‘A comedy-drama about friendship, relationships and the importance of appreciating life’. This is how Rebecca Dowling, self proclaimed creator, director, producer and actor in the amatuer production Sixty Seconds and Counting, describes the essence of the play. The play itself received an ambitious run on the Worthing Theatre Trail, a completely new experience for Rebecca and her similarly college aged associates. With four shows in the span of seven days, a turnout of over one hundred and twenty people and an emotional reaction from said audience that many productions can only dream of invoking; this passion project put together by a central group of only five people can be regarded as a glowing success.  

I had the opportunity to interview the aforementioned Rebecca Dowling about her experience with bringing the play to life, the stresses of taking on so many key roles in its production and what plans there are for similar projects in the future. What became immediately clear when talking with Rebecca, over private messaging, is that she is extremely dedicated to her work. Our interview initially had to be temporarily postponed as she stated ‘[I’m] just going on stage, won’t be a minute!’. In addition, when asked whether this was her first independent production that she had been a part of, she replied ‘I have been a part of a number of theatre groups and acted since I was young but this was the first thing I’ve ever done myself’. Although this is her first independent project, an ambitious story exploring four main characters who lose contact with the outside world and experience their supposed last twenty minutes together; Rebecca used her pre-acquired skills in order to keep herself in control of the production through the sometimes tumultuous process of bringing ideas in ones head to life on the stage.

While this particular run of sixty seconds and counting has completed its course, Rebecca is keen to continue with similar projects in the near future; something you would expect from someone who’s been dedicated to her craft all her life thus far. If Rebecca can continue to strike a balance between ‘juggling everything with two other shows, college and a horse!’ as she did for this production, she declared that she has ‘been offered another place to direct on the same trail next year, either to reprise 60 Seconds… or create an entirely new piece’. Her final comment being that herself and us, her audience will have to ‘see what happens’! If you were unable to catch this run of the performance, it is almost certain that this will not be the last large scale amatuer production to come from Rebecca Dowling and her team.

Written by Benjamin Jesse, Steyning Grammar School (Sixth Form)

Accompanying photos and interview statements permission of use provided by Rebecca Dowling