring until you can... until you get that shot in.

The most successful short actor in the US is Peter Dinklage.

He starred in The Station Agent.

The lead role was written for him and the film built around him.

It took nearly 9 million at the box office,

proving, to the amazement of Hollywood,

that a short actor can be a bankable star.

'I think Peter Dinklage is well on his way.'

Peter has really climbed the ranks. He is so incredibly talented.

He has carried feature films, he was nominated for an Emmy,

his performance in Station Agent was so quiet, but brilliant,

he's like a magnet, you want to see what he's going to do next.

Did you take these?

'He's the real deal.'

Once you get past the fact that he's four-foot and change, 4' 6",

nobody cares, cos you're so captivated by his acting ability.

I looked through it.

This is a theatre group and on Tuesday nights, put on shows.

It's fun, keeps you sharp.

It's like going to the gym for acting.

Nic's following in the footstep of Peter Dinklage

but he's also realistic about their potential in Hollywood.

'It's a business.'

This is above all else a business, they want to make money.

I don't think there will ever be a little person that's, like,

a bankable movie star in terms of 20 million a picture.

Peter Dinklage is definitely a great actor and he works a lot, but...

he's not making 20 million a picture

and he's not carrying a, you know, studio movie.

You know, I think he can, but...

you know, in terms of bankability it's tough, you know?

-What d'you do with the money?

-It's in the safe, 943.

'I try to be really realistic with things,

'I don't live this fantasy, like

"I'm going to be at the Oscars next year and I'm going to be there."

I kind of know, like, I have, you know, short term goals

of what I want to do and what I think I can do in terms of my career

and I don't really try to think about myself being the next Tom Cruise,

because I don't think I'm going to be, you know,

but I can be the next character actor that works all the time, you know.

Oh, wow, it's you guys. Come on in.

Back in London, another short performer trying to make a name for himself is Gareth Morinan.

Mind out for the mess.

He's quit his job as a government statistician

to try to carve out a career in the notoriously hostile world

of stand-up comedy.

So, yes, welcome to my office!

There is also a chair.

Do you want me to close the window? That's better.

I am 4' 10", I have a condition called...

Spondo-b-l-dysplasia-coja-na-na!

I do not have dwarfism.

Dealing with being unusually short

has inspired Gareth to move into comedy.

The ultimate aim is to be a famous comedian,

where my height is not the primary thing people think of.

They don't think, "Gareth Morinan, oh, that short guy."

Erm...but having said that, I am happy to exploit my height

to get to that position, or help me get to that position

cos I know in this world, you've got to exploit anything you've got.

Doing stand-up's interesting, because I can go on stage

and I know that I can basically say nothing, right,

and people will be laughing already

and in a way I, sort of, resent the audience at large for that.

So, that's, sort of, why, personally, I aim to do something

a bit different, a bit more innovative.

This is the sea of cables, which I have...

Gareth has spent four years on the stand-up circuit,

but he's written a new show,

using a PowerPoint presentation and political satire.

He's planning to take it to the Edinburgh Festival.

This piece is called Fruit Conga, yeah?

It's one of my pieces about Xenophobia, erm...

and here is the Yes Bee, which is the, sort of, promotional crux

of my marketing campaign for Edinburgh.

You don't need to, sort of, have credentials and credits,

or whatever, or your face on the flyer,

you just need a big bee saying, "Yes!"

So, the Yes Bee is one of my more shallower pieces, really,

it doesn't have a lot of depth,

but you know, hopefully people will, erm, be keen on it.

Erm, right, I need to grab some more stuff from upstairs...

The Edinburgh Fringe is like Mecca for the top stand-ups

and discerning comedy audiences too.

Gareth hopes his new material will be well suited to this environment.

I really enjoy performing, that's why I do it

and I enjoy putting on my own show,

which is why I enjoy doing Edinburgh.

So having my own show, where I'm basically in complete control

and put my own mark on it and people have gone away entertained by me,

I love that, right.

Er, but then there a whole other aspect to the comedy scene

and there's a lot of comedy clubs are just, sort of...

You know, if Edinburgh is there, the level of the comedy clubs is,

like, here, right?

It's people going for a night out on a Friday or a Saturday,

they're getting drunk and...there is a different standard there,

you know, the broadest appeal thing wins in those kind of situations

and I don't really like that.

So...after doing that for a while, I thought, you know,

fuck the bigger clubs, I don't want a life performing to pissed-up,

you know...stag dos, or whatever,

who are shouting out very obvious jokes about my height

because they think it's hilarious. Erm...so there are different levels.

But with Edinburgh looming, Gareth has no choice

but to hone his craft in a room above a pub.

GARETH SINGS

-Hello, everyone, welcome!

-APPLAUSE

Welcome to the show, welcome to the wonderful preview of the Disc.

Thank you for coming out...

'Erm, so this is my show,

'it's called The Truth Explained In Doodles,

'so I'm actually an artist...'

# They've got small bodies And small minds

# They're all small fry And small time

# They're the lowest of the low... #

Size and comedy have always been intrinsically linked.

# And they like it down there. #

From our first experiences of dwarfs,

we are conditioned to find them funny.

He's little man and he's got a yellow hat and he's really stupid,

we don't know where he is? CHILDREN SHOUT EXCITEDLY

And over the years,

on-screen representations have made much use of the obvious height gags.

-Oh, hello, Paul.

-Hi, I have the form right here...

But writers and comedians have also used size

to explore other prejudices.

You know Paul, everyone knows Paul. Erm...

Shoulder length brown hair,

wears a lot of jewellery...

..looks up a lot,

gets his clothes from Mothercare.

That's it, the Oompa Loompa.

He says go straight up.

In the US, competition for parts is just as fierce.

Meredith Eaton was the first short actress

to score a lead role in a mainstream TV series.

Danny? It's me, Bethany. Bethany Horowitz.

Such a pleasure to meet you.

She played William Shatner's girlfriend in Boston Legal for three series.

Bethany, this isn't working out.

What?

You never indicated to me that you were...

..Jewish.

'That was such a vote of confidence for me and my career.'

That was a dream role that came true for me.

What was she like otherwise?

Attractive head, nice breasts,

and that was it. Breasts and a head.

I didn't want to leave things on a bad note.

It was a role that addressed height through comedy

in a way she felt comfortable with.

When you called me a midget in a crowded restaurant, you caused me emotional distress...

'Comedy is certainly an avenue to push boundaries.'

If you're making people think about their own beliefs

and challenging them in a way that they've never thought about before,

and that makes them laugh, that works.

I hope I didn't hurt her.

My mother taught me how to tackle.

'If it's gratuitous and doesn't lend to any teaching opportunity,

'it doesn't work.'

She better watch her back!

You have to think about what you're doing and why are you doing it?

Are you doing it to make fun of yourself

or are you doing it to make fun of the people that think you're funny?

That's how you discern whether it's funny or not.

Her first big break in Unconditional Love, starring opposite Kathy Bates,

was in a role written for an average-height actor.

Since then, she's taken a hard line against the mythical creature roles.

'Discrimination is discrimination, whether it's based on height,

'the colour of your skin, your sexuality.'

So I won't compromise my beliefs

by portraying a character that would make me feel

that I was perpetuating a stereotype about little people

that I've worked so hard to move away from.

I've often walked away from parts

and there's been an actress right behind me that's happy to take that part.

That's fine if it works for them. But for me, it doesn't.

Back in London,

and Rachel is still trying to find out where her line lies.

On set. Been up since five, so I'm wired.

It's her first job with Willow and it's her first ever commercial.

It seems like a good, fun project that's interesting.

I haven't done a commercial before.

I thought it would be quite good experience, good fun.

Everyone seems really nice and really honest, trustworthy.

She'll be working with another short actor, Max.

The costume? It's not too bad actually. A little bit draughty!

You wouldn't actually go to war in it, would you?

THEY LAUGH

Come and get me!

-INTERVIEWER:

-Have you had to make up many short actors, then?

I've probably done maybe three in a 15-year career.

First up, they're shooting some stills.

The advertising campaign is for the Budapest Short Film Festival.

-This pose is great.

-We'll get some blow on the hair in this one.

It's looking great.

We just wanted to recreate the posters but with smaller people, that's all.

It's just a little idea that we had.

It's pretty straightforward.

I don't think I need to say why it's funny.

Hang on.

That's great.

With the stills shot, the main part of the shoot

is a mock-umentary style viral video for the internet. Highly original(!)

You know, I've never held a sword before.

It's really heavy but I'm getting really into it now.

CAMERA CREW CHUCKLE

That's great. That's really good.

'It was a lot of fun.'

It's the first commercial I've done,

so it's actually good to have something to gauge stuff by.

The more experience I get, the more I know what I'm comfortable with

and what I'm not comfortable with.

-So you didn't feel like they were laughing at you?

-No.

-And you didn't find it demeaning in any way?

-No.

No, I felt, yeah, really comfortable.

Ben Goff has been in panto since he was nine years old.

Freshly graduated, he's keen to avoid being one of Snow White's seven little helpers this year.

When I was with my dwarf agency,

I was getting the typical dwarf roles, shall we say?

Always at Christmas, always Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.

Which was great, because I do love pantomime, I do love seeing the kids' reactions.

I've been brought up in the panto world.

But I got to about 14, 15, where I'd done a lot of Snow Whites.

I went, "Right, I'm bored with this now."

That's kind of why I was thinking I'd leave the dwarf roles.

While I'm still young, just try different things out.

Today, Ben has his audition for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

It's for their Christmas show,

but it's directed by an Icelandic director known for his bold productions,

so Ben feels confident that he's in with a chance.

I think I've got about ten or 15 minutes before the audition.

I'm feeling pretty confident, actually.

I spent most of last night just going over and over the script and things.

I already kind of warmed up my trumpet before I set out.

Did your dad give you some tips last night?

He just said, "Relax. Enjoy yourself, really.

"If you get it, fantastic. If not, don't put a downer on it.

"Think of it as an opportunity.

"How many other people would love to audition for this company?"

Just putting a bit of valve oil on my valves here

so they don't get stuck, really.

What's the worst thing that could happen in your audition?

The worst thing that could happen in the audition for me

is to probably pass out. That's the worst scenario for me.

I get so excited and nervous and the adrenaline is just pumping so I just go splat.

I've had quite a lot of water to drink today

and I've eaten and stuff like that.

So hopefully that won't happen.

But just before I start,

I'll just close my eyes for two or three seconds

or turn my back and then go into the script.

It's what I learned at college, really.

That also relaxes you, it relaxes them.

It goes, "Right. This is ready." And then we go off to it.

-Hi, Ben. How are you?

-Very good, thank you.

-Nice to meet you.

-You, too.

-Would you like to come through?

-Yes.

Lead the way.

Hi.

Um, been a bit of a strange day today.

I'm fine!

But I had a text from Willow, my new agency I'm with.

Um, basically they're offering me a part in panto this winter.

They asked me if I'd want to do it.

And I'm really confused

and I really don't know whether I want to do it or not.

It's not that I don't want to do it,

but then a part of me does and a part of me doesn't.

Obviously it's playing one of the dwarfs.

I've never played a dwarf before.

And basically, I just think it would contradict everything that I've said

and worked towards.

Now, just because of being offered work, just to go,

"Actually, yeah, forget all that. Let's do it."

Even though I do think...

I don't know. I do think it would be fun.

It's difficult enough to be seen for not short roles.

It's difficult enough to have castings for non-dwarf roles,

without having done that.

I'm worried that if I get into that,

then it would be even harder to get out of

and back into mainstream TV and theatre, which is what I want to do.

I'm in a bit of a pickle.

In Edinburgh, Gareth's on his way to open his first official solo show.

Here, you have to drum up your own audience in any way you can.

I'm Gareth. I'm doing a show called The Truth Explained In Doodles.

-I trained in analysis statistics...

-That should be helpful!

After a couple of media interviews,

Gareth hits the streets with his marketing campaign.

Free comedy! Free comedy every day, 4:15.

Say yes to the Yes Bee. Comedy in under an hour on Cowgate.

Their show's starting in an hour. Same as me. Clashes. It is a pity.

Say yes to the Yes Bee. Don't say yes to the Yes Bee. Say no to it.

-Say yes to the Yes Bee.

-Yes.

-Cheers!

Shit! That was my fault. Just go, go. Enjoy your life.

This is the Yes Bee. It's a message about positivity.

Why are you small?

Because I have a genetic condition

that makes me smaller than the average person.

-Can I see that?

-You can have it.

Er, yes, because different people have different abnormalities

and abnormality is a fact of life.

Free comedy promoted by children! Free comedy promoted by children.

OK, let us go to the venue

because the show is going to start very, very soon. Um, right...

-INTERVIEWER:

-Are you gearing yourself up?

I've been gearing myself up for the last six months!

The Yes Bee and curiosity about his height

has helped him stand out from the crowd.

It's the guy who you saw earlier!

And he's managed to get a pretty decent audience for his first show.

So welcome, welcome again to the show. Hi, I'm Gareth.

This is the show. This is the actual show.

As we can see, the contents orbit the show.

It's not conventional. You can't really read it.

The first section is context, then judgement.

We'll start with the context section...

Now I'm just rambling. The show has officially ended now. Thank you.

THEY CHEER

25 pounds and 34 pence.

Not bad for a first day.

'Right. That is the first show down and 21 more to do.'

Three people left quite early.

I don't know whether maybe they didn't understand or find it funny

or it wasn't what they were expecting.

For a first show, given I did a bit of ad hoc flyering just now,

it was all right.

It was good. More work needs to be done,

but I'm confident that in a week's time, the show will be very slick.

Well, the show will be slick.

In two weeks' time, the show will be very slick.

Lovely day, isn't it? Lovely.

It's now five weeks since Ben's audition.

And he's still cutting the tourists' heads off.

A far cry from the RSC.

Feel better? No? Didn't think so.

Here we go. How about you, sir?

Can I chop your head off, chippy-choppy?

I haven't heard any news about my audition, unfortunately.

Bit of a shame, really,

because in weather like this I'd rather be inside.

I'm just keeping everything crossed at the moment.

Fingers, toes, keep touching wood and things like that.

Touch wood. Touch wood. I'm doing all that superstition stuff.

HE SIGHS

Lovely weather.

Rachel has decided not to take the pantomime job

and she's had some good news.

She's got a unique opportunity to audition for the Old Vic 24 Hour Plays,

an annual event for emerging young talent.

I'm nearly too old for this.

How old do you have to be?

18 to 25. I'm 25 in a few weeks.

I wasn't nervous before I got in here. It's the waiting, isn't it?

All right, guys.

It's one of the biggest shows a young actor can audition for.

The actors have to perform a short monologue.

If successful, they and the writers

have 24 hours to write, rehearse and perform a play

in front of 1,500 people at the Old Vic.

Argh! I look incredible.

Tracy's shit. A shit name.

Steve Winter is the director

and has worked on all six of the 24 Hour Plays.

'This is an interesting project because we're looking for interesting actors to write for.'

Of course, they can be different backgrounds, different skill sets,

different accents, different shapes and sizes.

This project is unique because the roles don't exist yet.

The last two weeks we've seen about 1,700 people

and we're looking for a company of 50 people.

Rachel will be the first short person we've seen for this project

and this project's been going for six years.

We've probably seen 6,000 people.

Rachel next, please.

I am looking for love. I am actively looking for love.

You know those traffic light parties

where you wear red if you're not available,

amber if you might be and green if you absolutely are?

Well, I'm on green...constantly.

I'd say I was a feminist.

Probably not in front of a boyfriend, though. Not that sexy really, is it?

Great. Let's see a bit of that again, if that's all right?

-Who do you think she is?

-I think she's desperate for a boyfriend.

I think she wants to be seen as one of these people -

"if I could describe myself in three words,

"it'd be bubbly, outgoing..."

But I think she just likes sitting at home

with a cup of tea, watching Corrie. A bit like me!

THEY LAUGH

Let's solve the problem. Let's get a boyfriend up there.

Let's have a boyfriend for Rachel. Someone jump up.

I am actively looking for love.

You know those traffic light parties where you wear red if you're not available,

amber if you might be and green if you absolutely are?

Well, I'm on green...constantly. I like a lot of things.

'I thought Rachel did great.

'What's interesting is for a lot of actors to take direction,

'to be given a different motivation,'

it can kind of throw them off track a little bit.

The ones that work best for me are the ones that can take direction,

try something, whether that works or not.

It just shows us they're eager to be involved in something like this project.

For Rachel, I thought she really went with it and used the actor.

She was engaging and had fun, which is the most important thing, I suppose.

I like Facebook a lot. I've got it as an app on my iPhone.

Which I sort of hate,

because I like to think of myself as an arty type of person,

bit of a free spirit, you know.

LAUGHTER

It sounds so cheesy, but if you knew me you wouldn't think it was so blah.

I'm a bit sort of cartwheely. A bit out there, you know.

Sometimes I just buy a ticket to wherever and just sit on the train

and chat to whoever I'm sat next to.

'It was good fun, actually. It was fine. I enjoyed it.

'I liked it when he did the thing'

with getting that guy up and stuff. I think it made the speech better.

I felt I was getting something from it, rather than just showing them something.

This is one of those auditions where I'll just get it done and go,

and if anything happens from it, great.

I've enjoyed today and I don't think I messed it up.

I think it will literally be if they're looking for it or not.

What really made me want to get it is when he was saying

that he's choosing actors that are interesting

for new writers to write for.

They will literally be writing for you,

which I think is a brilliant opportunity,

because I don't usually fit into generic roles, really.

Well, I do, but apparently I don't.

Yeah, so it will be nice to have new writers writing for different actors and stuff.

In Edinburgh, the gruelling festival is drawing to a close.

Gareth's been trying out his brand of comedy now for four weeks

and it seems to be hitting the spot.

Yeah, I've got two reviews, both four stars.

One of them was really, really complimentary.

"Original, intelligent and funny. Gareth Morinan is going places." It's a nice tagline.

A good quote to take away.

Everyone is really, really desperate

to get back to their lives at the end of the Fringe.

It's just such a tiring month.

Yeah, just bring on home basically.

Truth Explained In Doodles. Starting upstairs here in 20 minutes.

-Thank you!

-That's a great pleasure. You must come and see it.

-I must indeed.

Guys, you can come in now. The house is open.

His final show is standing room only.

It looks like he's managed to find his audience and create a buzz.

There might be standing room. How many of you are there? Six of you? That's a large number.

Someone's offering to have someone sit on their lap.

But anyway... Oh, I know.

Don't worry, I will be back next year with an extended, improved version of the show.

Thanks, everybody. I've been Gareth Morinan. Good night.

AUDIENCE CHEER AND APPLAUD

You see that is what I wanted today. A good show.

Because once you've got the critical mass of everyone in a room,

everyone thinks it's amazing,

instead of some people thinking it's amazing and others thinking you're mental.

But yeah, it was a good show and...

Yeah, that's it, that's it's done and dusted.

See you later, guys.

With £100 in takings, Gareth can now return to London.

But he'll be back next year with his act more refined

and hoping to fill a much larger venue.

Fucking...look at this.

This is ridiculous.

I mean, well, it's not ridiculous, but it is...

I thought it would be fine.

And there's literally no signs on this road saying where...

you know, saying what the deal is.

MOBILE RINGS

Hello?

Meanwhile, Rachel hears back from the old Vic after her audition.

'..and we'd like to invite you to the second stage of the audition weekend.'

Oh, brilliant. Thank you.

I got a recall!

That's for the...

Old Vic, 24 Hour Plays. And I've got through to the second round.

And it's this Saturday, I didn't realise it'd be that soon.

Don't even know what I'm doing this Saturday, but I have to do that now.

That's brilliant. I'm really pleased with that.

I'm nervous now.

And I was like, "Thank you...wait a minute,

"did you just call me a midget?

"You really think I look like Justin Timberlake?"

At Hollywood's Comedy Store,

actor and producer Nic Novicki

is taking the opportunity to get a few things off his chest.

Getting called a midget is very offensive to little people.

It's like getting called a spic, a chink, a nigger, a Dyke, a kyke.

It's just offensive. But I'm jealous of other minorities.

Like black people. I am jealous of you guys because you guys can take that n-word

which is an evil and terrible word, change a couple of letters around

and empower it, like, "What's up, that's my dog, that's my nigga."

Little people, we can't do that.

All right, I can't be like, "Yo, what's up, midga."

Even for the most talented, the industry is tough.

But this is America and the watchword is optimism.

'I could see there being a breakout, a little person.'

Hey, maybe me, you know?

No, but you never know who's...

who...

the next generation, 20 years from now, there could be a kid

right now who's five years old who, you know, could be a huge star.

The progression has to come from us.

It's our responsibility.

Of course, I'd love to say at the end of the day

I wish people would stop taking roles that perpetuate myths

and stereotypes, but that's not going to happen.

If that did happen, that would be a very quick way for little people

to send a very strong message about what's acceptable and what's not.

I mean, I can't expect that.

I could just do that in my life, which is what I do.

Um... The progression is going to come from education.

And exposure to the positive roles.

To...

..to the new ideas and...

the people that are willing to take a chance.

In a rehearsal studio in London,

some of the most talented young actors in the country

are gathered for the Old Vic 24 Hour Plays recall.

And Rachel is among them.

Stop the shouting, calm down.

The best thing for all of our safety is to knock him clean out.

We've had 1,700 applicants.

We're getting down to 100 for this weekend,

so anybody's who's here this weekend in our view could do the project.

From that 100,

a panel of experts will monitor them throughout the day

and finally whittle them down to a company of 50.

Why did you take Rachel through to the next phase?

Because she stood out, I think.

By standing out you've got to be able to show your skill set

in a very, very brief moment.

And she has skills we're looking for. We need comic actresses.

We need someone who's relatable, who's funny, who's warm,

and we could hear her on stage,

so, all those things that you need to be a good actor.

It's a dry run for the show itself.

Whilst the team of writers write bespoke plays for the actors,

the actors themselves run through a variety of performances

in front of the panel of judges.

..your loud laughing and your migraine-inducing beats.

A friend is getting married, we just rented the house.

Everyone's really good but I like it.

I'm hoping that I must be as good as them

so when you're watching it, you're like, right, OK,

this is like something quite big and quite serious.

But everyone's really good

and you can tell everyone really wants it as well.

I've usually got one on me.

The climax of the day is to perform the play with only an hour to rehearse.

Rachel is cast in a supporting role in a play about a group of friends.

-I started at 12!

-Really?

I was really early. Had my first one in the 11 Plus exam.

The role makes no reference to her height

and the experience of the audition has given Rachel some hope.

Do you feel like potentially that some of the boundaries

are coming down for short actors?

Yeah. No, I do.

A part of me thinks that some of it is not all out of my hands either.

I think a lot of it is in my control.

A lot of it's not in my control,

but it's certainly some of my responsibility

and it's about getting yourself out there

and putting yourself forward for it.

I can see things. I can see things happening,

like, they may be happening slowly

but I'm seeing, like, movement and stuff,

and yeah, and I think I'm feeling really positive.

What? We're all still keeping secrets?

APPLAUSE

Right, everyone. That's it.

Thank you so much.

Please stay in touch with each other and us.

It's been really nice to meet you all. Thank you very much.

APPLAUSE

The thing about being short, people often say to me,

"If you could live your life again, would you want the same?"

and I certainly would, you know.

Being different to the average population is fun, is exciting.

People will pierce their nose or dye their hair pink just to stand out.

I don't have to do that.

It's fun being different.

As the world gets more and more populated,

I think it's going to be more advantageous to be slightly different.

MOBILE PHONE RINGS

Hello?

Yeah. Hello.

I'm all right. How are you?

Yeah, I loved it. Thank you. It was a really good day. Tiring.

OK. All right, then. Well, thank you for phoning.

All right. Bye. Bye.

I didn't get it.

Oh, well.

It's fine.

Subtitling by Red Bee Media Ltd

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