RMT MEMBER HITS THE BIG SCREEN

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: november/december 2008 :: RMTnews 21 For most people one successful career would be more than enough to cope with. But Kings Cross- based Regional Support Assistant Ann Burkin is also an actress who stars in the award winning film Zebra Crossings. On a normal weekday Ann’s work for National Express entails looking after the senior crew manager and station manager, a job that she loves. She started out in 1994 working for Intercity as a Welcome Host in the First Class Lounge, holding several different posts before her current one. Ann joined the union early on in her career “because it’s nice to know there is back up support. And they are a good bunch of people in the union here” she says, adding that she shares an office with RMT branch secretary Ray Knight. But once she gets out of work at the end of the week Ann makes her way to her Friday night acting class in Islington which operates under the tutelage of Anna Scher. Scher’s famous method of teaching is renowned for giving its students a distinctively natural acting style. Many of her students have gone on to become actors in Eastenders and other programmes and films that require a gritty realism. Ann says she had done acting at school and thought “acting can be done at any age; I can pick this up as an adult as well”. As luck would have it, at her first lesson – three years ago – there were people there casting for the film Zebra Crossings, an independent film, written and directed by Sam Holland. Ann went for an audition and got the part of Donna, a girlfriend of one of the main characters. Set on a south London council estate the film tells the story of four lads lives, which are characterised by petty crime and violent retribution. The film shows that despite their violent lifestyles everyone deserves a chance of redemption. When it came to filming Ann booked the days off work. Then there was the long wait as the film went through a year of editing before it was finally ready for screening. When the film was shown at last it was well received. It scooped a Golden Ticket Award at the Socal festival in Los Angeles and won the audience award at the Raindance Film Festival in London. Ann says that she didn’t get to see the film until the English premier at the Trocadero in October. “I didn’t know what to expect, but the audience loved the film. When I watched it didn’t seem like it was me up there.” she says. With the success of the film Ann wants to take her acting career more seriously. She’s already done some other short films and video. Asked if she would like to pursue acting full-time she says “acting is a dream job, but I love the job I do now”. So, while Zebra Crossings continues to receive acclaim it’s back to work as normal for Ann, dealing with more mundane matters such as the ordering of the last of the new staff uniforms. RMT MEMBER HITS THE BIG SCREEN RMT News talks to clerical worker Ann Burkin about her other career as a successful actress and landing a role in the award-winning film Zebra Crossings